Unjolee Moore v. State of Tennessee

The Petitioner, Unjolee Moore, filed a petition for post-conviction relief in the Hamilton County Criminal Court, claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court filed an order denying relief, and the Petitioner filed a “motion to reconsider.” The post-conviction court granted the motion, vacated its order denying relief, and reopened the proof. Subsequently, the post-conviction court filed a second order denying relief. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. The State argues that this appeal should be dismissed because the Petitioner’s notice of appeal was untimely. The State also argues that the timely filing requirement should not be waived and that even if this court waives timely filing, this court should disregard the evidence presented at the second evidentiary hearing because it is not part of the record. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the Petitioner’s notice of appeal was not untimely and that the evidence from the second evidentiary hearing is properly before us. However, we also conclude that the
post-conviction court correctly denied the petition for post-conviction relief. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.