APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation
Appeals Panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated
section 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and
conclusions of law. The trial court awarded the Employee 85 percent permanent partial disability
as a result of metal poisoning at his workplace. The Employer contends the action should be
dismissed because notice of injury was not timely given and because the evidence was insufficient to establish causation of injury. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Petitioner, Terry M. Odom, was indicted on three counts of aggravated sexual battery. Pursuant to a plea agreement, petitioner pled guilty to one count and received an eight-year sentence at 100% while the two remaining counts were dismissed. Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief and after the appointment of counsel filed an amended petition. Following an evidentiary hearing on August 3, 2005, the trial court denied the petition. On appeal, petitioner claims the trial court erred in denying relief. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Petitioner, Jimmy Ray Culberson, pled guilty to two counts of rape of a child and received concurrent fifteen-year sentences with 100% service on each count. In September 2003, petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief claiming that his plea was not knowing and voluntary and that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the petition. In this appeal, petitioner maintains the trial court erred in denying his petition. Following our review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This is an appeal from an order of the juvenile court increasing child support.  We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

The Petitioner, Ernest Lee Hill, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgments of conviction void. Accordingly, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

The Petitioner, Arthur Yancy, Jr., appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the petition for postconviction relief is time-barred by the statute of limitations, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

The Appellant, Kalvin Rush, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of aggravated robbery and sentenced to eight years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Rush raises the single issue of sufficiency of the evidence. After review of the record, we find the evidence sufficient to support the verdict and affirm the judgment of conviction.

The Petitioner, Jerry Anderson, appeals from the order of the trial court dismissing his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Capital Petitioner, Farris Genner Morris, Jr., appeals as of right the judgment of the Madison County Circuit Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. In January 1997, the Petitioner was convicted after a jury trial of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of aggravated rape. The Petitioner was sentenced to death for the first degree murder of Erica Hurd.  For the remaining convictions, the Petitioner received consecutive sentences of life without the possibility of parole for the murder of Charles Ragland and twenty-five years incarceration for the aggravated rape of Angela Ragland. The Petitioner’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Morris, 24 S.W.3d 788 (Tenn. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1082 (2001). On February 6, 2001, the Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. The trial court appointed the Office of the Post-Conviction Defender to represent the Petitioner in the proceedings. An amended petition was filed on December 17, 2001.  An evidentiary hearing was conducted in April 2004. On January 18, 2005, the trial court entered an order denying the Petitioner post-conviction relief. On appeal to this Court, the Petitioner presents a number of claims that can be characterized in the following four broad categories for this Court’s review: (1) the denial of a fair post-conviction evidentiary hearing, (2) the denial of a fair sentencing hearing, (3) the ineffective assistance of counsel, and (4) the constitutionality of the imposition of a sentence of death. Following a thorough and exhaustive review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Ronald Clinton, was convicted of one count of the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of evading arrest, a Class E felony;  and one count of simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction, and six years as a Range III, career offender, for his felony conviction, and ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his assault conviction, or the length or manner of service of his sentences. In his appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and felony evading arrest. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court awarded the plaintiff 76 percent permanent partial disability to the body as whole and 39 additional weeks of temporary total disability benefits. On appeal, the defendant contends that the award of permanent partial disability was excessive; that the award of temporary total disability was not warranted; and the trial court erred in allowing the testimony of a vocational expert. After carefully reviewing the record and applicable authorities, we find no error and affirm the judgment.

Following a jury trial, Defendant, John Liddell, was convicted of two counts of theft of property valued at $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of the aggravated assault of Robert Bolinger, a Class C felony; and one count of the aggravated assault of Cheffie Hurt, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant to concurrent sentences of thirteen years as a Range III, persistent offender for each felony conviction, and eleven months, twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction, for an effective sentence of thirteen years. Defendant does not appeal the length of his sentences or the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his theft convictions. In his appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his two convictions of aggravated assault. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In this appeal, landowner sued builder alleging that the parties had entered into a partnership and an oral contract to construct a house on property belonging to landowner. Landowner claimed that builder failed to pay him the total consideration for the sale of the land after landowner deeded the property to builder and that builder failed to equally divide the profits from the sale of the improved property once the house was sold. Builder denied the existence of a partnership and oral contract, alleged that the lot had been paid for in full, and claimed that landowner had no interest in the property or the proceeds from the sale of the improved property. The trial court found that a partnership and oral contract existed between the parties and awarded landowner the balance on the sale of the land and one-half of the profits from the sale of the improved property. We affirm the judgment of the trial court in all respects.

Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Jerry Bell, was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of possession of a deadly weapon with the intent to employ it in the commission of aggravated robbery. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because the State failed to prove his identity beyond a reasonable doubt. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support his convictions but that the convictions for both aggravated robbery and possession of a deadly weapon violate double jeopardy protections. The Defendant’s conviction for possession of a deadly weapon is dismissed. The Defendant’s remaining convictions and sentences are affirmed.  We remand solely for the entry of an appropriate judgment consistent with this opinion.

The defendant, Decarlos Rodgers, pled guilty to possession of cocaine in an amount greater than 0.5 grams with intent to sell and convicted felon in possession of a handgun. He was sentenced to twelve and two years, respectively, to be served concurrently as a Range II offender. As a condition of his guilty plea, the defendant reserved a certified question of law pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(A) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure regarding whether the indictments against him should have been dismissed under a theory of promissory estoppel. After review, we conclude that the questions are properly certified and that the trial court ruled correctly in denying the motion to dismiss.

This case involves a claim for unemployment compensation filed with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The claimant was initially denied unemployment benefits based on the Agency’s finding that she had been terminated for work related misconduct. First-level appeals from agency decisions are allowed within fifteen days. The claimant appealed and an inperson hearing was scheduled. She requested a re-scheduling of the hearing, and her request was accommodated. She then canceled the second scheduled hearing and requested a withdrawal of her unemployment claim. Later, she attempted to re-appeal the initial agency determination outside the
fifteen-day time limit. She subsequently requested an appeal of the first-level tribunal’s decision allowing her to withdraw her appeal. The second-level board found it lacked jurisdiction because the claimant had not filed her appeal within fifteen days of the determination. Plaintiff claimed she was denied procedural due process because her in-person hearing was not rescheduled. The chancery court affirmed the board’s finding that it lacked jurisdiction. For the following reasons, we affirm.

The Appellant, Billy James Matthews, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief.  Matthews’ convictions stem from his guilty pleas to rape and robbery, for which he was sentenced to ten years and six years respectively. In this appeal, Matthews raises the following issue for our review: whether the evidence preponderates against the post-conviction court’s findings that he received the effective assistance of counsel. The State asserts that the post-conviction petition should be dismissed because it was filed outside the one-year post-conviction statute of limitations.  We agree and conclude that Matthews’ petition is barred by the statute of limitations. Dismissal of the post-conviction petition is affirmed.

Plaintiffs, house purchasers, sued defendant, seller, for breach of contract, negligent and fraudulent concealment, negligence, wilful and negligent misrepresentation, and violations of the Consumer Protection Act on the grounds the house was subject to flooding. The Trial Court granted summary judgment. We affirm.

The petitioner, Earl Ray Trotter, pled guilty in the Bedford County Circuit Court to attempted second degree murder, especially aggravated burglary, and especially aggravated robbery. He received a total effective sentence of twenty-five years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner now appeals. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

This is a termination of parental rights case. In 1999, the children involved in this action were taken from the mother’s custody into state custody. They were later adjudicated dependent and neglected by the juvenile court. The children remained in foster care, and the state developed several permanency plans with the goal of returning the children to the mother. The plans required the mother to, inter alia, attend parenting classes and anger management programs and to obtain stable housing and employment. The children remained in foster care for the next six years. Meanwhile, the mother obtained stable housing, but she failed to complete either parenting classes or an anger management program, and she failed to obtain stable employment. The goal of the plans was changed to adoption. The state filed a petition to terminate the mother’s parental rights based on persistent conditions and failure to comply with the permanency plans. After a trial, the trial court terminated the mother’s parental rights on both grounds. The mother now appeals. We affirm, finding that the evidence supports termination on both grounds.

The Appellant, Christopher S. Love, appeals his conviction by a Hickman County jury for sexual battery, a Class E felony. Love was indicted for the offenses of aggravated rape, reckless endangerment, and aggravated assault. Following a jury trial, he was acquitted of reckless endangerment and found guilty of the lesser included offenses of sexual battery and misdemeanor assault. He was subsequently sentenced to concurrent sentences of two years and eleven months and twenty-nine days. On appeal, he raises the single issue of whether it was proper for the trial court to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of sexual battery. After review, we conclude that the Appellant waived the issue by his failure to object to the inclusion of the instruction at trial. Accordingly, the judgment of conviction for sexual battery is affirmed.

In this post-decree child custody case, the trial court changed custody from the mother to the father after finding, among other things, that the mother had smoked marijuana while operating a motor vehicle in which the child was a passenger. Based upon this finding and evidence that the change of custody was in the best interest of the child, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Ricky Lee Trentham, Jr., was convicted of simple possession of marijuana, Tenn Code Ann. 39-17-418(a), a Class A misdemeanor, and sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days at 75%. On appeal, he raises three issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction; (2) whether a copy of High Times magazine was erroneously admitted into evidence; and (3) whether he was properly sentenced. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, James Howard Theus, III, entered a best interest plea to facilitation of rape of a child. He was sentenced to eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, suspended after service of eleven months and twenty-nine days, with the remainder on intensive probation. Thereafter, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and placed his sentence into effect. On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court’s revocation of his probation. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Robert L. Myers, pled guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery, a Class C felony, and was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to six years on each count, to be served concurrently. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in denying probation or alternative sentencing. Following our review, we conclude that the trial court properly sentenced the defendant and affirm the judgments of conviction.