APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

A mother appeals the chancery court’s decision to terminate her parental rights based on
the grounds of abandonment by failure to visit and support and severe child abuse. The
mother also challenges the chancery court’s finding by clear and convincing evidence that
termination of her parental rights was in the best interest of the child. The petitioners
challenge the chancery court’s dismissal of persistence of conditions ground for
termination. We reverse the court’s decision to terminate based on abandonment by failure
to visit and support, but we affirm the court’s decision in all other aspects.

The defendant, Philip Mainer, appeals his conviction of aggravated cruelty to animals that
he received following a bench trial before the Sullivan County Criminal Court. On appeal,
the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. Upon
review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Sevier County jury convicted Defendant, Gabriel Enrique Turcios, of first-degree
premeditated murder. At sentencing, the jury found that the murder was especially
heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that
necessary to produce death, and sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility
of parole. On appeal, he claims the evidence is insufficient to support the application of
the aggravating circumstance for the sentence. After a thorough review of the record and
the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This appeal concerns the approval of a site plan.  William Foehring, Janice Foehring, William Best, Mary Beth Best, Ron Terrill, and Sandra Terrill (“Petitioners”) filed a petition for common law writ of certiorari against the Monteagle Regional Planning Commission (“the Commission”) and RBT Enterprises, LLC (“RBT”) (collectively, “Respondents”) in the Chancery Court for Marion County (“the Trial Court”).  Petitioners alleged that the Commission acted illegally, arbitrarily, and capriciously in approving the site plan at issue because the underlying zoning for one of the parcels is invalid.  The Trial Court ruled in favor of Respondents.  Petitioners appeal.  In a parallel declaratory judgment action case arising out of the same facts, we determined that the underlying zoning is valid, which is dispositive of this appeal.  We affirm the Trial Court.

Anthony D. Martin, Petitioner, was convicted of rape of a child and sentenced to 40 years
in incarceration. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. State v.
Anthony Martin, Alias, No. E2018-01066-CCA-R3-CD, 2019 WL 2714379, at *1 (Tenn.
Crim. App. June 28, 2019), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Oct. 11, 2019). Petitioner sought
post-conviction relief based on several alleged instances of ineffective assistance of
counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief and dismissed the petition after a hearing.
This appeal followed. After a review, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

A Robertson County jury convicted Kemontea Dovon McKinney (“Defendant”), a juvenile at the time of the offenses, of aggravated robbery, premeditated first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, and theft of property valued at over $10,000. The trial court merged the murder convictions and merged the theft conviction into the aggravated robbery conviction. The trial court imposed a life sentence for the murder conviction and eight years for the aggravated robbery conviction. This appeal concerns whether Defendant’s pretrial statement to detectives was voluntary, whether Defendant validly waived his Miranda rights, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for premeditated first-degree murder. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress and admitted Defendant’s pretrial statement into evidence. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed. We granted the State’s application for permission to appeal to consider whether the intermediate court erred when it stated that an involuntary confession claim is “inextricably linked” to a Miranda-waiver claim, such that the two inquiries can be considered together. We also granted the State’s application to consider whether the Court of Criminal Appeals erred in determining that the evidence was insufficient to support Defendant’s conviction for premeditated first-degree murder. After review, we conclude that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred with respect to the issues raised by the State. We reiterate that the voluntariness test is distinct from the test for Miranda waiver, despite similarities between the analyses. After separately considering both questions, we conclude that Defendant’s overall statement was voluntary and his Miranda waiver was both knowing and voluntary. Additionally, we conclude that the evidence presented by the State was sufficient to support Defendant’s conviction for premeditated first-degree murder. We reverse the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals and reinstate the trial court’s judgments.

Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights on five grounds: (1) abandonment by
failure to visit the children; (2) abandonment by failure to financially support the children;
(3) substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans; (4) persistence of conditions;
and (5) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to care for the children. Discerning no
reversible error, we affirm.

This is an appeal arising from allegations of fraud and breach of contract in a dispute
surrounding a stock transfer agreement that, among other things, provided for the transfer
of controlling interest in a law firm from attorney Robert Hill to attorney Ricky Boren.
Whereas many claims were resolved at summary judgment, others were tried before a jury
and resolved in the Plaintiffs’ favor. The parties present a plethora of issues for our
consideration, and for the reasons stated herein, we affirm the judgment of the trial court
and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

This appeal arises from the dismissal of a petition for common law writ of certiorari in which the petitioner, an inmate in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”), appeals a disciplinary conviction for “unauthorized financial transactions activity” by the Disciplinary Board at the Turney Center Industrial Complex. The respondents, the State of Tennessee and several governmental officials, filed a joint motion to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petition was not properly verified as required by Tennessee Code Annotated § 27-8-104 and the petitioner failed to pay the mandatory initial filing fee pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 41-21-807. The chancery court granted the motion and dismissed the petition with prejudice on the grounds “the statutory requirements of T.C.A. § 27-8-104 and § 41-21-807 are mandatory and have not been met in this case, and failure to comply results in a defective filing by the Petitioner[.]” This appeal followed. We reverse the decision to dismiss based on the filing fee requirements under Tennessee Code Annotated § 41-21-807. Nevertheless, we affirm the dismissal of the petition with prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on the petitioner’s failure to file a petition that complied with the verification requirements under Tennessee Code Annotated § 27-8-104 within 60 days of the entry of the judgment of which the petitioner seeks review.

The Defendant, Michael Wojnarek, appeals the revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his original sentence in confinement, arguing that the trial court erred by considering evidence found in violation of the Fourth Amendment and by failing to make adequate findings in support of its decision. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This is an appeal involving the termination of parental rights.  The trial court terminated the parental rights of the mother and the fathers of the children on the following grounds: (1) abandonment by failure to support; (2) substantial noncompliance with a permanency plan; (3) persistent conditions; and (4) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody. The trial court also found that termination was in the best interest of the children.  Only the mother appeals. We affirm.

Because the order appealed from does not constitute a final appealable judgment, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

This appeal concerns whether a municipality must have a general plan for development before it can exercise its zoning power. William Foehring, Janice Foehring, William Best, Mary Beth Best, Ron Terrill, and Sandra Terrill (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) sued the Town of Monteagle, Tennessee (“the Town”) and RBT Enterprises, LLC (“RBT”)1 (collectively, “Defendants”) for declaratory judgment in the Chancery Court for Marion County (“the Trial Court”). Plaintiffs challenged the rezoning of a certain parcel which allowed for the development of a truck stop near their homes. Plaintiffs argued that the zoning ordinances at issue, 05-21 and 12-21, were invalid because the Town had no comprehensive or general plan in effect. The Trial Court ruled in favor of Defendants. Plaintiffs appeal. We hold, inter alia, that no comprehensive or general plan was required before the Town could exercise its zoning powers. It was sufficient that the Monteagle Regional Planning Commission (“the Commission”) transmitted to the Town Board of Mayor and Aldermen (“the Board”), the Town’s chief legislative body, the text of a zoning ordinance and zoning maps, which comprised the zoning plan. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court.

The Defendant, Miron D. Johnson, was convicted by a Dyer County jury of evading arrest,
a Class D felony; misdemeanor evading arrest; felony reckless endangerment; and driving
on a revoked license, fourth offense. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence
was insufficient to sustain his convictions for felony evading arrest and felony reckless
endangerment. Relative to his felony evading arrest conviction, the Defendant specifically
argues that his conduct did not create a risk of death or injury to others. For his felony
reckless endangerment conviction, the Defendant argues that his vehicle was not used as a
deadly weapon and that the threat of death or serious bodily injury was not imminent. The
Defendant further contends that the trial court erred by imposing fines without making
findings regarding the Defendant’s ability to pay. Following our review, we affirm the
judgments of the trial court.

Following a bench trial, the Appellant, Charles Rutledge, was convicted of second-degree murder, for which he received a sentence of twenty-eight years’ imprisonment. In this appeal, the Appellant presents two issues for review: 1) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain his conviction, and 2) whether the State failed to disclose witness information in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). Upon our review, we affirm.

The defendant, Isaias Rodriguez, was convicted of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and
sentenced to forty years at 100% in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant
argues: (1) there was insufficient proof of the forensic interviewer’s years of experience as
required by statute for admission of the victim’s forensic interview; (2) the trial court erred
in failing to make specific findings regarding the qualifications of the child advocacy center
as required by statute for admission of the victim’s forensic interview; and (3) the evidence
is insufficient to sustain the defendant’s conviction without the improperly admitted
forensic interview of the victim. After review, we affirm the trial court’s finding regarding
the interviewer’s years of experience and determine the defendant has waived his issue
regarding the qualifications of the child advocacy center. In addition, we determine that
the evidence is sufficient to sustain the defendant’s conviction. Therefore, we affirm the
judgment of the trial court.

Mother appeals the trial court’s termination of her parental rights as to two of her children.
The trial court found as grounds for termination abandonment for failure to provide a
suitable home, persistent conditions, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to
assume legal and physical custody of the children. The trial court also found that
termination was in the best interest of both children. We find clear and convincing
evidence supports the trial court’s findings as to the grounds for termination and the best
interests of the children. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the Defendant, Latosha Starks-Twilley, of
first degree premeditated murder, and the trial court imposed a sentence of life
imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant argues: (1) the trial court erred in allowing the
State to ask the defense expert prejudicial questions; (2) the trial court erred in allowing
the State to ask the defense expert whether the Defendant met the criteria for antisocial
personality disorder; (3) the trial court erred in prohibiting the defense from asking its own
expert about whether the Defendant lacked the capacity to form the mens rea required for
the offense; (4) the trial court erred in denying the Defendant’s request for the pattern jury
instruction on reckless homicide; (5) the trial court erred in admitting certain photographs
of the deceased victim into evidence; and (6) the evidence is insufficient to sustain her
conviction. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I have the privilege to join the majority’s well-reasoned opinion in large part. For example, I agree that a post-conviction petitioner cannot raise a stand-alone claim seeking dismissal based upon an alleged legal insufficiency of the convicting evidence. I also agree that the Petitioner here has not shown that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel with respect to the victim’s testimony and the in-court identification.2 Finally, I agree that trial counsel rendered deficient performance in failing to raise and argue that the accomplice’s testimony was not sufficiently corroborated. Where I respectfully part ways with the majority concerns its analysis of whether the Petitioner has shown that the reliability of his verdict was undermined by trial counsel’s failure to argue a lack of corroboration.

The notice of appeal in this case was not timely filed. Therefore, this Court lacks
jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

The Defendant, Tinisha Nicole Spencer, appeals her jury conviction for driving under the
influence, fifth offense. The trial court sentenced her to two years suspended after service
of 150 days in jail. On appeal, the Defendant challenges whether the State established an
unbroken chain of custody for her blood sample, whether the sentence enhancement counts
were void because they included the dates of the prior offenses rather than the dates of
conviction as required by statute, and whether the sentence enhancement counts vested the
trial court with jurisdiction to sentence her as a multiple offender because they incorporated
a facially void judgment. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Tavarius Goliday, was convicted in the Montgomery County Circuit Court
of first degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and reckless
endangerment with a deadly weapon and received an effective sentence of life in
confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by overruling
his objection to evidence about a gang-related tattoo on his hand and that the evidence is
insufficient to support his convictions. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the
parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand the case for correction
of the judgment of conviction as to count one, first degree murder.

Appellants filed a petition for common law writ of certiorari, seeking judicial review of
Appellee Fayette County Board of Zoning Appeals’ grant of a special exception to other
Appellees for the construction of a solar farm. The trial court denied the writ of certiorari.
Discerning no error, we affirm.

This is an administrative property tax appeal concerning the classification of real property
for ad valorem tax purposes. This action originated with a taxpayer appeal of the property
valuation by the Sevier County property assessor. On appeal, the administrative law judge
re-classified the property as commercial, resulting in a tax assessment of 40% of the fair
market property value. The Assessment Appeals Commission reversed the classification.
The trial court affirmed the reversal. We now reinstate the commercial classification.

This is an administrative property tax appeal concerning the classification of real property
for ad valorem tax purposes. This action originated with a taxpayer appeal of the property
valuation by the Sevier County property assessor. On appeal, the administrative law judge
re-classified the property as commercial, resulting in a tax assessment of 40% of the fair
market property value. The Assessment Appeals Commission reversed the classification.
The trial court affirmed the reversal. We now reinstate the commercial classification.