APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

Tracy Rose Baker v. State of Tennessee

M2011-01381-CCA- R3-PC

The Appellant, Tracy Rose Baker, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of her petition for post-conviction relief. The Appellant asserts that her guilty plea to criminal contempt charges is void due to constitutional infirmities stemming from the chancery court’s failure to conduct an in-court guilty plea acceptance hearing at the time of her guilty plea. Because we conclude that the Post-Conviction Procedure Act is not applicable to the Petitioner’s criminal contempt convictions, we affirm the post-conviction court’s dismissal of the Appellant’s petition.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge David Earl Durham
Sumner County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/20/12
State of Tennessee v. Tucson Biggs

W2011-01182-CCA-R3-CD

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Tucson Biggs, of voluntary manslaughter. At the sentencing hearing, the State requested that the Defendant be sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender. The Defendant objected, claiming that the State did not comply with Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-202(a) by providing notice of its intent to seek an enhanced punishment. The trial court agreed with the Defendant and sentenced him to six years as a Range I offender. On appeal, the State contends that the Defendant was on notice that he would face an enhanced punishment because, before trial, the State filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty and a notice of intent to impeach the Defendant’s testimony with his prior convictions, which satisfied the statutory requirements. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we agree that the State’s filings satisfied the purposes of the statutory notice requirement. As such, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for a new sentencing hearing.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Chris Craft
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/20/12
Terrence Gardner v. State of Tennessee

W2011-01631-CCA-R3-PC

A Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Terrence Gardner, of first degree felony murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated assault, and he was sentenced to life plus four years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. This Court affirmed the Petitioner’s conviction on direct appeal. State v. Terrence Gardner, No. W2008-01089-CCA-R3-CD, 2009 WL 3172124 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Oct. 5, 2009), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Mar. 15, 2010). In 2010, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the postconviction court dismissed the petition. Finding no error, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge J. Robert Carter
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/20/12
State of Tennessee v. Gabriel Demon Williams

E2011-02092-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Gabriel Demon Williams, pled guilty to aggravated burglary, and the trial court sentenced him to five years of split confinement, with eleven months and twenty-nine days to be served in jail followed by intensive probation. The Defendant’s probation officer filed a probation violation warrant that alleged that the Defendant had violated the terms of his probation by being arrested for aggravated assault and driving on a suspended license. After a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered the Defendant to serve the balance of his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court improperly considered hearsay evidence during the revocation hearing and that its revocation order is contrary to the evidence. After reviewing the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Rebecca J. Stern
Hamilton County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/20/12
Ricky Sullivan v. Behlen Manufacturing Company, Inc.

W2011-01677-WC-R3-WC

In this workers’ compensation case, the employee suffered a compensable back injury. The trial court awarded 80% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. His employer appealed, asserting that the trial court erred by basing its award on the impairment rating of the employee’s evaluating physician, by accepting the employee’s testimony concerning his limitations in light of questions concerning his credibility, and by making an excessive award. We affirm the judgment.

Authoring Judge: Judge Donald P. Harris
Originating Judge:Judge Donald E. Parish
Carroll County Workers Compensation Panel 07/19/12
Dawn Ann Davis v. Daniel Pace Goodwin

W2012-00474-COA-R3-CV

Because the order appealed is not a final judgment, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Originating Judge:Judge Kenny W. Armstrong
Shelby County Court of Appeals 07/19/12
State of Tennessee v. John Adrian Day

E2010-01108-CCA-R3-CD

The defendant was indicted on numerous charges stemming from his involvement in a domestic dispute over goldfish that occurred on October 22, 2002. After a trial by jury in which the defendant was represented by counsel, the defendant was found guilty of domestic assault, a Class A misdemeanor, resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor, and assault, a Class B misdemeanor. He was sentenced to six months probation on each count, with these sentences to be served concurrently. After his conviction, the defendant dismissed his trial counsel, proceeded pro se, and filed pleadings in the trial court that were construed as a motion for new trial. The trial court dismissed the motion, and the defendant now raises numerous challenges to his convictions, including claims that we liberally construe as a challenges to the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, challenges to the trial court’s decisions concerning the admissibility and inadmissability of certain evidence, a challenge to the trial court’s failure to provide certain jury instructions, and claims that his due process and speedy trial rights were violated. After carefully reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we hold that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the defendant’s convictions, and we hold that the majority of the defendant’s remaining claims have been waived. We also hold that the defendant’s due process rights were not violated by the trial court. Consequently, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Originating Judge:Judge Russell Simmons, Jr.
Roane County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/18/12
State of Tennessee v. Keith Howard

M2011-00621-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant, Keith Howard, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his probation sentence. Defendant pled guilty to selling more than .5 grams of cocaine with an agreed ten-year sentence, which was suspended except for ninety days, with credit for time served. The remainder of the ninety days was to be served on weekends. Subsequently, a probation violation warrant was filed, which alleged that Defendant had failed to follow his probation officer’s instruction that he submit to a drug test and that he absconded during his drug screen. Following the hearing the trial court revoked Defendant’s probation and entered a judgment placing Defendant’s original sentence into effect. We conclude that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s finding of a violation, and that the trial court did not err by placing the original sentence into effect by ordering service in confinement. We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Judge Cheryl Blackburn
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/18/12
Vivian Yvonne Armstrong v. State of Tennessee

M2011-00664-CCA-R3-PC

Petitioner, Vivian Armstrong, appeals the dismissal of her petition for post-conviction relief in which she alleged that her guilty plea was unknowingly and involuntarily entered due to the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. More specifically she contends that (1) trial counsel “scared” her into pleading guilty; (2) counsel failed to adequately meet with her and was unprepared to go to trial; and (3) counsel used the “safety valve” as an incentive to induce her into pleading guilty. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel, and we accordingly affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/18/12
State of Tennessee v. Jerome Sidney Barrett

M2010-00444-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Jerome Sidney Barrett, was found guilty by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of first degree murder for the 1975 homicide of S.D. See T.C.A. § 39-2402 (1975) (amended 1977, 1979, 1988) (renumbered at § 39-2-202) (repealed 1989). He was sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, he contends that: (1) the evidence was not sufficient to support the conviction; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence; (3) the trial court erred in denying the motion to dismiss the indictment pursuant to State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999), and alternatively, in failing to instruct the jury regarding the lack of an autopsy report; (4) the trial court erred in admitting evidence for which the chain of custody was not sufficiently shown; (5) the trial court erred in admitting an inmate’s testimony about the Defendant’s prior statements and improperly redacting the statements; (6) the trial court erred in admitting altered photographs; (7) the trial court limited the Defendant’s ability to present a defense by failing to rule definitively that evidence of the Defendant’s other crimes was inadmissible; (8) the trial court erred in denying the defense motion for expert services to assist in the motion for new trial; and (9) the Defendant’s due process rights were violated by the cumulative effect of the errors. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
 

Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Judge Steve Dozier
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/18/12
John Van Zyll and Ann Furlong v. Phil Mitchell

E2011-00489-COA-R3-CV

This appeal involves a dispute between neighbors. Plaintiffs live in a home next door to the defendant neighbor. The defendant neighbor embarked on a campaign of harassment that included, among other things, blasting an air horn in the wee hours on intermittent nights. The air horn blasts occurred on over forty nights. The plaintiffs filed the instant lawsuit against the noisome neighbor, seeking injunctive relief and compensatory damages. Summonses were issued on two occasions, but no return of summons was filed with the trial court. The defendant neighbor wrote a pro se letter to the trial court, acknowledging receipt of a notice of hearing, but no other papers, and stating that he would not appear at the hearing. After the hearing, the trial court issued an injunction and awarded a default judgment for compensatory damages to the plaintiffs. The defendant neighbor then filed a Rule 60.02 motion to set aside the judgment, based on failure to serve process. This motion was granted. Pursuant to the defendant neighbor’s motion, the trial court then dismissed the complaint. The plaintiffs now appeal, arguing that the defendant neighbor’s pro se letter constituted an appearance and that the trial court erred in setting aside the default judgment and dismissing the complaint. We affirm.

Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Originating Judge:Chancellor Frank V. Williams
Roane County Court of Appeals 07/17/12
Dixie A. Willis, et al. v. David A. West, D.O.

W2011-01856-COA-R3-CV

The trial court denied Plaintiffs’ Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 60.02 motion to set aside a second order of voluntary nonsuit in this medical malpractice action. We affirm.

Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Originating Judge:Judge R. Lee Moore, Jr.
Dyer County Court of Appeals 07/17/12
State of Tennessee v. Michael W. Hunter

M2011-00535-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant, Michael W. Hunter, was indicted by the Dickson County Grand Jury for aggravated robbery. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted as charged and sentenced by the trial court to 10 years’ incarceration. Defendant appeals his conviction and assigns the following errors: 1) the trial court abused its discretion by admitting into evidence a garbage bag found in Defendant’s vehicle after the robbery; and 2) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments by improperly arguing facts not in evidence. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Judge Robert E. Burch
Dickson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/17/12
State of Tennessee v. Marcus Deangelo Lee aka Marcus Deangelo Jones

W2011-02160-CCA-R3-CD

In 1995, the Defendant, Marcus Deangelo Lee a/k/a Marcus Deangelo Jones, pled guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell, unlawful possession of a deadly weapon with intent to commit a crime, and sale of cocaine, and the trial court sentenced him to three years in the county workhouse. Between 2006 and present, the Petitioner has filed several pleadings challenging his convictions, including a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, a postconviction petition, a motion for delayed appeal, and a motion to reopen his post-conviction proceedings. All of these motions were denied or dismissed, and this Court affirmed their denial or dismissal. In 2011, the Petitioner filed a “Motion For Clarification and Correction of Clerical Error in Judgment . . . [,]” alleging that the 1995 handwritten judgments were obscured and illegible. The trial court reviewed the judgments, found them legible and without error, and denied the Defendant’s motion. It is from this judgment that the Defendant now appeals. Finding that the Defendant has no right of appeal from the denial of a Motion to Correct a Clerical Error, the Defendant’s appeal is dismissed.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge James Lammey
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/17/12
Gregory L. Smith v. State of Tennessee

M2012-00115-COA-R3-CV

This case involves the denial of a handgun carry permit by the Department of Safety to an individual who had previously been convicted of a felony and sentenced to two years in the Department of Correction. The applicant appealed to the General Sessions Court, which reversed the decision of the Department of Safety. The Department of Safety then appealed to Circuit Court, which affirmed the General Sessions Court and held that the applicant was entitled to obtain a handgun carry permit because his full civil rights had been restored upon the issuance of a Certificate of Restoration of Voting Rights. We hold that the applicant is not entitled to obtain a handgun carry permit pursuant to Tennessee law because the applicant’s right to seek and hold public office has not been restored by a court of competent jurisdiction. Reversed and remanded.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge J. Steven Stafford
Originating Judge:Judge John Wooten
Macon County Court of Appeals 07/17/12
Taurus Merriweather v. State of Tennessee

W2011-01271-CCA-R3-PC

The Petitioner, Taurus Merriweather, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for second degree murder and effective twenty-five-year sentence. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by finding that counsel provided the effective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Judge Chris Craft
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/17/12
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey O. Short aka Jeffery O'Neal Short

E2011-01417-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant-Appellant, Jeffrey O. Short a.k.a. Jeffery O’Neal Short a.k.a. Jeffrey Oneal Short, pleaded guilty in the Hamilton County Criminal Court to two counts of burglary of a business, a Class D felony. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the trial court erred in ordering Short to serve the sentences consecutively. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge Barry A. Steelman
Hamilton County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Alfonso Sigala

M2011-02517-CCA-R3-CD

Joseph Alfonso Sigala (“the Defendant”) pleaded guiltyto two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of theft between $1,000 and $10,000, but the plea left open the issue of sentencing. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the Defendant to serve an effective five-and-a-half-year sentence in confinement. The Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by: (1) admitting the Defendant’s social networking web page as an exhibit; (2) denying judicial diversion; (3) improperly applying the statutory enhancing and mitigating factors; (4) finding that the Defendant lacked credibility; and (5) denying the Defendant probation. Upon a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge Timothy L. Easter
Williamson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
Rhonda Medley v.State of Tennessee

M2010-01181-CCA-R3-PC

Rhonda Medley (“the petitioner” or “the defendant”) was convicted by a jury of five counts of rape of a child. Her convictions were affirmed on appeal. She filed the instant petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief following an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, she asserts that her trial counsel performed ineffectively by failing to advise her properly regarding her right to testify at trial and by failing to call certain witnesses. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge Robert Crigler
Bedford County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
State of Tennessee v. Gary Allen Carlton

M2011-01152-CCA-R3-CD

Gary Allen Carlton (“the Defendant”) was convicted after a bench trial of one count of impersonating a licenced professional and one count of violating the Home Improvement Contractors Licensing Act. After a hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective term of two years, with 120 days to be served and the remainder on probation. The Defendant has appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and his sentence. Upon our thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
State of Tennessee v. Ray Jerome Odom

M2010-01032-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant, Ray Jerome Odom, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for first degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. The trial court granted Defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to felony murder and aggravated assault. Defendant was convicted by a jury of the lesser included offense of second degree murder and sentenced by the trial court to 18 years confinement, to be served at 100 percent. In this appeal as of right, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Judge Seth Norman
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
Alan Ray Hall v. Howard Carlton, Warden

E2012-00430-CCA-R3-HC

The petitioner, Alan Ray Hall, filed a petition for habeas corpus relief from his conviction of first degree murder, contending that the trial court erroneously advised him during the plea proceedings that he was potentially eligible for release after service of twenty- five years of his life sentence. The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition, finding that the issue was previously determined, that the judgment was not void, and that the sentence had not expired. The petitioner appeals this ruling. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge Robert E. Cupp
Johnson County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
State of Tennessee v. Randy Boxley

W2011-02054-CCA-R3-CD

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Randy Boxley, was convicted of robbery, a Class C felony, and sentenced as a multiple offender to eight years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the identification evidence was faulty, and without this, the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge James C. Beasley Jr.
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/16/12
Kenneth A. Parigin , et al v. M. Shane Mills, et al

E2012-00418-COA-R3-CV

On February 23, 2012, M. Shane Mills (“Defendant”) filed a notice of appeal of an order entered by the Trial Court on January 24, 2012. On June 12, 2012, this Court entered an order directing Defendant to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed as premature. Defendant did not respond to the show cause order. We dismiss this appeal for lack of a final judgment.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Michael Swiney
Originating Judge:Judge Daryl R. Fansler
Knox County Court of Appeals 07/13/12
State of Tennessee v. James W. Rembert

M2011-00532-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, James W. Rembert, entered an open plea to offenses alleged in two separate indictments: a four-count indictment for burglary, theft, vandalism, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and an additional indictment for aggravated perjury.On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing was error because the trial court “erroneously presumed” that the Defendant was on bond for offenses in the four-count indictment when the offense of aggravated perjury was committed. Because no error of law requiring a reversal of the judgment is apparent on the record, and the evidence in the record does not preponderate against the findings of the trial court, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas
Originating Judge:Judge Larry Wallace
Stewart County Court of Criminal Appeals 07/13/12