APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

A Cumberland County jury convicted the Defendant for possession of a handgun while under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Because we conclude that the evidence is sufficient, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Defendant, Hughes D. Cadwell, was convicted in the Williamson County General Sessions Court for driving on a suspended license on December 23, 1997. He received a ninety-day suspended sentence and six months probation. On June 22, 1998, a probation violation warrant was issued, alleging that Defendant had failed to maintain monthly contact with his probation officer and that he had failed to pay probation fees and respond to a written request for action. Defendant was not arrested on the warrant until February 6, 2002. At the February 13, 2002, hearing in Williamson County General Sessions Court, Defendant pled true to the probation violation, and the court ordered him to serve the ninety-day sentence. Defendant appealed to the Williamson County Circuit Court on February 15, 2002. The circuit court conducted a hearing to determine whether to reinstate Defendant's probation. The court then dismissed the appeal on the basis that it lacked jurisdiction because Defendant had pled true to the probation violation. We conclude that the circuit court had jurisdiction to hear Defendant's appeal from the general sessions court, de novo, and therefore, we remand the case to the circuit court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Appellant, Clara Jean Neblett, was indicted by the Robertson County Grand Jury for aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon. A jury found Appellant guilty of both counts. Appellant was sentenced to four years for her aggravated assault conviction and thirty days for her possession of a weapon conviction, to be served concurrently. In this appeal, Appellant challenges: (1) the trial court's ruling that defense counsel could not impeach the victim's testimony using extrinsic evidence of a prior bad act; (2) the trial court's denial of post-trial diversion; and (3) the trial court's refusal to apply mitigating factors to Appellant's sentence. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant was indicted for first degree premeditated murder and a Monroe County jury convicted him of the lesser-included offense of second degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to twenty years' incarceration. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues (1) that he was denied his right to a speedy trial; (2) that the trial court erred by refusing to allow the defense to question police officers about the victim's reputation for violence; (3) that the trial court erred by excluding from evidence an audiotape of a pretrial statement by witness Casey Miller; and (4) that the trial court erred in instructing the jury regarding first degree murder and second degree murder. After a careful review of the jury instructions in this case, which fail to define "knowingly," we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for a new trial.

The defendant, Montrell Clements, was convicted of aggravated rape and aggravated assault and sentenced to twenty-two years and six years, respectively, to be served concurrently. The defendant timely appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand for entry of a corrected judgment in No. 00-14457 to reflect the defendant's conviction offense, which was omitted from the judgment form.

The petitioner, Allen Oliver, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his pro se petition for post-conviction relief as barred by the one-year statute of limitations. The petitioner pled guilty to various offenses pursuant to a plea agreement on July 2, 2001, and his petition for post-conviction relief was stamped filed in the clerk’s office on July 3, 2002. Because the judgment of conviction did not become final until thirty days after its entry, the petition for post-conviction relief was timely filed. Thus, we reverse and remand to the post-conviction court for further proceedings.

A Tipton County jury convicted the defendant, Robert Frost, of bribery of a public servant. The trial court subsequently ordered the defendant to serve three years as a standard offender in community based alternative sentencing. The defendant now brings this direct appeal of his conviction, challenging (1) the trial court's decision to admit certain exhibits over his objection; (2) a certain portion of the trial court's instruction to the jury regarding his indicted offense; and (3) the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. After a thorough review of the record, we find that none of the defendant's allegations merit relief and accordingly affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Chauncey Daugherty, of driving under the influence, second offense. The trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days and ordered 180 days be served in the county workhouse followed by probation. On appeal, the defendant maintains the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The appellant, Willie Lee Davidson, pled guilty to the offenses of hindering a secured creditor and the sale of cocaine. As part of the plea agreement the appellant agreed to a sentence of two years for the former offense and three years for the latter. By agreement the sentences were to run concurrently, with the manner of service to be left to the trial court. The trial court denied any form of alternative service of the appellant's effective three-year sentence and ordered the appellant to serve his sentence in incarceration. From this decision the appellant brings this appeal. After reviewing the record and applicable authorities, we hold there is no reversible error in this case. The judgment of the trial court is therefore affirmed.