Steven James Rollins v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Steven James Rollins, filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief from his convictions of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery. The post-conviction court denied Petitioner relief on all grounds related to the guilt phase of the trial but granted a new sentencing hearing on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. The State is not challenging the grant of a new sentencing hearing. The Petitioner appeals the post-conviction court’s ruling denying relief as to the guilt phase of the trial. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that a biased juror served on his jury, that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys failed to voir dire potential jurors properly, and that his mental retardation exempts him from the death penalty. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the Petitioner was denied his constitutional rights to a fair and impartial jury and that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. Therefore, the Petitioner’s convictions are reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for a new trial. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Lewis Smith
The defendant, Bobby Lewis Smith, was convicted by a Clay County jury of delivery of a schedule III controlled substance, a Class D felony. He was subsequently sentenced, as a Range III offender, to serve nine years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he contends: (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict; (2) that the trial court erred in allowing admission of a videotape in violation of the Confrontation Clause and authentication rules; and (3) that ordering service of the nine-year term resulted in an excessive sentence. Following review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Clay | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Eric Lebron Hale
A Marion County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Eric Lebron Hale, of aggravated robbery, and the trial court imposed a sentence of 17 years’ incarceration. In this appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and contends that the jury instructions provided by the trial court resulted in an improper constructive amendment to the indictment, that a fatal variance existed between the indictment and the proof adduced at trial, that the trial court erred by admitting the testimony of a certain witness, that the trial court committed errors in juryinstructions granted and refused, and that the cumulative effect of the errors deprived him of the right to a fair trial. Because the evidence was insufficient to support the defendant’s conviction of aggravated robbery as it was charged in the indictment, and because the jury instructions on the offense of aggravated robbery resulted in an improper constructive amendment of the indictment, and because a fatal variance existed between the indictment and proof adduced at trial, the defendant’s conviction of aggravated robbery is reversed. In its stead we impose a conviction of the lesser included offense of theft of property valued at $500 or less and remand the case to the trial court for a sentencing hearing on the newly-imposed misdemeanor conviction. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Bernette Driver
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Joseph Bernette Driver, of facilitation of aggravated robbery and evading arrest. The trial court sentenced the Defendant, a Range I standard offender, to six years for the facilitation of aggravated robbery conviction and a concurrent term of eleven months and twenty-nine days for the evading arrest conviction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the show-up identification; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for facilitation of aggravated robbery; and (3) the trial court erred by imposing the maximum sentence for the conviction of facilitation of aggravated robbery. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jerry Lee Hunter v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jerry Lee Hunter, appeals the Marshall County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for especially aggravated robbery, for which he is serving an eighteen-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that his entry of a guilty plea was unknowing, involuntary, and unintelligent because he did not receive the effective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joshua Jameel Bond v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Joshua Jameel Bond, filed this petition for post-conviction relief challenging his 2009 guilty-pleaded conviction for second degree murder, which was amended from first degree murder. Petitioner agreed to an out-of-range sentence of forty years. As grounds for relief, petitioner argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate certain witnesses and evidence and that he was unaware of the nature and consequences of his guilty plea. The post-conviction court conducted an evidentiary hearing and denied relief. Our review of the record and the parties’ briefs reveals no error; thus, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Jarvis Shipp
A grand jury indicted appellant, Michael Jarvis Shipp, for one count of first degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery. A jury found him guilty of first degree murder and the lesser-included offense of aggravated robbery, for which the trial court imposed concurrent sentences of life and eight years, respectively. On appeal, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence underlying both counts. We find that the evidence was sufficient to convict appellant on both counts and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brenda Holliman v. State of Tennessee
A Shelby County jury convicted petitioner, Brenda Holliman, of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The trial court sentenced her to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Subsequently, she filed the instant petition for a writ of error coram nobis, claiming that a co-defendant recanted statements he made at his guilty plea hearing and that the recantation constitutes newly discovered evidence. The coram nobis court summarily dismissed the petition based on the statute of limitations. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the coram nobis court and remand the matter for an evidentiary hearing. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Patrick Trawick v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Patrick Trawick, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by advising him not to testify at trial, which precluded him from presenting his only viable defense. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles W. White Sr.
The defendant, Charles W. White, Sr., was convicted of driving under the influence (“DUI”) by a Henderson County Circuit Court jury and sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days, with all but forty-eight hours suspended. His driver’s license was also suspended for one year for violation of the implied consent law. On appeal, he challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress the stop of his vehicle. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brandon Sean Sutton
A Jefferson County jury convicted appellant, Brandon Sean Sutton, of first degree murder, and he received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. On appeal, appellant argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (2) the trial court erred when it admitted certain photographs; (3) emotional displays from the victim’s family violated his right to a fair trial; (4) the evidence did not support the sentence of life without parole; (5) the victim impact evidence was improper; and (6) the trial judge did not follow proper procedure when selecting the manner in which he removed alternate jurors. After reviewing the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Jefferson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Curtis Austin
Defendant, Jonathan Austin, was indicted by the Greene County Grand Jury for one count of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted as charged. On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Glenn Rogers v. State of Tennessee
The capital Petitioner, William Glenn Rogers, appeals as of right from the post-conviction court’s order denying his initial and amended petitions for post-conviction relief challenging his merged first degree murder conviction and death sentence for the killing of nine-year-old Jacqueline Beard, as well as his convictions for especially aggravated kidnapping, rape of a child, and two counts of criminal impersonation. The Petitioner received an effective sentence of forty-eight (48) years’ imprisonment for his non-capital offenses. On appeal, the Petitioner claims that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief because defense counsel provided ineffective assistance in both the trial and appellate proceedings related to these convictions and sentences and because multiple other constitutional violations call into question the validity of these convictions and sentences. After a careful and laborious review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Harold Bernard Schaffer
Harold Bernard Schaffer (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of first degree felony murder. The trial court subsequently sentenced the Defendant to life imprisonment. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence; (3) the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; and (4) the evidence is not sufficient to support his conviction. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Curtis Harper
The Defendant, Curtis Harper, was found guilty by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of attempt to commit second degree murder, a Class B felony, employing a firearm during the commission of a felony, a Class C felony, and two counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-210(a)(1) (2010), 39-12-101(a) (2010), 39-17-1324 (Supp. 2008) (amended 2009), 39-13-102(a)(1)(A) (2006) (amended 2009, 2010, 2011). The trial court merged the aggravated assault convictions into the attempted second degree murder conviction, and sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to twelve years’ confinement for attempted second degree murder and six years for employing a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, for an effective eighteen-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for attempted second degree murder. We affirm the Defendant’s convictions, but we vacate the aggravated assault and attempted second degree murder judgments and remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment reflecting the merger of the aggravated assault convictions into the conviction for attempted second degree murder. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kendell Edward Johnson
The Defendant, Kendell Edward Johnson, appeals from his jury conviction for second degree murder, for which he received a fifteen-year sentence. In this direct appeal, the Defendant argues (1) that the trial court erred by admitting the redacted recording of a conversation between the Defendant and his father made at the police station following the Defendant’s arrest on an unrelated charge, (2) that the trial court erred by permitting the irrelevant testimony of the victim’s brother, and (3) that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roger Weems Harper
Appellant, Roger Harper, was convicted by a Montgomery County jury of evading arrest. The trial court sentenced Appellant as a Range I, standard offender to three years and six months. The trial court set the sentence to run consecutivelyto a five-year diversion sentence imposed under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-313 that Appellant was serving from another case. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred because: (1) the jury failed to specify that it found the aggravating factors required to find Appellant guilty of a Class D felony and furthermore, the trial court sentenced Appellant as if the conviction was a Class D felony; (2) Appellant’s sentence is excessive due to the presence of mitigating factors that the trial court failed to find; and (3) the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing. We have reviewed the record on appeal and conclude that the trial court committed no error. However, the judgment form must be corrected to reflect that Appellant was convicted of the Class D felony. Therefore, we affirm Appellant’s conviction and sentence but remand for the trial court to enter a corrected judgment. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mauricio Morales
The defendant, Mauricio Morales, appeals his Davidson County Criminal Court jury convictions of three counts of rape of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of aggravated burglary, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, that the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence, that the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury, and that the 100-year effective sentence is excessive. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Laura June Bowling v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Laura June Bowling, filed a timely pro se petition for post-conviction relief challenging her guilty-pleaded conviction of second degree murder for which she received a sentence of 15 years’ incarceration. Following the appointment of counsel and the exhaustion of the one-year limitations period, the petitioner entered into an agreed order with the State withdrawing her petition. The post-conviction court then dismissed the petition with prejudice. The petitioner now appeals the dismissal order, alleging that her withdrawal of the petition was unknowingly and involuntarily entered. Discerning no error in the postconviction court’s dismissal, we affirm the order of the post-conviction court. |
Scott | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marcus Terrell Johnson
Charged by the Knox County Criminal Court grand jury with the sale and delivery of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, the defendant, MarcusTerrell Johnson, pleaded guilty to the sale of cocaine and agreed to a 10-year suspended sentence. The trial court entered the judgment on April 7, 2011, but on May 6, 2011, the State obtained a probation revocation warrant that alleged that the defendant had not reported for probation, that his whereabouts were unknown, and, by a later-filed amendment, that he was arrested for theft and did not report the arrest. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve his sentence in confinement. In his timely appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court erred by revoking the probation and ordering him into confinement. Because the record supports the trial court’s order, we affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lawrence V. Kline
A Scott County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Lawrence V. Kline, of one count of the sale of a schedule IV controlled substance (Xanax), and the trial court sentenced the defendant to two years as a Range I, standard offender to be served on probation. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erroneously admitted into evidence the two Xanax pills. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court |
Scott | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Carl Randle
A Madison County jury convicted the Defendant, Carl Randle, of aggravated assault and attempted voluntary manslaughter. The trial court merged the convictions and ordered the Defendant to serve six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred when it denied him an alternative sentence. Finding no error in the judgment of the trial court, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Travis Vaughn
The defendant, Travis Vaughn, appeals the decision of the Dyer County Circuit Court revoking his probationary sentence. The defendant pled guilty in the Dyer County Circuit Court to three counts of non-support of a minor child and received three consecutive sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days, all suspended to probation but for thirty days. Thereafter, a violation report was filed charging the defendant with multiple violations of the terms and conditions of his probation. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the remainder of his sentence in incarceration. On appeal, the defendant contends: (1) that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revoke his probation as the case was not properly commenced; and (2) that the determination to revoke was error as it conflicts with public policy. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the revocation of probation. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James R. Troxell
A Campbell County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, James R. Troxell, of two counts of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of 56 years’ incarceration. On appeal, the defendant contests the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions and the trial court’s allowing witness testimony which, the defendant alleges, improperly bolstered the victim’s testimony. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Chris Brown v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Chris Brown, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, and being a felon in possession of a handgun, for which he is serving an effective twenty-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, voluntarily, and understandingly made. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
