State of Tennessee v. James Everett Ferrell
After a bench trial, the Cannon County Circuit Court convicted the appellant, James Everett Ferrell, of violating the seatbelt law, second offense, and fined him twenty dollars. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the court tried his case without a warrant and because the citing officer did not file an affidavit of complaint. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Cannon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Richard Frank D'Antonio v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Richard Frank D’Antonio, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his first degree murder conviction and resulting life sentence. He contends that the trial court erred in determining that he received effective assistance of trial counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Martin Dean Gibbs
A Davidson County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Martin Dean Gibbs, of four counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and eight counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of twenty-five years for each rape of a child conviction and ten years for each aggravated sexual battery conviction for a total effective sentence of twenty-five years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) the trial court erred by allowing a social worker to testify about the victim’s allegations pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(4), the medical diagnosis and treatment exception to the hearsay rule; (2) the trial court erred by allowing the victim’s mother to testify about the victim’s allegations as prior consistent statements; (3) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions in counts 7 and 11; and (4) his convictions in counts 1 and 9, 2 and 10, and 3 and 11 violate protections against double jeopardy. The State concedes that the evidence is insufficient as to count 11. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree that the evidence is insufficient to support the appellant’s rape of a child conviction in count 11. Therefore, that conviction is reversed, and the charge is dismissed. The appellant’s remaining convictions are affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Martin Dean Gibbs-Concurring
I concur in the results reached in the majority opinion. Indeed, I join in the majority opinion on all but one issue. I write separately to address the issue of the appropriate standard of review bythis Court on hearsayevidentiaryissues. The majorityapplies an abuse of discretion standard of review to the hearsay issue in this case. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Reginald C. Malone, Sr. v. State of Tennessee
Reginald C. Malone, Sr. (“the Petitioner”) filed for post-conviction relief, challenging his conviction for the sale of 0.5 grams or more of cocaine, which resulted in a sentence of eight years in confinement. As his bases for relief, he alleged several grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, a Brady violation, illegal evidence, and malicious prosecution. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, and this appeal followed. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to challenge the discrepancy in the reports of the weight of the cocaine through either a motion to suppress the cocaine or cross-examination as to its chain of custody. Additionally, the Petitioner argues that trial counsel failed to file a timely motion for new trial. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we remand the case for the trial court to grant the Petitioner leave to file a motion for new trial. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frederick Greene
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Frederick Greene, of first degree premeditated murder. Greene was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole according to a sentencing agreement. On appeal, he argues that (1) the evidence, specifically of premeditation and intent, was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict and (2) the trial court erred in denying his request to instruct the jury on self-defense. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kevin McDougle v. State of Tennessee
In two separate trials, a Shelby County jury found the Petitioner, Kevin McDougle, guilty of three counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful possession of a handgun. For all the convictions, the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of fifty-six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed separate appeals for his cases, and this Court affirmed the judgments in both cases. State v. Kevin McDougle, No. W2009-01648-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 2490752, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, June 11, 2010) no Tenn. R. App. P. 11 filed; State v. Kevin McDougle, No. W2007-01877-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 2219591, at *1-3 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, May 24, 2010) no Tenn. R. App. P. 11 filed. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming the two attorneys who represented him on each respective case were ineffective. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition, maintaining that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel in both cases. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the postconviction court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roger Vines
The defendant, Roger Vines, was convicted by a Wayne County jury for one count of selling .5 grams or more of methamphetamine, a Class B felony, and sentenced to a term of ten year’s incarceration. On appeal, the defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction; (2) the ten-year sentence is excessive; and (3) the court erred in denying probation. Following review of the record,we find no error and affirm the judgment of conviction and resulting sentence as imposed. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antywon Montrace Beasley
The defendant, Antywon Montrace Beasley, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial of his request for probation. The defendant pled guilty to one count of attempted aggravated child abuse, a Class B felony, and received a sentence of ten years, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a hearing, the court determined that the sentence was best served in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends that this determination was error. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the sentence as imposed. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roy Dale Harrell
The defendant, Roy Dale Harrell, pled guilty in the Franklin County Circuit Court to one count of statutory rape, a Class E felony. After a sentencing hearing, he was sentenced to two years split confinement, to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and the remainder on probation. On appeal, he challenges the trial court’s imposition of a sentence of split confinement that required service of eleven months and twenty-nine days. After review, we affirm the trial court’s imposition of a split confinement sentence. However, we modify the judgment of the trial court to the extent it imposed an eleven-month-andtwenty-nine-day period of incarceration and remand for entry of an amended judgment showing the defendant's period of incarceration at 7.2 months. |
Franklin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Barry Smelley v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, BarrySmelley, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court should be reversed for failing to make findings on his specific claims and that counsel’s uniateral decision to release a witness from a subpoena violated his rights to compulsory process and to present a defense. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry E. Rathbone
The appellant, Larry E. Rathbone, was convicted of two counts of rape of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of attempted rape of a child. He received a total effective sentence of fifty-six years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the imposition of consecutive sentencing. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Humberto Lopez v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Humberto Lopez, appeals the Putnam County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his two convictions of selling .5 grams or more of cocaine and resulting effective sentence of eight years in confinement. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because he was not advised by trial counsel or the trial court about the immigration consequences of his pleas. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Russell Caldwell v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Russell Caldwell, pled guilty to facilitation of first degree felony murder and was sentenced to serve fifty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court entered an order denying post-conviction relief. Finding no error, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Chester | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Louis Dancy
A Shelby County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, Louis Dancy, charging him with the second degree murder of Charles Williams. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the offense and received a sentence of eighteen years and six months as a Range I, violent offender. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in giving the jury a sequential instruction, which charged the jury that it must first acquit Defendant of the greater offense before considering any lesser offense. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andre Jon Simmons II
The Defendant-Appellant, Andre Jon Simmons, II, pled guilty in the Circuit Court of Madison County to possession with intent to sell more than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class B felony, and simple possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor. He received an effective sentence of ten years, suspended to probation. Pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2)(A), Simmons attempted to reserve the following certified question of law: “Whether the cocaine and oxycodone should have been suppressed by the Circuit Court for an illegal stop and search of Andre Jon Simmons.” Because the certified question fails to identify the scope and limits of the legal issue reserved, we conclude that we are without jurisdiction to consider it. The appeal, therefore, is dismissed. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David W. Gaddis
The defendant was convicted of second-offense driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor, and driving with an expired license, a Class B misdemeanor. He was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days, suspended after seven months’ incarceration, on the second-offense DUI, and to a concurrent six months on the charge of driving on an expired license, for a total effective sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days. On appeal, the defendant claims that: the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; the trial court erred by refusing to allow him to enter evidence pertaining to his tumultuous relationship with a woman; the trial court erred by denying his motion to recuse; the trial court erred by denying his motion to investigate juror dissatisfaction with the verdict; and the sentences imposed were excessive. After carefully reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Polk | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Stephen L. Beasley v. State of Tennessee
In 1994, a Hamilton County jury convicted the Petitioner, Stephen L. Beasley, of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This Court affirmed the Petitioner’s conviction on appeal. State v. Stephen Lujan Beasley, No. 03C01-9509-CR-00268, 1996 WL 591203, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Oct. 10, 1996), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Apr. 27, 1998). After a somewhat lengthy procedural history, the Petitioner filed a second petition for habeas corpus relief, alleging that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to “instruct trial jury and argue murder in perpetration of felony reckless.” The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he has been subjected to multiple punishments for the same crime, arguing that the jury violated his constitutional rights when it applied the felonymurder aggravating circumstance to his conviction for first degree premeditated murder. He does not contest his sentence for life in prison but contests the jury’s decision that he not have the possibility of parole. The Petitioner states that because he was convicted of premeditated murder, the jury improperly applied the felony murder aggravator as a basis for imposing his “without parole” sentence. Upon a review of the record in this case, we conclude that the habeas corpus court properly dismissed the petition for habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derek Coleman
The defendant, Derek Coleman, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of voluntary manslaughter, employing a firearm during the commission of a felony, and aggravated assault, all Class C felonies. He was subsequently sentenced to six years for the voluntary manslaughter conviction, six years for the firearm conviction, and five years for the aggravated assault. On appeal, he raises the single issue of sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Following review of the record, we conclude the evidence is sufficient and affirm the convictions. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charlton Garner v. State of Tennessee
A Shelby County jury convicted petitioner, Charlton Garner, of second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, and reckless endangerment. The trial court sentenced him to an effective twenty-eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. After an unsuccessful direct appeal to this court, he petitioned the Shelby County Criminal Court for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to present a witness suggested by petitioner and failure to impeach a State’s witness with prior convictions. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Discerning no error in the proceedings, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Wells
Joseph Wells (“the Defendant”) pled guilty to one count of possession of one-half ounce or more of marijuana with intent to sell, a Class E felony. After a hearing, the trial court denied judicial diversion and ordered the Defendant to serve thirty days of periodic confinement followed by two years of probation. The Defendant has appealed, claiming that the trial court erred in denying judicial diversion, erred in denying full probation, and erred in relying on hearsay statements in imposing sentence. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the trial court committed no reversible error. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jake L. Monroe
The Defendant, Jake L. Monroe, alias, appeals as of right from a jury conviction for possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance within a drug-free school zone, a class B felony. The Defendant contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court but remand the case for correction of the judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James K. Young
The Defendant, James Young, was convicted by a jury of driving under the influence (DUI), first offense, a Class A misdemeanor. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55- 0-401. The trial court suspended the Defendant’s driver’s license for one year and sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days’ incarceration with all but thirty days to be served on probation. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for DUI, first offense. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamblen | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Beadle
A Shelby County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, Joshua Beadle, and Co-Defendant, Lezuntra Knox, charging them with burglary of a building. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the offense and received a sentence of four years in the county workhouse. Defendant Knox was tried separately. On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Esters
A Lawrence County jury found appellant, JimmyEsters, guilty of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced appellant as a Range I, standard offender, to six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, appellant argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (2) the prosecutor’s comments during closing argument inappropriately shifted the burden of proof to appellant; and (3) the trial court erred in sentencing him. Finding no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lawrence | Court of Criminal Appeals |
