Opinions
State of Tennessee v. Shelton Hall
The Defendant-Appellant, Shelton Hall, appeals the revocation of his Rutherford County Circuit Court community corrections sentence. Following his revocation hearing, Hall was ordered to serve consecutive sentences of eight years for his two convictions for the sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and twelve years for his convictions for the sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school zone in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Hall argues that (1) his probation officer wrongfully violated his community corrections sentence without just cause, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion in declining to appoint counsel, in determining that he had waived his issues, and in failing to consider his "Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment Orders" and "Motion for Modification of Judgment Orders." Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
George Emrich, et al. v. Taylor Adams, et al.
In this post-trial dispute George Emrich and Mary Emrich (“Plaintiffs”) appeal the Trial Court’s order on Taylor Adams, Wanda Adams, and Adams Roofing Company, LLC’s (“Defendants”) emergency motion for relief from order and Plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions, among other things. We find no error in the Trial Court’s March 9, 2012 order, and we affirm. |
Loudon | Court of Appeals | |
Russell E. Downing, II v. Day & Zimmerman, NPS, Inc., et al.
An employee suffered multiple injuries in a work-related accident in November 2006 when a fan located in a boiler in which he was working suddenly deployed, causing him to lose his footing and fall. After providing medical treatment, the employer denied the employee’s claim for workers’ compensation benefits, and the employee sought additional medical treatment. The trial court found the claim to be compensable and awarded the employee permanent total disability benefits. The trial court imposed no liability on the Second Injury Fund. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Henry | Workers Compensation Panel | |
Huedel Sparkman v. State of Tennessee
Much aggrieved by his conviction of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, the petitioner, Huedel Sparkman, sought post-conviction relief in the Marshall County Circuit Court, alleging that, among other things, he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the petitioner contends that trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to file two motions to suppress. Discerning no error, we affirm the order of the post-conviction court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dakota Cisneros v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Dakota Cisneros, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2010 convictions upon guilty pleas for aggravated sexual battery and three counts of aggravated robbery and his effective twenty-four-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by finding that his guilty pleas were knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Eugene M. Hogbin
A Cheatham County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Eugene M. Hogbin, of two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of 20 years’ incarceration. On appeal, the defendant challenges both the length and the alignment of the trial court’s sentencing determination. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Cheatham | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frances G. Rodgers, et al. v. John Adam Noll, III
Frances G. Rodgers, as next friend of minors Julia Amber Noll and Joshua Aidan Noll (“Plaintiff”) sued John Adam Noll (“Defendant”) for the alleged wrongful death of their mother, Lori Bible Noll (“Deceased”). During discovery, Defendant filed multiple motions alleging discovery violations. After a hearing the Trial Court entered its order on April 25, 2012, which, among other things, imposed sanctions for certain discovery violations and then dismissed Plaintiff’s case due to discovery violations. Plaintiff appeals to this Court. We find and hold that dismissal was too severe a sanction for the discovery violations found. We reverse the dismissal; remand to the Trial Court for a more appropriate award of sanctions; and affirm the remaining specific sanctions awarded by the Trial Court and the remainder of the Trial Court’s April 25, 2012 order. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gretchen Rochowiak
The defendant, Gretchen Rochowiak, appeals the Sullivan County Criminal Court’s denial of judicial diversion for her convictions of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a penal institution and introduction of buprenorphine into a penal institution. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Taiwan S. Hoosier
The Defendant-Appellant, Taiwan S. Hoosier, entered a guilty plea to three counts of aggravated assault, Class C felonies, in the Montgomery County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five years each on two counts and six years on the third. The trial court ordered these sentences to be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of sixteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Hoosier claims the trial court erred in imposing a consecutive sentence. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jermaine Johnson
The Defendant-Appellee, Jermaine Johnson, was indicted for one count of possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of cocaine in a drug-free zone. The trial court granted in part and denied in part Johnson’s motion to suppress evidence. Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, we granted the State’s interlocutory appeal challenging the trial court’s suppression of 14.5 grams of cocaine found near Johnson, and we granted Johnson’s cross-appeal of the denial of his motion to suppress 1.43 grams of cocaine found on him. Upon review, we affirm the partial denial of Johnson’s motion, reverse the court’s decision to suppress evidence, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Timmy Charles McDaniel v. David Sexton, Warden
The Petitioner, Timmy Charles McDaniel, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his pro se petition for habeas corpus relief from his convictions for first degree felony murder and especially aggravated burglary. On appeal, the Petitioner alleges that his convictions are void because (1) his indictment failed to state that the Grand Jurors issuing the indictment were from the county in which the offenses occurred, (2) his convictions violate the principles of double jeopardy, and (3) his dual convictions for felony murder and especially aggravated burglary violate Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-404(d) (2010). Upon review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Juan D. Hall v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Juan D. Hall, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions of possession with intent to sell cocaine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and coercion of a witness, for which he received an effective sentence of thirteen years. In this appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in determining that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily made. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jordan Ashton Danelz v. John Gayden, M.D.
In this appeal, an adult child seeks an award of retroactive child support from his biological father. The adult child filed a petition to establish parentage, seeking retroactive child support and other child rearing costs. After genetic testing, the juvenile court found that the respondent is the petitioner’s biological father, but it declined to grant an award of retroactive child support. Both parties appealed. Eventually there were two appeals and two remands. After the last remand, the juvenile court determined that the adult child’s biological father was also his legal father, but held that the petitioner adult child could not receive an award of retroactive child support under the parentage statutes. The adult child then filed this third appeal. We reverse in part, holding that the parentage statutes provide for an award of retroactive child support to the adult child complainant. We vacate the finding as to the adult child’s legal father and remand the case for further proceedings on the award of relief against the biological father. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Melody Pierce (Formerly Stewart) v. City of Humboldt, Tennessee
This appeal involves alleged employment discrimination based on gender and pregnancy. The female plaintiff was employed as a police officer by the defendant city. While off duty, the plaintiff encountered an ex-boyfriend against whom she had procured an order of protection. Based on this encounter, she filed a criminal charge against the ex-boyfriend for violating the order of protection. The defendant’s police chief ordered an internal affairs investigation, and the ex-boyfriend filed criminal charges against the plaintiff for filing a false charge. The plaintiff was suspended with pay pending resolution of the criminal charges. Soon after that, the plaintiff informed the police chief that she was pregnant. After the ex-boyfriend’s criminal charges against the plaintiff were dropped, the police chief terminated the plaintiff’s employment based on the results of the internal affairs investigation. The termination was upheld by the city’s mayor and its board of aldermen. The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against the employer city, alleging discrimination based on gender and pregnancy pursuant to the Tennessee Human Rights Act. The employer city filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the plaintiff had no credible evidence that she was treated less favorably than similarly situated male employees. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer city. The plaintiff now appeals. We reverse, finding that the standard for summary judgment under Hannan v. Alltel Publishing Company and Gossett v. Tractor Supply Company has not been met in this case. |
Gibson | Court of Appeals | |
Harold Moore v. Correct Care Solutions, LLC, et al.
The trial court dismissed Plaintiff’s action against Shelby County and Correct Care Solutions, LLC, a health care provider contracted by the County to provide health care to inmates, for the failure to comply with the mandatory notice requirements set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated 29-26-121. We affirm dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against Correct Care Solutions, reverse dismissal of his claim against Shelby County, and remand for further proceedings. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Erica Harris
The defendant, Erica Harris, appeals her Knox County Criminal Court jury conviction of the sale and delivery of .5 grams or more of cocaine, claiming that the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b) and evidence of poor quality in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 403 and that admission of a map violated her constitutional right to confront the witnesses against her. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In the Matter of: Jacob H. C.
Petitioner in a proceeding to modify child support filed a motion for recusal with the trial judge alleging that the judge was a personal friend and had a business relationship with the father of one of the parties. The trial judge denied the motion and the petitioner then filed this interlocutory appeal as of right pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 10B. We affirm the denial of the motion for recusal. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rochelle Bush
After a trial by jury, the defendant was convicted of especially aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony, and aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. She was sentenced to twenty years for the especially aggravated kidnapping and to a concurrent ten years for the aggravated robbery, for a total effective sentence of twenty years. On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction for especially aggravated kidnapping and that the trial court erred by failing to sentence her to the minimum sentence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ricky Lee Nelson a/k/a Russell Wellington v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Ricky Lee Nelson a/k/a Russell Wellington, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings. Upon review, we conclude that petitioner has failed to comply with the statutory requirements governing an appeal of the denial of a motion to reopen a post-conviction petition. Accordingly, this court is without jurisdiction to hear the appeal, and the appeal is dismissed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy A. Baxter
A Madison County grand jury indicted appellant, Timothy Baxter, for one count of aggravated assault. A jury found him guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced him to twelve years as a persistent offender. Appellant contends that the trial court should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal because the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction for aggravated assault based on serious bodily injury. Specifically, he alleges that evidence of extreme physical pain did not support the determination of serious bodily injury by the jury. See Tenn. Code Ann.§ 39-11-106(a)(34) (2010). He also contends that the statutory definition of serious bodily injury is unconstitutional because it is vague and thus violates due process. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Bland
After a trial by jury, the defendant was convicted of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and carrying a handgun as a felon, a Class E felony. The defendant was sentenced as a Range III, persistent offender to twelve years for the aggravated assault and to a consecutive term of six years as a career offender for carrying the handgun as a felon. On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred by ordering him to serve his sentences consecutively. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Herbert Michael Merritt
A Knox County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, Herbert Michael Merritt, charging him with premeditated first degree murder and employing a firearm during a dangerous felony. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder, and the State dismissed the firearm charge. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in excluding reports by Dr. Murray concerning Defendant’s “ability to form specific intent.” After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antoine Perrier
The Defendant-Appellant, Antoine Perrier, was indicted by the Shelby County Grand Jury for attempted second degree murder in count 1, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in count 2, and aggravated assault in counts 3 through 8. He was subsequently convicted of the lesser included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter in count 1, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in count 2, aggravated assault in counts 3 through 7, and the lesser included offense of assault in count 8. The trial court merged count three into count one before sentencing Perrier as a Range I, standard offender to four years in counts 1, five years in counts 4 through 7, and eleven months and twenty-nine days in count eight. The court also sentenced Perrier as a Range I, violent offender to a mandatory consecutive sentence of six years in count 2. See T.C.A. § 39-17-1324(e)(1), (h)(i) (2006). The court ordered counts 1 through 7 to be served consecutively to one another and ordered count 8 to be served concurrently with the other counts for an effective sentence of thirty years. On appeal, Perrier argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions for attempted voluntary manslaughter and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony; (2) the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury; and (3) the trial court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive sentencing. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand the case solely for the purpose of correcting a clerical error on the judgment for count 4. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cornelius Mull
The Defendant, Cornelius Mull, contends (1) that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his jury convictions for possession with intent to sell and possession with intent to deliver over twenty-six grams of cocaine, a Class B felony, and (2) that his sentence of twenty years was excessive. After reviewing the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the trial court, concluding that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury convictions and that the Defendant’s sentence was not excessive. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James David Moats - Dissent
We respectfully dissent. We would reverse the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court, which denied the defendant’s motion to suppress because Officer Bige initially “ approached [Mr. Moats’s] vehicle in her community caretaking function.” We are convinced that prior Tennessee decisions have erroneously limited the community caretaking doctrine to consensual police–citizen encounters. We believe the Court should acknowledge this error, overrule the errant precedents, and recognize that the community caretaking doctrine functions as an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant and probable cause requirements. We would then conclude that, in this case, the seizure of Mr. Moats was justified under the community caretaking exception. We would not reach the additional question of whether the seizure was supported by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. |
McMinn | Supreme Court |