State vs. Randall Best E1999-00120-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Carroll L. Ross
The defendant, Randall E. Best, appeals his first degree murder conviction and the resulting sentence of life without parole. He contends: (1) that the evidence is insufficient to show premeditation and deliberation, (2) that certain photographs of the victim were inadmissible at the sentencing phase of the trial, and (3) that the felony murder aggravating circumstance does not sufficiently narrow the class of death-eligible offenders when the jury convicts the defendant of both premeditated murder and felony murder. We hold that the evidence is sufficient, that the challenged photographs are admissible because they are relevant to the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and that the jury properly based the defendant's sentence on the felony murder aggravator. We affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction.
Monroe
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Nathaniel Lynn Crockett E1999-00694-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
The Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and two counts of theft over $1,000. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to two years for each count of theft over $1,000 and to one year for each count of burglary. The trial court ordered that all sentences be served concurrently and that the Defendant serve six months in the county jail followed by intensive probation for the remainder of the sentence. The Defendant was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution and to perform one hundred hours of community service. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him to six months in confinement. Finding no error, we affirm.
Blount
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Treva Dianne Green E1999-02204-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
The defendant appeals from her Blount County Circuit Court conviction and sentence for driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven months and 29 days in the Blount County Jail, all of which was suspended except for service of eight days incarceration. The jury imposed a fine of $1,500. In this direct appeal, the defendant complains that the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction, that statements she made to the arresting officer should have been suppressed, that prosecutorial misconduct taints the verdict, that the jury should have been charged on reckless driving as a lesser-included offense, and that her sentence and fine are excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court, as modified.
Blount
Court of Criminal Appeals
State s. Anthony Lynn Wyrick E1999-02206-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Ray L. Jenkins
The defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated rape and sentenced to concurrent terms of life without parole as a repeat violent offender. He challenges the sufficiency of the presentment, the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission of the victim's in-court identification of him as the attacker, the exclusion of evidence of a prior false accusation of rape by the victim, his inability to discover the victim's rape crisis center file, and the constitutionality of the repeat violent offender statute under which he was sentenced. Because the defendant should have been allowed to impeach the victim by cross-examining her about the prior false accusation of rape, we reverse the judgments of conviction and remand the case for a new trial.
Knox
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Amy Boyd E1999-02218-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: James E. Beckner
The defendant was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault. A Hawkins County jury found her guilty of one count and not guilty of the other. In this appeal as of right, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court's denial of alternative sentencing. Upon a thorough review of the record, we conclude the evidence was sufficient to sustain the defendant's conviction for aggravated assault and that alternative sentencing was properly denied. Thus, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Hawkins
Court of Criminal Appeals
Slater Belcher vs. State E1999-02287-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount
Court of Criminal Appeals
Slater Belcher vs. State E1999-02287-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount
Court of Criminal Appeals
J.Y. Sepulveda vs. State E1999-02766-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Rex Henry Ogle
This is an appeal from the denial of the appellant, J. Y. Sepulveda's petition for post-conviction relief on the grounds that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at the pre-trial stage of the prosecution. Appellant also alleges that the trial judge erred in not allowing testimony at the post-conviction hearing concerning ineffective assistance of trial counsel during trial. We find that none of these issues constitute error and affirm the trial court's denial of the petition for post-conviction relief.
Jefferson
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Roy Ray Wallace E2000-00046-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: O. Duane Slone
The defendant appeals his convictions for burglary and theft of property valued at less than five hundred dollars. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in light of the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice, the admissibility of a recording of his co-defendant's testimony, and the length of his sentence. We affirm the convictions and sentences.
Grainger
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Jimmy Cullop E2000-00095-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: R. Jerry Beck
Sullivan
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Jimmy Cullop E2000-00095-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: R. Jerry Beck
Sullivan
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. James McBride E2000-00096-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: E. Eugene Eblen
The defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder. He contends that the evidence is insufficient to show premeditation, that his confession should have been suppressed, that the trial court erred in admitting gory photographs of the victims and of the motor vehicle, and that the trial court erred in sentencing him to consecutive sentences. We affirm the convictions and the sentence.
Roane
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Almeer Nance E2000-00170-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Ray L. Jenkins
Following the transfer of his case from juvenile court, a Knox County grand jury indicted the defendant on one count of premeditated murder, one count of felony murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, three counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated assault, and two counts of theft over one thousand but under ten thousand dollars. Prior to trial the defendant filed an unsuccessful motion to suppress the statement he gave to authorities. The case proceeded to trial wherein the defendant was convicted as charged on seven of the aforementioned counts: more specifically, the jury found him guilty of the felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated robbery offenses. For these crimes he received an agreed upon effective sentence of life plus twenty-five years in prison. He then filed a "Motion for Judgment of Acquittal, or in the Alternative, Motion for New Trial" alleging the trial court erred in failing to suppress his statement. After the denial of this motion, the defendant brought the instant appeal again raising the suppression issue. However, upon reviewing the record and applicable case law, we affirm the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress the defendant's statement.
Knox
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Chris A. Jefferson E2000-00429-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Phyllis H. Miller
Chris A. Jefferson appeals a certified question of law regarding a police officer's stop of him which resulted in his arrest for driving under the influence. Because we agree with the trial court that reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts existed for the stop, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Sullivan
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Robbie Carriger E2000-00823-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Robert E. Cupp
The state challenges the trial court's order placing the defendant, Robbie Carriger, on pretrial diversion based upon its finding that the prosecutor abused his discretion for failing to consider all the factors relevant to pretrial diversion in his written response denying diversion. The state contends that the trial court erred in refusing to consider the prosecutor's amended response to the application for pretrial diversion. We hold that the trial court properly refused to consider the prosecutor's amended response, but we reverse the trial court's automatic grant of pretrial diversion and remand the case for the trial court to consider the defendant's entitlement to pretrial diversion in light of the relevant factors.
State vs. Shirley Cooper E1999-01810-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
The defendant was charged with violation of probation for harassment. The trial court found that the defendant had materially and repeatedly violated the terms of her probation, and that, given her history, she was not capable of successfully completing a term of supervised probation. Consequently, the trial court revoked the defendant's probation, ordering that she serve her original sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail, with credit given for the forty-one days of jail time she had already served. The defendant filed a timely appeal, presenting the sole issue of whether the trial court erred in revoking her probation. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Blount
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Michael Anthony Maddox M2000-00193-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Cornelia A. Clark
Trial Court Judge: William Charles Lee
The defendant appeals the sentencing decision of the Marshall County Circuit Court. The defendant was convicted of two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and sentenced to concurrent four year terms on each count. He was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual battery and sentenced to concurrent twelve year terms on each count. Those sentences were run consecutively to the sentences for aggravated battery, for an effective sentence of sixteen (16) years. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Marshall
Court of Criminal Appeals
Thomas J. Williams vs. State M2000-00506-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Timothy L. Easter
Thomas J. Williams appeals from the Hickman County Circuit Court's denial of his pro se petition for post-conviction relief. After review, we find the trial court's summary dismissal proper because the petition (1) is time barred; (2) fails to state a colorable claim; and (3) raises claims which are waived as they were not raised in previous petitions. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.
State vs. Deborah Clark W1999-00893-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Roger A. Page
The defendant, Deborah Darlene Clark, was convicted by a Madison County jury of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and criminal impersonation. In this appeal the defendant claims the evidence is insufficient to support the verdicts. The court finds the evidence clearly sufficient to support the convictions and thus affirms the judgment of the trial court.
State vs. Billy Hancock W1999-01746-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Chris B. Craft
The defendant, Billy Hancock, pled guilty in Shelby County Criminal Court to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, aggravated child endangerment, three (3) counts of child endangerment, and reckless driving. The trial court sentenced the defendant to serve twelve (12) years for vehicular homicide, four (4) years for vehicular assault, four (4) years for aggravated child endangerment, nine (9) months for each of the three (3) counts of child endangerment, and six (6) months for reckless driving. The court ordered that the sentences for vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and each of the three counts of child endangerment were to be served consecutively to each other, and that the sentences for reckless driving and aggravated child endangerment were to be served concurrently with the sentence for vehicular homicide. The total effective sentence was eighteen (18) years and three (3) months. On appeal, this court affirms the imposition of consecutive sentences because the trial court properly found that the defendant was a dangerous offender and had an extensive criminal history.
Shelby
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Eric Young W2000-00057-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Roy B. Morgan, Jr.
In this appeal from the trial court's denial of his post-conviction petition, the petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntarily entered. We find no error in the trial court's denial of the post-conviction petition.
