Jermaine Ivory and James Ivory v. State of Tennessee

Defendant Jermaine Ivory was convicted by a jury of three charges involving the sale of cocaine. For these crimes, the trial court sentenced Jermaine Ivory to an effective sentence of thirty-six years in the Department of Correction. Codefendant James Ivory was convicted by the same jury of one of the same charges; James Ivory subsequently pled guilty to another cocaine offense, two marijuana offenses, and one count of felony possession of a firearm. For all of these offenses, James Ivory was sentenced to an effective sentence of twenty years in the Department of Correction. The consolidated direct appeal of these two Defendants was denied. See State v. James Lee Ivory, No. M2000-02145-CCA-R3-CD, 2003 WL 76980 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Jan. 10, 2003). Both Defendants subsequently filed for post-conviction relief. Jermaine Ivory alleged ineffective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his trial, claiming that his lawyer failed to adequately investigate his case, failed to adequately advise him about his case, and failed to investigate and/or pursue issues involving his mental health. James Ivory alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective at trial in failing to object to inadmissible evidence, and in failing to file a motion for new trial, thereby waiving a suppression issue. James Ivory also alleged that, due to his lawyer's ineffective assistance, his later guilty pleas were not knowing and voluntary. After a hearing, the trial court denied relief to both Defendants and this direct appeal followed. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.