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| Sneed vs. Bd. of Professional Responsibility
M1999-01588-SC-R3-CV
This case is before the Court on an appeal of right from the judgment of the Chancery Court of Davidson County suspending Michael H. Sneed, the appellant, from the practice of law for six months together with other sanctions. Sneed contends that the trial court erred in imposing discipline and that the six-month suspension is too harsh a sanction. Because we conclude that the trial court had the authority to impose sanctions and that the sanctions imposed are fair and proportionate in light of the entire record, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.
Originating Judge:Tom E. Gray |
Davidson County | Supreme Court | 12/13/00 | |
| Ray Charles Gasaway vs. State
M2000-00991-CCA-R3-PC
Petitioner, Ray Charles Gasaway, filed a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief in the Davidson County Criminal Court, which the post-conviction court subsequently denied. Petitioner challenges the denial of his petition, raising the following issue: whether the trial court erred in ruling that the Petitioner was provided effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, Petitioner argues that his trial counsel failed to investigate, failed to raise the fatal variance between the indictment and the proof at trial and failed to raise as an issue the violation of Petitioner's right to due process because of the delay between the commission of the crimes and commencement of adversarial proceedings. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the trial court's denial of the Petitioner's post-conviction petition.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Steve R. Dozier |
Davidson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| Owen vs. Martin
M1999-02305-COA-R3-CV
The trial court found that a mother and her adult son had both breached an oral contract whereby the son agreed to pay off the mortgage on his mother's home and to permit her to remain there for the rest of her life, and the mother agreed to give the son her equity in the home upon her death, and to allow him to use a garage apartment in the home until that time. We reverse the trial court's finding that there was an enforceable contract between the parties, but we impress a resulting trust on the son's interest in the home, which inures to his mother's benefit.
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Originating Judge:Ellen Hobbs Lyle |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. William Washington a/k/a "Freddie"
E2000-00695-CCA-R3-CD
William Washington was found guilty by a Washington County jury of one count of possession of less than one-half gram of cocaine with intent to sell. Washington, a range III offender, was sentenced to twelve years in the Department of Correction. The following issues are presented on appeal: (1) the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and (2) whether the trial court impermissibly limited the scope of his voir dire examination of prospective jurors with regard to racial bias. Finding no error, the judgment is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Originating Judge:Robert E. Cupp |
Washington County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Donald Lynn Miller
E1999-00148-CCA-R3-CD
Donald Lynn Miller was convicted by a jury of felony murder and especially aggravated robbery and received respective sentences of life imprisonment and twenty-three years. On appeal, Miller raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court committed reversible error by allowing the victim's skull to be admitted into evidence; (2) whether the trial court erred by admitting Miller's statement to police into evidence and (3) whether the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict. After review, we find no error and affirm the judgment of the Knox County Criminal Court.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Originating Judge:Ray L. Jenkins |
Knox County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Danielle Walker
E2000-00578-CCA-R3-CD
The appellant, Danielle L. Walker, pled guilty in the Blount County Circuit Court to one count of theft of property over $1000, a class D felony. The trial court sentenced the appellant as a standard Range I offender to two years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The trial court ordered the appellant to serve twenty days of her sentence in periodic confinement and to serve the balance of her sentence on supervised probation. The trial court also ordered the appellant to make restitution to the victim in the amount of $2,928.56. On appeal, the appellant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court erred by refusing to grant the appellant judicial diversion; and (2) whether the trial court erred by refusing to grant the appellant full probation. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr. |
Blount County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Walter Jackson
E1999-02186-CCA-R3-CD
Walter Jackson appeals the judgment of the Knox County Criminal Court revoking his placement in the community corrections program and reinstating his original eight-year Department of Correction sentence. Prior to his revocation, Jackson was serving an eight-year community corrections sentence resulting from his 1991 guilty pleas to two counts of sale of cocaine. Jackson challenges the revocation of his community corrections sentence and the redesignation of his confinement with the Department of Correction. Finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Originating Judge:Mary Beth Leibowitz |
Knox County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. David Mitchell
E1999-02761-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant, David Calvin Mitchell, appeals the manner of service of his sentence for second offense DUI. Notwithstanding Anderson County's lack of a work release program for jail inmates, he claims that he is statutorily and constitutionally entitled to work release during the mandatory, 45-day period of jail confinement for his crime. Because we hold that the defendant was not statutorily entitled to work release consideration and that there was no equal protection violation, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:James B. Scott, Jr. |
Anderson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Juliann Whitehead
E2000-00031-CCA-R3-CD
The appellant, Juliann Lynn Whitehead, pled guilty in the Blount County Circuit Court to one count of burglary, a class D felony, and one count of theft under $500, a class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the appellant to four years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for the burglary conviction and to eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration in the Blount County Jail for the theft conviction. The trial court ordered that these sentences run concurrently, and allowed the appellant to serve her sentences on intensive probation. During a random drug screen conducted by the appellant's probation officer approximately three months after sentencing, the appellant tested positive for cocaine. Additionally, the appellant admitted to her probation officer that she had left the state without permission. Pursuant to a probation revocation hearing, the trial court revoked the appellant's probation and ordered her to serve the balance of her sentences in the Tennessee Department of Correction and recommended that she be placed into a Special Needs Facility to assist with her substance abuse and mental health problems. On appeal, the appellant raises the following issue for our review: whether the trial court erred in sentencing the appellant to serve the balance of her sentences in the Tennessee Department of Correction after revoking her probation. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr. |
Blount County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Michael Nevens
M2000-00815-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals from his conviction for theft of a bottle of tea, contesting the jury instructions, the effectiveness of his trial counsel, the state's cross-examination of defense witnesses, the state's closing argument and the trial court's failure to rule upon a subsequent objection, and his sentence. Because the trial court erred in instructing the jury, we reverse the defendant's conviction and remand the case to the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Timothy L. Easter |
Williamson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| Sheucraft vs. Roberts
M1999-01645-COA-R3-CV
This is a custody dispute between the maternal grandparents, Petitioners, and the biological father, Respondent. The child, Lexie, was born to Dewey and Lisa Roberts in October of 1991 and was seven years of age at the June 1999 trial. In 1995, Dewey Roberts and Lisa Sheucraft Roberts separated, and Lisa Roberts and Lexie moved in with the Petitioners. Ms. Roberts and the child continued to reside with the Petitioners until her unexpected death in 1998 from a brain aneurysm related to a cocaine overdose. The Respondent has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and, at the time of trial, was involved in an abusive relationship with a female companion. The trial court, applying the "substantial harm" test of Bond v. McKenzie, 896 S.W.2d 546 (Tenn. 1995), found that to change the residential arrangements from the grandparents' home to the father's home would be devastating to the child and would result in substantial harm to her. The trial court further found that it is in the child's best interests to spend the majority of her time with the maternal grandparents. Respondent appeals and we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Originating Judge:Marietta M. Shipley |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Carlos L. Batey
M2000-00759-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals a certified question from the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress cocaine seized incident to his warrantless arrest. He contends that the police lacked probable cause to arrest him because the state failed to prove the basis of knowledge and the reliability of the informant who arranged the drug transaction which led to his arrest. We affirm the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Seth W. Norman |
Davidson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Michael Colvin
E2000-00701-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Lynn W. Brown |
Johnson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Martin Charles Jones
E1999-01296-CCA-R3-CD
The Appellant, Martin Charles Jones, pled guilty to nine counts of criminal exposure to HIV, class C felonies, and to three counts of statutory rape, class E felonies. Following a sentencing hearing, the Knox County Criminal Court imposed an effective sentence of seventeen years incarceration. On appeal, the Appellant asserts that the trial court erred by denying his request for alternative sentencing. After review, we find no error and affirm the judgment.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Originating Judge:Ray L. Jenkins |
Knox County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Teresa R. Hodge
E2000-00040-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals the Blount County Circuit Court's determination that her plea-bargained, eleven-month and 29-day effective sentence for theft and possession of cocaine shall be served in confinement, subject to 75 percent of service before the defendant is eligible for rehabilitative programs. The record supports the trial court's determination, and we affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr. |
Blount County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| Isbell vs. Travis Electric Co., et al
M1999-00052-COA-R3-CV
After Plaintiff resigned from his job and attempted to start his own competing business, his former manager informed a mutual client of the circumstances surrounding his resignation. Plaintiff sued his former employer and its service manager, alleging slander, libel, defamation, and tortious interference with contract. The trial court directed a verdict for Defendants, and Plaintiff appeals, arguing that the trial court misapplied the substantial truth doctrine, failed to apply the doctrine of implication, and was incorrect in its finding that no contract existed between Plaintiff and his new company's main client. Plaintiff also insists that, by failing to grant a new trial so that he could add an allegation of invasion of privacy, the court ignored the proper legal consequences arising from the disclosure of a confidential drug test. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Originating Judge:Hamilton V. Gayden, Jr. |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Gary Russell
E1999-01511-CCA-R3-CD
The appellant pled guilty in the Anderson County Criminal Court to three counts of selling over .5 grams of cocaine. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the trial court imposed concurrent sentences of eight years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for each conviction. The trial court denied the appellant any form of non-incarcerative alternative sentencing, including probation. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court's denial of alternative sentencing. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:James B. Scott, Jr. |
Anderson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State of Tennessee v. Oneal Sanford
E1999-02089-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Carroll L. Ross |
Bradley County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Kenneth England
E2000-00535-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals the revocation of his community corrections sentence. Finding a lack of justiciable, substantial evidence to support the revocation, we reverse.
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:E. Shayne Sexton |
Campbell County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| Moore vs. Moore
M1999-02301-COA-R3-CV
In this divorce case, the husband argues that the trial court erred in the way it classified and distributed the parties' marital property. We agree that the trial court's implied classification of the parties' home on Pleasant Cove Road was erroneous as a matter of law, but we find that its disposition of the property was nonetheless within the court's authority and discretion. We accordingly modify the final decree to reflect our view of its correct classification, but otherwise affirm the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Originating Judge:Charles D. Haston, Sr. |
Warren County | Court of Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Jeffrey Coffey
M2000-00770-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant was convicted by a Maury County jury of aggravated child abuse of a child six years of age or less, a Class A felony, and was sentenced to twenty-five years in confinement, the maximum sentence for a Range I, standard offender. In this appeal as of right, the defendant presents two issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction; and (2) whether the sentence was excessive. We conclude that the convicting evidence was sufficient. We further conclude that, although the trial court erred in applying enhancement factors (5) and (6), two other statutory enhancement factors were appropriately applied. Additionally, we conclude that, although the trial court erred in not applying mitigating factors (6) and (13), the defendant was appropriately sentenced. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Jim T. Hamilton |
Maury County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Patty Pace Purkey
E2000-00308-CCA-R3-CD
The appellant, Patty Pace Purkey, pled guilty in the Grainger County Criminal Court to one count of vehicular assault, a class D felony, one count of reckless endangerment, a class E felony, three counts of simple possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor, and one count of driving on a revoked license, a class B misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the appellant to the following terms of incarceration: three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for vehicular assault; two years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for reckless endangerment; eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail for each of the simple possession convictions; and six months in the county jail for driving on a revoked license. The trial court further ordered that all of the appellant's sentences be served concurrently and assessed a total of $750 in fines. The trial court denied the appellant any form of alternative sentencing. On appeal, the appellant raises the following issue for our review: whether the trial court erred in failing to order probation or another alternative sentence. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:O. Duane Slone |
Grainger County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/13/00 | |
| State vs. Michael Wayne Perry
M1999-01832-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant, Michael Wayne Perry, was convicted by a Wilson County jury of second degree murder and first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of, or attempted perpetration of, rape. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life without parole for the first degree murder conviction, twenty years as a standard Range I offender for the second degree murder conviction, and then merged the two counts into a single conviction for first degree murder. Defendant appeals his convictions and presents the following issues: 1) whether the trial court erred in admitting Defendant's recorded confession; 2) whether the trial court erred in admitting evidence obtained from the vehicle that Defendant drove on the night of the murder; 3) whether the trial court erred in admitting photographs of the victim's body; 4) whether the trial court's instructions to the jury were proper; 5) whether the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find Defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and 6) whether the conduct of law enforcement officials in the case "shocks the conscience." Based upon a careful review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:J. O. Bond |
Wilson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/12/00 | |
| Ross Gunter vs. State
E2000-00747-CCA-R3-CD
The petitioner, Ross Gunter, pled guilty in the McMinn County Criminal Court to second degree murder and was ordered to serve one hundred percent (100%) of his fifteen year sentence in confinement. The petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging fault in the plea agreement, and the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the petitioner raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the post-conviction court erred in not granting the petition for post-conviction relief based on the State's breach of the plea agreement, and (2) whether the post-conviction court erred in not granting the petition for post-conviction relief because the petitioner did not knowingly and voluntarily enter a guilty plea. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
Originating Judge:Carroll L. Ross |
McMinn County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/12/00 | |
| State vs. Carl Preston Durham
E1999-02640-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant, Carl Preston Durham, was indicted for two counts of first degree murder (premeditated and felony), aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery in connection with the murder of the victim, Rene Earl Cabirac, Sr. After a nine-day trial, verdicts of guilt were rendered on all four charges. At the conclusion of the guilt phase of the trial, the trial court merged the defendant's two first degree murder convictions and the jury sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The trial court found the defendant to be a career offender and imposed a concurrent sentence of 30 years for the aggravated robbery and a consecutive sentence of 15 years for the conspiracy. The effective sentence is, therefore, life without the possibility of parole plus fifteen years. Because there was no prejudicial error, the convictions and sentences are affirmed; however, because the trial court failed to indicate on the judgment form a merger of the felony murder and the premeditated murder, the judgment is modified to reflect a single conviction for first degree murder.
Authoring Judge: Judge Gary R Wade
Originating Judge:Stephen M. Bevil |
Hamilton County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 12/12/00 |