State of Tennessee v. Dallas Sarden

The Defendant-Appellant, Dallas Sarden, was convicted by a Washington County jury of first-degree felony murder and robbery, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus five years. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the State committed prosecutorial misconduct and whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the Defendant’s request for a mistrial based on the same; (2) whether the trial court erred in allowing the introduction of pre-recorded testimony of the forensic pathologist and whether the photographs displayed during the testimony unduly prejudiced the Defendant; (3) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the Defendant’s convictions; and (4) whether the Defendant is entitled to relief under the cumulative error doctrine. After a thorough review of the relevant facts and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.