APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Appellant, James C. Breer, appeals the summary dismissal of his  pro se petition for postconviction relief. The Henry County Circuit Court dismissed Breer’s petition upon the ground that it failed to state a colorable claim. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-206(f) (1997). After review, we conclude that a colorable claim is presented and the postconviction   court erred in dismissing Breer’s petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing and without appointing counsel. Accordingly, we remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The Appellant, Felix Bartolo Jose, was convicted of one count of aggravated sexual battery, a class B felony, following a jury trial. The trial court sentenced Jose to an eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Jose raises the single issue of whether the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict. After review of the record, we affirm the conviction.

Charles Scarlett, in the middle of a domestic dispute with his wife, flagged down a postal worker, Cindy Lourcey, and asked for help. Without warning, and in the presence of Mrs. Lourcey, Mr. Scarlett shot his wife in the head and then killed himself. Mrs. Lourcey sued Mr. Scarlett's estate alleging negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Mr. Lourcey also sued for loss of consortium. The estate filed a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 12.02(6) of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a cause of action. The trial court granted the Motion to Dismiss. We hold that the Lourceys did in fact state a cause of action. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the trial court and remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

The Chancery Court of Wilson County invalidated the City of Lebanon's ordinance governing the demolition of unsafe structures, reasoning that it was inconsistent with state law and that it denied property owners the right to be heard before a demolition order issues. We hold that the ordinance is not inconsistent with the general law and that the post-order hearing provisions of the ordinance comply with the property owner's rights to due process. Therefore, we reverse and remand the cause for further proceedings.

This case is before the Court for the second time on a post-divorce Petition to reduce alimony. The trial judge denied the Petition, and we affirm the action of the trial court.

The Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery by a jury in the Criminal Court for Shelby County, and the trial court sentenced him to sixteen years of confinement as a Range II Multiple Offender. The Appellant raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether sufficient evidence was presented at trial to convict the Appellant of the charged offense, and (2) whether the trial court erred in failing to charge the jury on the lesser-included offenses of robbery and theft. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Joseph Harold Rucker, appeals the Roane County Criminal Court's imposition of a 23-year Department of Correction sentence for the second-degree murder of his girlfriend, Tommy Jean Trinkle. Because we determine that the length of the Class A, Range I sentence is supported in the record, we affirm.

The petitioner, Charles Weston Elsea, Jr., appeals the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. The single issue presented for review is whether he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

A Rhea County grand jury indicted the defendant on one count of sexual battery. At the conclusion of a trial, the jury convicted him as charged and fined him one thousand dollars. The trial court subsequently imposed a sentence of one year and six months, of which the defendant was ordered to serve thirty days. After unsuccessfully pursuing a judgment of acquittal or alternatively a new trial in the trial court, the defendant brings this appeal. Herein, he asserts that the record lacks sufficient evidence to sustain his conviction, that the trial court erred in failing to give the jury a curative instruction to disregard a hearsay statement made by the victim in court, and that the trial court erred in permitting the victim's brother to testify regarding a hearsay statement made by the victim. After reviewing the record and relevant authorities, we find that the defendant has waived one of these claims and that the remaining issues merit no relief. We, therefore, affirm the defendant's conviction.

The appellant, Gregory Dale Clayton, was found guilty by a jury in the Davidson County Criminal Court of driving under the influence (DUI). The trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration in the Davidson County Jail. Additionally, the appellant pled guilty to a violation of the implied consent law and suffered the forfeiture of his driver's license for one year. On appeal, the appellant raises two issues relating to the rendering of the jury's verdict. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Marvin L. Jones, appeals the trial court's revocation of a community corrections sentence. The single issue presented for review is whether the trial court abused its discretion. The judgment is affirmed.

The appellant (defendant), Timothy Murrell, was convicted by a Madison County jury of the offenses of possession of cocaine with the intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The two (2) felonious possession of cocaine convictions were merged. The trial court sentenced the defendant to twenty (20) years in the Department of Correction for these offenses and eleven months and twenty-nine days for the drug paraphernalia conviction. These sentences were to run concurrently for a total effective sentence of twenty years. In this appeal the defendant raises five issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions for felonious possession of cocaine; (2) whether the trial court erred in declining to give the jury a missing witness instruction; (3) whether the trial court erred in allowing police officers to testify that the cocaine found in the defendant's possession was for re-sale; (4) whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit certain evidence for impeachment; and (5) whether the trial court erred in declining to apply a mitigating factor offered by the defendant at sentencing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we find no reversible error. Therefore, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

The defendant Olean W. Thompson, pled guilty to theft of property $1,000 or more in value and aggravated robbery. Pursuant to a bench trial, he was found guilty of his four remaining indicted charges, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. The trial court then sentenced the defendant to serve two years for his theft conviction, eight years for his robbery conviction, and twenty years for each of his kidnapping convictions. The court then ordered the defendant to serve these sentences concurrently, resulting in a twenty-year aggregate sentence. The defendant now appeals his convictions and sentence, claiming that his due process rights were violated by his four convictions for especially aggravated kidnapping and that the trial court erred by imposing excessive sentences for each of his kidnapping convictions. After a thorough review of the record, we find that none of the defendant's allegations merit relief and accordingly affirm the defendant's convictions and sentence.

The defendant, Tammy Annette Burruss, was convicted by a Bedford County Circuit Court jury of theft of a vehicle worth more than $10,000, a Class C felony, for which she received a four-year sentence as a Range I, standard offender. She contends that the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction and that the trial court erred by allowing the state to impeach her with a prior bad check conviction pursuant to Tenn. R. Evid. 609(b). We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Billy J. Coffelt, was convicted of assault with intent to commit first degree murder and assault with intent to commit robbery with a deadly weapon. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging the ineffective assistance of counsel, which petition was dismissed by the post-conviction court without a hearing. The petitioner currently appeals this ruling. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the petition for post-conviction relief.

The petitioner, Terrell Burgess, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty pleas to first degree felony murder, aggravated robbery, and two counts of aggravated assault and his resulting effective sentence of life plus ten years in the Department of Correction (DOC). He contends (1) that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and (2) that his attorney coerced him into pleading guilty. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.

The Davidson County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for one count of first degree felony murder and for one count of second degree murder. A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant of both offenses. The trial court merged the second degree murder conviction into the felony murder conviction and sentenced the Defendant to life imprisonment. The Defendant now appeals, arguing that insufficient evidence was presented at trial to convict him of first degree felony murder and of second degree murder. Concluding that sufficient evidence was presented to convict the Defendant for felony murder and second degree murder, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The appellant, Dennis R. Jenkins, pled guilty in the Rutherford County Circuit Court to possession of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, with intent to deliver. The trial court sentenced the appellant to three years to be served on probation and imposed a two thousand dollar ($2,000) fine. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant reserved the right to appeal as a certified question of law the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Appellant, Joseph Lance Risner, appeals from the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Pursuant to a "package deal" plea, Risner, along with five of his co-defendants, pled guilty to three counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of class D felony theft. On appeal, Risner presents the following issues for our review: (1) whether his plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered; (2) whether he was denied the effective assistance of counsel; and (3) whether the indictment, which did not include the aggravating circumstances qualifying him for the death penalty violates Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000), and is, thus, unconstitutional. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the Greene County Criminal Court.

The appellant, James Stanley Beckman, Sr., was indicted by the Bedford County Grand Jury on one count of theft over $10,000 in July 2001. After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted as a Range I offender, and sentenced to four years at thirty percent in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On January 4, 2002, the appellant filed a motion for a new trial which was denied on February 22, 2002. In this appeal, the appellant raises the issue of whether the evidence is sufficient for a conviction of theft of property over $10,000. After a review of this record we find that the evidence is sufficient. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.