State of Tennessee v. Demande Claude
The Defendant, Demande Claude, was charged with three counts of rape arising from his sexual congress with the adult victim in late 2019. A jury convicted the Defendant of one count of rape and acquitted the Defendant of the remaining charges. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve twelve years in prison. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by admitting excerpts of the Defendant’s interview with the police; that the evidence is not sufficient to support his conviction; and that the trial court erred by excluding a statement made by a police officer. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio L. Fuller
In May 2002, a Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Antonio L. Fuller, of six offenses arising from a home invasion. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of fifty-six years. In December 2025, the Defendant filed a pro se motion seeking to correct alleged clerical errors and omissions in his judgments pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36. He argued that the judgments did not accurately reflect how his sentences were to be aligned and that, in his view, the misalignment resulted in an effective sentence longer than the one the trial court actually imposed. The trial court summarily denied the motion, and the Defendant appealed. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ira Earl Shinpaugh
The Defendant, Ira Earl Shinpaugh, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and aggravated neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult. The trial court sentenced him to an effective term of eight years, with one year to serve in confinement and the remainder on supervised probation. While on probation, the Defendant was arrested and later pled guilty to driving under the influence of an intoxicant. After a hearing, the trial court found the Defendant in violation of his probation and ordered him to serve the balance of his eight-year sentence in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court should have imposed a lesser sanction for the violation. Upon our review, we respectfully disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Danny Rogers
Defendant, Danny Rogers, appeals his conviction for assault, for which he received a sentence of elevenmonths and twenty-nine days at seventy-five percent service. On appeal, he argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self-defense. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jose Ruelas
Defendant, Jose Ruelas, appeals from his convictions for rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery and incest. On appeal, Defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support his convictionsfor rape of a child and incest; the trial court erred in admitting the recording of the victim’s forensic interview; and the State failed to elect offenses for rape of a child and incest. After a thorough review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cindy Smith
The defendant, Cindy Smith, appeals her Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Robert Cuff, Jr.
John Robert Cuff, Jr., Defendant, claims the trial court erred by ordering execution of his |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
TOBY DWAYNE DUNN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Before the court is the pro se Petitioner’s “Premature Notice of Appeal as of Right” requesting review “pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R 10(B) through means of an Accelerated Inter[locu]tory Appeal as of Right.”1 The Petitioner acknowledges that “[t]his notice has been brought before this court prematurely.” Yet the Petitioner requests that this court “file this notice immediately after [the trial court’s] denial of these motions for judicial recusal, pursuant to Trap 4(d).” |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenley Marquis Hockett
A Lincoln County jury convicted the Defendant, Kenley Marquis Hockett, of both the sale and delivery of 0.5 grams or more of cocaine. The trial court merged the convictions and imposed a thirty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence established no more than the misdemeanor offense of a casual exchange of controlled substances. Upon our review, we respectfully disagree with the Defendant’s argument and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lincoln | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alonzo Dwayne Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his Dyer County Circuit Court guilty-pleaded conviction of possession with intent to sell more than .5 grams of methamphetamine, arguing that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donquarius Person v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Donquarius Person, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2013 Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of first degree murder, aggravated assault, and attempted first degree murder, arguing that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at trial. We conclude that the Petitioner’s brief does not comply with the requirements of Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(a) but that, notwithstanding waiver, the record supports the ruling of the trial court. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robin Bass v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robin Bass, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post conviction relief, claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry Ray
Defendant, Larry Ray, was convicted by a Knox County jury of one count of aggravated assault. The trial court imposed a fifteen-year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, Defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and the trial court erred by limiting his closing argument. Following a review of the entire record, the briefs and arguments of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marc Foder
Marc Foder, Defendant, appeals from the trial court’s order revoking his probation and |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Delvon Jevonta White
The Defendant, Delvon Jevonta White, was found to be in violation of his probation after |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frederick Demetrius DeBerry v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Frederick Demetrius Deberry, argues on appeal that the post-conviction court erred by summarily dismissing his pro se “Motion to Amend Post-Conviction Petition” and “Petition of ‘Actual Innocence.’” He argues that House Bill 6011required the post‑conviction court to amend and reconsider his filings and to grant a hearing on his asserted “new evidence.” The State counters that his claims are waived and, alternatively, that his pleadings were untimely and based on a misinterpretation of HB 601. Because Tennessee law requires properly supported appellate claims and a timely statutory vehicle for relief—and the Petitioner’s filings satisfy neither—the post‑conviction court committed no error. We affirm. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brandon D. Middlebrook v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Brandon Middlebrook, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for aggravated burglary, attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief on his claims that (1) he was denied due process in the conviction proceedings because the State failed to preserve evidence, (2) he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to make a motion pursuant to State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999), related to the missing evidence, and (3) he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel was not adequately prepared for the trial. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Cox v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kenneth Cox, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dorian Heiss
The Defendant, Dorian Heiss, was convicted by a Roane County Criminal Court jury of |
Roane | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lakeesha N. Dixon-Starnes
This matter is before the Court upon application of the pro se Defendant, Lakeesha N. Dixon-Starnes, for an extraordinary appeal pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10. She asks this Court to dismiss the indictment in this case. It appears the Defendant has been charged with one count each of theft of property and forgery. The Defendant waived her right to counsel and is proceeding on her own in the trial court. The case is still pending in that court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Almeer K. Nance v. State of Tennessee
The State of Tennessee appeals the post-conviction court’s order granting Petitioner |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Lawrence Johnson
Defendant, Anthony Lawrence Johnson, was convicted by a jury of one count of rape, three |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roy Jones, Sr.
Defendant, Roy Jones, Sr., was indicted by a Shelby County grand jury for first degree murder for the shooting death of his wife. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years of incarceration. In this timely appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial court’s refusal to give a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter, the trial court’s jury instruction on flight, and his sentence. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Milam, Jr.
The Defendant, William Milam Jr., appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of aggravated child neglect and aggravated child abuse. The Defendant was sentenced to twenty-one years’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Richard Pratt
A Campbell County jury convicted the Defendant of three counts of sexual battery by an |
Court of Criminal Appeals |
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS
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