State of Tennessee v. Joe Mac Pearson
The Appellant, Joe Mac Pearson, was convicted by a Marshall County jury of the sale and delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance and the sale and delivery of a Schedule III controlled substance. As a result of these convictions, Pearson received an effective sentence of twenty-five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Pearson argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After review of the record, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient. We remand, however, for merger of offenses and for entry of corrected judgments of conviction. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Ivory Smith
A Madison County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Charles Ivory Smith, of burglary and evading arrest. The trial court imposed a twelve-year sentence for burglaryand an eleven-month and twenty-nine-day sentence for evading arrest and ordered the defendant to serve the sentences consecutively as a career offender in the Department of Correction. The defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Laquenton Monger v. David G. Mills, Warden
The Petitioner, LaQuenton Monger, appeals the lower court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the Petitioner has failed to comply with the statutory requirements for seeking habeas corpus relief, we conclude that the trial court properly dismissed the petition. We affirm the trial court’s dismissal. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ronald McCray v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Ronald McCray, appeals the lower court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner failed to file a timely notice of appeal and this Court cannot conclude that justice requires waiver of this jurisdictional requirement. Accordingly, the above-captioned appeal is dismissed. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joel Marshall Jones - Dissenting
The record reflects that the trial began on the morning of December 16, 2004, and testimony was heard through 9:00 p.m. that evening. Closing arguments and jury instructions followed. Deliberations began at 11:20 p.m. The jury returned a verdict at 3:35 a.m. the next morning. Just before examination of the final witness, the trial court announced as follows: In consultation with the attorneys, we have reached a conclusion that the earliest we could possibly be able to get . . . this case to you tonight would be midnight. We don't think that is fair to you, to the defendant or to the state. For that reason, our plan is to complete the proof tonight. We have one final witness to go. Then at the end of that, to break until 9:00 in the morning. Then in the morning you could get the arguments of counsel and the charge and the case would be turned over to you in the morning. I think being realistic that is the best we can do to be fair to everybody. . . . |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joel Marshall Jones
The Defendant, Joel Marshall Jones was convicted of aggravated burglary, theft of property valued at less than $500.00 and of theft of property valued at more than $1000.00. The Defendant was sentenced to prison for fifteen years as a Range II offender. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it did not allow a witness to testify; and (3) the trial court erred when it extended the hours of the trial. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth W. Thompson, Sr.
The defendant, Kenneth W. Thompson, Sr., pled nolo contendere to one count of attempted aggravated sexual battery, and the trial court sentenced him to five years, to be served at thirty percent. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred when it denied his request for alternative sentencing. Finding that there exists no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Cheatham | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Thomas H. Pleasant v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Thomas H. Pleasant, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to second degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and aggravated robbery, and he received a total effective sentence of eighteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that the 1989 Sentencing Act is unconstitutional under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). The habeas corpus court summarily denied the petition, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Keith Stanley
The defendant, Brian Keith Stanley, was convicted of driving under the influence, first offense. The trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days, with ninety days to be served in confinement. After determining that the defendant had violated the implied consent law, the trial court revoked his driver's license for two years. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for driving under the influence. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Torian Dillard
The defendant, Torian Dillard, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of attempted first degree murder, a Class A felony, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, both Class E felonies. The trial court sentenced him to consecutive terms of forty years as a multiple offender for the attempted murder conviction and six years as a career offender for each of the Class E felony convictions, for an effective sentence of fifty-two years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends that the State excluded African-American venire members from his jury in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, the evidence was insufficient to sustain his attempted first degree murder conviction, and the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentences. Having reviewed the record and found no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marlon Hayes v. State of Tennessee
The Appellant, Marlon Hayes, appeals the Tipton County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, Hayes collaterally challenges his guilty pleas for first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery upon grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. After review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Oscar C. Wells v. State of Tennessee
The Appellant, Oscar C. Wells, proceeding pro se, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as being time barred. On appeal, Wells asserts that his petition was timely filed because he delivered the petition to the appropriate prison official within the requisite one-year limitation period as authorized by Supreme Court Rule 28. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition as time barred because the petition was stamped “filed” by the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk’s office outside the one-year period. Because these allegations present a factual dispute as to whether Wells’ petition was timely filed, we vacate the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for resolution of this issue. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Edward Wilkerson
The appellant, Charles Edward Wilkerson, was charged in a three count indictment with possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to deliver, evading arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Prior to trial, the appellant pled guilty to evading arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia. After a jury trial, the appellant was found guilty of criminal responsibility for the facilitation of the possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to deliver, a Class C felony. The appellant received a total effective sentence of three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his facilitation conviction. After a review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael James Grubb
This is a direct appeal as of right from a conviction on a jury verdict for aggravated robbery. The Defendant was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to twelve years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant raises four issues: (1) the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a search of his car, (2) the trial court erred in allowing into evidence the preliminary hearing testimony of a police officer who was deceased at the time of trial, (3) the evidence was insufficient to find him guilty of aggravated robbery, and (4) his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Raymond Griggs
Following a search of his residence, Defendant, Raymond Griggs, was indicted on two counts. Count one charged possession of a schedule II controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to deliver .5 grams or more, and count two charged Defendant with being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of the search warrant. The trial court denied the motion. A jury trial was held and Defendant was convicted of count two, convicted felon in possession of a handgun. A mistrial was declared as to count one, presumably because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Defendant filed a motion for new trial which the trial court subsequently denied. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient as a matter of law to sustain the conviction of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and (2) the trial court erred in failing to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the search warrant. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joseph Granderson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Joseph Granderson, was convicted by a jury of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. This Court affirmed the petitioner’s conviction and sentence on appeal. State v. Joseph Granderson, No. 02C01-9712-CR-00466, 1998 WL 506658 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Jackson, Aug. 20, 1998), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Mar. 8, 1999). Subsequently, the supreme court denied permission to appeal. The petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel on numerous grounds. Counsel was appointed and several amended petitions were filed. After hearing evidence on the petition over the course of several months, the post-conviction court entered an order granting post-conviction relief on the basis that trial counsel was ineffective because she failed to properly inform the petitioner of his potential sentence if convicted of first degree murder. The State appeals the post-conviction court’s decision. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Isaac Jones v. State of Tennessee And Warden Stephen Dotson
The Petitioner, Isaac Jones, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Derrick L. Brown v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner Derrick L. Brown appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner has failed to establish his entitlement to habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Leon Miller
On May 15, 2004, the victim, Charles Lawuary, was shot and killed in Humboldt, Tennessee in an area known as “the crossing.” A bystander was grazed by a bullet. The defendant, James L. Miller, and a co-defendant, Charles Lewis, were later arrested for the shootings. The Gibson County Grand Jury indicted the defendant for criminal responsibility for first degree murder and criminal responsibility for aggravated assault. Following a jury trial held on March 21, 2005, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged. The defendant was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction and six years for the aggravated assault conviction, to be served concurrently with the life sentence. The defendant appeals, arguing that, the State failed to prove the venue of the crime, the trial judge failed to charge the natural and probable consequences rule to the jury, there was juror misconduct when one juror felt she was coerced into voting for a guilty verdict, and there was insufficient evidence to support the defendant’s conviction. We have reviewed the record in this case and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Andre Keith Mays v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, and one count of attempted first degree murder. The Petitioner was sentenced to life plus an additional fifty years. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court dismissed. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that, because his trial counsel was ineffective, the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frank Peake, III
The Defendant, Frank Peake, III, was convicted of aggravated assault, and the trial court sentenced him to prison for six years as a Range II offender. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it allowed a witness to testify about a prior threat made by the Defendant; (2) the trial court erred by failing to provide a jury instruction on circumstantial evidence and failing to provide a limiting jury instruction as to the prior threat made by the Defendant; and (3) the evidence presented at trial is insufficient to support his conviction for aggravated assault. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Courtney Catrell Goss v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Courtney Catrell Goss, appeals t 1 he Fayette County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty plea to rape and the resulting twelve-year sentence. He contends that he did not plead guilty voluntarily and that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Allan Joseph Robles
The defendant, Allan Joseph Robles, was convicted by a Henry County jury of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and was sentenced as a 100% violent offender to twelve years in the Department of Correction and fined $10,000. On appeal, he argues: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; (2) the trial court erred in not granting his motion for acquittal; and (3) the trial court erred in not charging a lesser-included offense. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Henry | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Kenneth Sisco
A Warren County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Michael Kenneth Sisco, of driving under the influence (DUI), second offense, a Class A misdemeanor, and the trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days with sixty days to serve in confinement and the balance on probation. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient, that the trial court erred in allowing the testimony of a rebuttal witness, and that the trial court erred in sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donnie W. Foulks v. State of Tennessee
The Appellant, Donnie W. Foulks, appeals the judgment of the Greene County Criminal Court denying post-conviction relief. On appeal, Foulks argues that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel and that his sentencing violated the constitutional mandate of Blakely v. Washington. After review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals |
