State of Tennessee v. James Arthur Johnson
The pro se Defendant, James Arthur Johnson, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s summary denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Rule 36.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lorenza Zackery v. State of Tennesse
The Petitioner, Lorenza Zackery, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that his convictions are invalid because the trial court clerk failed to file-stamp his judgments of conviction. We affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gregory L. Hatton
The pro se Defendant, Gregory L. Hatton, appeals the Giles County Circuit Court’s summary denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Rule 36.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mack Transou
Defendant, Mack Transou, seeks appellate review of his motion to reopen his post-conviction petition, which has its origin in the rapes he committed over seventeen years ago. After a review of the filings in this case, we conclude that Defendant failed to meet the procedural requirements for seeking review of the dismissal of his motion and that Defendant’s claims are devoid of merit and frivolous. Therefore, we dismiss the appeal. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jay R. Hassman v. State of Tennessee
Defendant, Jay R. Hassman, pled guilty to unspecified charges in August of 2016 in exchange for a four-year sentence to be served on probation. The trial court subsequently revoked Defendant’s probation after a hearing and ordered Defendant to serve his original sentence. Defendant filed a “Motion for New Revocation Hearing” in which he argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the revocation hearing. The trial court denied relief on the basis that the motion was untimely as a motion for reduction of sentence under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 35 and that the motion could not be construed as a petition for post-conviction relief. After a review of the scant record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Martinos Derring
Defendant, Martinos Derring, was convicted by a jury of robbery, theft, felony evading arrest, and evading arrest. The trial court sentenced Defendant to a total effective sentence of fourteen years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days. Defendant appealed, asserting various challenges to his convictions and effective sentence. On appeal, we determine that the trial court should have merged Defendant’s convictions for robbery and theft and committed a clerical error by marking the box rendering Defendant infamous for misdemeanor evading arrest. For those reasons, we reverse and remand to the trial court for entry of amended judgment forms. In all other respects, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Larry Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Larry Johnson, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis from his 1999 conviction for first degree premeditated murder and his sentence of life imprisonment. The Petitioner contends that the court erred by denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jamie C. Moore
Defendant, Jamie C. Moore, appeals his convictions for possession with intent to sell and deliver more than .5 grams of cocaine and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. In his appeal, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions under a theory of criminal responsibility because he did not benefit from the proceeds of the drug sales. After a review, we conclude that Defendant received a benefit when he received drugs for his personal use. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand for entry of a corrected judgment document for Count Two reflecting its merger with Count One. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Felicia Graham
The Defendant-Appellant, Felicia Graham, appeals from the revocation of her supervised probation sentence by the Blount County Circuit Court, arguing that the trial court erred in revoking her probation and ordering her to serve the remainder of her sentence in confinement. Upon review, we affirm. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Reginold C. Steed v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Reginold C. Steed, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, he argues: (1) post-trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to present evidence that the victim allegedly recanted his trial testimony identifying the Petitioner as the perpetrator; (2) the post-conviction court erred in failing to notify him of the date of the post-conviction hearing; and (3) the trial court erred in failing to consider the victim’s alleged recantation during sentencing. We affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. However, we remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment form in Count 2, as specified in this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ytockie Fuller v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Ytockie Fuller, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, in which he challenged his convictions for first degree premeditated murder and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction and his effective sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus eight years. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial due to trial counsel’s failure to: (1) request a limiting instruction regarding an audio recording of the murder; (2) object to the prosecutor’s comments regarding the Petitioner’s silence following his arrest; and (3) object to the prosecutor’s statements regarding the forensic pathologist’s testimony. Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Yates
Petitioner, Jeffery Yates, sought correction of a clerical error in his judgment from a 2003 conviction for aggravated robbery. After the trial court corrected the judgment, Petitioner appealed. On appeal, Petitioner alleges that the trial court was without jurisdiction to amend the judgment, that the trial court failed to find the original judgment contained a clerical error, and that the amended judgment is incomplete. We determine that the amended judgment form is incomplete because it does not specify that Petitioner is a Career Offender, and we remand the matter to the trial court for correction of the judgment form. In all other respects, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terrell L. Lawrence
Defendant, Terrell L. Lawrence, appeals the trial court’s summary dismissal of his pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. Having reviewed the record and the briefs of the parties, we conclude that Defendant has failed to state a cognizable claim for relief, and therefore, the trial court did not err in summarily dismissing Defendant’s motion. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Taylor Satterfield
The Defendant-Appellant, Taylor Satterfield, was indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury for first degree premediated murder, tampering with evidence, and unlawful possession of a deadly weapon. He then filed a motion to suppress his statement to police, which was denied. After the State dismissed the tampering with evidence and weapon charges, the Defendant’s case proceeded to a jury trial on the first degree murder charge, and he was convicted of the lesser included offense of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-two years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement; (2) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction; and (3) he received an excessive sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Windall Sherell Edwards aka "Woo"
Defendant, Windall Sherell Edwards, also known as “Woo,” was convicted by a jury of first degree murder, theft of property valued at $500 or less, and felon in possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to an effective sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Defendant appeals the judgments of the trial court, arguing that the evidence was not sufficient to prove premeditation for the first degree murder conviction. Because we conclude that the evidence was sufficient, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Samuel Enrique Mendez
The Defendant, Samuel Enrique Mendez, was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony; and five counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-504, -522. Prior to trial, the State dismissed one of the aggravated sexual battery counts and three of the rape of a child counts. At the close of the State’s proof, the State requested that the remaining aggravated sexual battery count also be dismissed. The jury then convicted the Defendant of the remaining two counts of rape of a child, and the trial court imposed a total effective sentence of fifty-four years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in allowing a defense character witness to be cross-examined about a specific instance of the Defendant’s conduct. Following our review, we conclude that the trial court did not comply with the requirements of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 405 in allowing the witness to be cross examined about the specific instance of the Defendant’s conduct, and that the error was not harmless. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jamie N. Grimes v. State of Tennessee
The Davidson County Criminal Court denied the Petitioner’s petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction of selling twenty-six grams or more of cocaine within one thousand feet of a school and resulting twenty-five-year sentence. The Petitioner appealed to this court, arguing that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that the State violated the mandatory joinder rule, and we affirmed the judgment of the post-conviction court. However, in a footnote to our opinion, we noted errors in the post-conviction court’s order that did not accurately reflect what occurred at the post-conviction evidentiary hearing. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the Petitioner’s application for permission to appeal, vacated the judgment of this court, and remanded the case to the post-conviction court for entry of a corrected order denying the petition for post-conviction relief. The amended order is now before us. Upon reconsideration of the record and the parties’ briefs, we again affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joletta Hinson-Bull v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Joletta Hinson-Bull, pleaded guilty to theft of property valued at more than $1,000, criminal impersonation, and driving on a revoked license. She agreed to be sentenced as a Range III offender to an effective sentence of ten years, to be served consecutively to her sentence from a conviction in a different county. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that her counsel was ineffective and that her guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied her post-conviction relief. After review, we affirm the postconviction court’s judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marlo Davis v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Marlo Davis, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his second degree murder and reckless homicide convictions. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jerald Jefferson v. State of Tennessee
Jerald Jefferson, Petitioner, was convicted of aggravated rape and sentenced to twenty-five years’ incarceration and his conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. His petition for post-conviction relief was denied by the post-conviction court after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner claims that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to file a motion pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 412 to allow cross-examination of the victim about an alleged consensual sexual encounter between the victim and Petitioner. After a thorough review of the facts and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sadegh Babanzadeh
The Defendant, Sadegh Babanzadeh, was convicted of one count each of tampering with evidence and filing a false report. The trial court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for tampering with evidence and a three-year sentence for filing a false report, to run concurrently, with a year to be served in the Department of Correction, and the remainder of the sentences to be served on probation. The Defendant argues on appeal that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. After thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Delmontae Godwin
Defendant, Delmontae Godwin, was convicted of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery and sentenced to an effective sentence of twelve years, to be served consecutively to a sentence from another conviction. Defendant appeals his sentence, arguing that the trial court erred by sentencing him to the maximum sentence for each conviction. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Howard P. Fisher
Following a bench trial, the Defendant, Howard P. Fisher, was convicted of aggravated assault and criminal trespass, for which he received a ten-year sentence and a $50 fine, respectively. In his direct appeal, the Defendant argued (1) that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of aggravated assault; (2) that the trial court erred in granting the State a continuance for sentencing; and (3) that the trial court erred in denying his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Upon review, this court affirmed the judgments of the trial court but declined to review the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel finding that the Defendant “raised a general claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in his motion for a new trial. His motion did not include any issues pertaining to trial counsel’s performance or facts in support of his claim.” State v. Howard P. Fisher, No. M2017-00975-CCA-R3-CD, 2018 WL 3060369, at *1, *5 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 20, 2018), perm. app. granted and case remanded, No. M2017-00975-SC-R11-CD (Tenn. Sept. 13, 2018) (order). On September 13, 2018, the Tennessee Supreme Court granted the Defendant’s application for permission to appeal and remanded the case to this court to discuss the merits of the Defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. State v. Howard P. Fisher, No. M2017-00975-SC-R11-CD (Tenn. Sept. 13, 2018) (order). Upon further review, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Nicholas Wyatt Barish
The Defendant-Appellant, Nicholas Wyatt Barish, was convicted by a Knox County jury of two counts of first degree felony murder and one count of second degree murder, see Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-202, -210, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions of first degree felony murder because he did not have the requisite mental state to commit the predicate crimes of theft, burglary, and robbery. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher Lee Blunkall v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Christopher Lee Blunkall, appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his jury conviction for rape of a child. On appeal, the Petitioner alleges that he received ineffective assistance because trial counsel (1) failed to file suppression motions concerning multiple items of evidence, including the text message communications between the Petitioner and the victim, certain phone records, the Petitioner’s banking records and the automated teller machine (“ATM”) surveillance video showing the Petitioner’s withdrawing money, the traffic stop, and the Petitioner’s statement to the police; (2) failed to rebut the medical testimony from the State’s expert; and (3) failed to pursue a preliminary hearing, adequately investigate the victim’s background, or vigorously cross examine and impeach the victim. The Petitioner further contends that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by failing to provide the defense with favorable evidence—the victim’s juvenile record—and by certain statements made during closing arguments. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals |
