Brandon E. Banks v. State of Tennessee

In 2017, a Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Brandon E. Banks, of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery. Before trial, the trial court denied the Petitioner’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from his cell phone. The State then made two plea offers, which the Petitioner rejected before proceeding to trial. On direct appeal, this court held that the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress but concluded that the error was harmless. The Petitioner later sought post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner raises three claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. He argues that trial counsel failed to communicate adequately with him during the plea negotiations that followed the suppression ruling. He also argues that trial counsel should have sought interlocutory review of that ruling or advised him to preserve the issue as a certified question of law. Finally, he argues that trial counsel should have called an expert witness to support his duress defense at trial. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.