COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Re'Licka Dajuan Allen - Dissenting
E2007-01018-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. C. McLin
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

Because the state, as the appellant, failed to meet its burden of proving that the trial court committed an abuse of discretion by suppressing the evidence, I must respectfully dissent from the majority.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Re'Licka Dajuan Allen
E2007-01018-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

Defendant, Re’Licka Dejuan Allen, was indicted on two counts of aggravated exploitation of a minor and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. The State refused to comply with Defendant’s requests for discovery by withholding the contents of Defendant’s computer hard drive and other computer materials alleged to contain incriminating evidence. The State refused to disclose the requested discovery despite the trial court’s issuance of two protective orders, the ruling of the appellate court on interlocutory appeal, and a third protective order by the trial court requiring disclosure. After a final hearing, the trial court suppressed the evidence and dismissed the indictment against Defendant. The State argues on appeal that the trial court erred in suppressing the evidence based upon the perceived threat of federal prosecution to defense counsel. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we reverse the judgment of the trial court, reinstate the indictment and remand for trial.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Bryan Lee Cable v. State of Tennessee
E2007-02668-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Michael H. Meares

The petitioner, Bryan Lee Cable, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In this appeal he asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Blount Court of Criminal Appeals

Lavon Mario Davis v. State of Tennessee
E2007-02797-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

The petitioner, Lavon Mario Davis, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court for Knox County from his convictions for second degree murder and attempted first degree murder, both Class A felonies. He was sentenced to twenty years for the second degree murder conviction and twenty-five years for the attempted first degree murder conviction, to be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of forty-five years. He contends that: he received ineffective assistance of counsel; the trial court lacked authority to accept the guilty plea to second degree murder; and the trial court lacked a sufficient factual basis to accept his guilty plea to attempted first degree murder. We affirm the judgment from the post-conviction court.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Raymond Writer v. Howard Carlton, Warden
E2008-00127-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lynn W. Brown

The petitioner, Raymond Writer, filed in the Johnson County Criminal Court a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus, alleging that his sentence was void because the trial court did not follow the dictates of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition, finding that the petitioner did not allege a ground upon which habeas corpus relief could be granted. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the habeas corpus court’s ruling. In response, the State filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After review, we conclude that the petition was properly dismissed. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Johnson Court of Criminal Appeals

George Allen King v. State of Tennessee
E2008-00584-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kenneth F. Irvine

Petitioner, George Allen King, pled guilty to one count of robbery. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he was sentenced to eight years as a Range II multiple offender. He was placed on enhanced probation. After the revocation of his probation within a year of his plea, Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner argued that he was afforded ineffective assistance of counsel and that his plea was not entered into voluntarily. At the conclusion of a hearing on the matter, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, Petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred because Petitioner was under the influence of drugs at the time he entered the plea and that he believed he was to receive a six-year sentence as opposed to an eight-year sentence. Because we find no credible evidence in the record to support Petitioner’s claims, we affirm the decision of the post-conviction court.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Omowale A. Shabazz aka Fred Edmond Dean v. James Worthington, Warden
E2008-01627-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge E. Eugene Eblen

The petitioner, Omowale A. Shabazz, filed in the Morgan County Circuit Court a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the petition, and the petitioner appeals. The State filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the habeas corpus court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After review, we conclude that the petition was properly dismissed. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed.

Morgan Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Kevin B. Thompson
W2008-00832-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge C. Creed McGinley

The defendant, Kevin B. Thompson, appeals from the Hardin County Circuit Court’s probation revocation for his two-year effective sentence for his guilty pleas to violation of a motor vehicle habitual offender order, a Class E felony, and violation of the registration law, a Class C misdemeanor. He claims that the trial court erred in revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his sentence in incarceration. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, and we affirm its judgment.

Hardin Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Michael Small
W2007-01723-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

Defendant, Michael Small, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of two counts of aggravated
robbery and sentenced by the trial court as a Range II, multiple offender to twenty years in the
Department of Correction. Defendant raised several issues in his original direct appeal, including
whether the trial court erred in finding that he had implicitly waived his right to the assistance of
counsel at the sentencing phase of his trial. Without addressing the other issues, this court remanded the case to the trial court with instructions to hold an evidentiary hearing with respect to the implicit waiver or forfeiture of counsel issue. See State v. Michael Small, No. W2003-02014-CCA-R3-CD, 2006 WL 3327845, at *3 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Nov. 15, 2006). At the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that Defendant had forfeited his right to counsel by physically assaulting his attorney. Defendant now appeals, arguing that (1) the trial court erred in finding that his actions warranted the forfeiture of counsel, and (2) the trial court should have granted his motion for recusal. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Walter Henning v. Howard Carlton, Warden
E2007-01951-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert E. Cupp

The Petitioner pled guilty in Sullivan County, Tennessee, to one count of robbery and one count of evading arrest. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner to five years for his robbery conviction and eleven months and twenty-nine days for his evading arrest conviction, with the sentences to be served concurrently. The Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, claiming that his judgments were void because neither judgment ordered his sentences to be served consecutively to his unserved sentence in Maryland. The habeas court dismissed the petition without a hearing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court.

Johnson Court of Criminal Appeals

Delivetrick D. Blocker v. Jim Worthington, Warden
E2008-00881-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge E. Eugene Eblen

In 1996, a Hamilton County grand jury indicted the Petitioner, Delivetrick D. Blocker, for first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery. In 1997, a Hamilton County jury convicted the Petitioner of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery and sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his murder conviction. The trial court sentenced him to twenty-two years for especially aggravated robbery, to be served consecutively to his life sentence. In 2008, the Petitioner filed a pro se petition for habeas corpus relief, which the habeas court summarily dismissed. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred when it dismissed his petition because: (1) the indictment charging him with murder was fatally defective because it did not allege an overt act; (2) the indictment charging him with especially aggravated robbery was fatally defective because it varied from the judgment convicting him of attempted especially aggravated robbery, which requires proof of an overt act; and (3) the trial court did not have jurisdiction to order his sentences to be served consecutively. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court.

Morgan Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Christopher Brian Knight - Dissenting
E2007-01456-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge O. Duane Slone

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion’s conclusion that the defendant was not entitled to a mistrial after Jimmy Calloway testified in rebuttal that the defendant said he did not want to “go back to prison for six more years.” A criminal defendant is entitled to impartial and unbiased jurors who are not influenced by inadmissible and prejudicial information such as the defendant’s being convicted of another crime. See State v. Claybrook, 736 S.W.2d 95, 100 (Tenn. 1987).

Jefferson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Christopher Brian Knight
E2007-01456-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge O. Duane Slone

The Defendant, Christopher Brian Knight, was convicted of one count of theft over $10,000, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to ten years in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, he argues that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion for a continuance; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial; (3) he was deprived of a fair trial before an impartial judge; (4) the State presented evidence insufficient to convict him; (5) he was prejudiced by the trial court’s failure to confirm that he had personally decided to waive his right to testify; and (6) the trial court improperly sentenced him to the maximum sentence. We conclude that all of these contentions lack merit. We accordingly affirm.

Jefferson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jerome Emmett Huntley
M2008-00637-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert G. Crigler

The defendant, Jerome Emmett Huntley, was convicted of introduction of contraband into a penal institution, a Class C felony, and public intoxication, a Class C misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range I, standard offender to concurrent terms of five years, six months and thirty days. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for introduction of contraband into a penal institution and that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

Anthony J. Fralix v. State of Tennessee
M2008-02101-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith

The Appellant appeals the trial court's dismissal of his petition for post conviction relief. The Appellant filed his petition outside the statute of limitations. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Corey Deauntae Tarvin, alias Corey Deante Tarvin, alias Corey Deauntae Brown
E2007-01927-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Barry A. Steelman

The defendant appeals as of right from his Hamilton County jury conviction for first degree premeditated murder, for which he received a life sentence. He contends that the trial court erred by admitting unduly prejudicial autopsy photographs of the victim and that the evidence was insufficient to show that he premeditated the killing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Hamilton Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Virgil Samuels
W2007-02598-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. C. McLin
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald E. Parish

Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, the defendant, Virgil Samuels, pled guilty to especially aggravated kidnapping, attempted first degree murder, and aggravated rape. The defendant received a total effective sentence of thirty-five years to be served as a violent offender. Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging that he was coerced by counsel into pleading guilty. The trial court denied the motion, and this appeal followed. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Henry Court of Criminal Appeals

Jason Crawford v. Steven Dotson, Warden
W2008-01749-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge J.C. McLin
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

The petitioner, Jason Crawford, appeals the circuit court’s order denying his petition for habeas corpus relief. The state has filed a motion requesting that this court dismiss the appeal as untimely filed or, in the alternative, affirm the circuit court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we conclude that the petitioner failed to timely file his notice of appeal and his claims do not warrant consideration in the “interest of justice.” Therefore, his appeal is dismissed.

Hardeman Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Stuart Mynatt
E2007-00482-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

The defendant, Jimmy Stuart Mynatt, appeals his convictions of first degree felony murder, second degree murder, and especially aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to life plus twenty-five years.  On appeal, he contends that: the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; the trial court should have granted his motion to suppress statements made to the police; and the trial court erred in instructing the jury. After careful review, we affirm the judgments from the trial court.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Jerry Timberlake v. State of Tennessee
W2008-00037-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

The petitioner, Jerry Timberlake, appeals the post-conviction court’s summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief based on his failure to verify the petition under oath. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Henderson Court of Criminal Appeals

Cornelius Richmond v. State of Tennessee
W2007-00580-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge James C. Beasley, Jr.

The petitioner, Cornelius Richmond, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the petitioner argues that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel which rendered his guilty pleas involuntary and unknowing. After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Earice Roberts v. State of Tennessee
W2008-00573-CCA-R3-CO
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris B. Craft

The petitioner, Earice Roberts, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of error coram nobis, arguing that the trial court should have granted him relief on the basis of newly discovered evidence that a police officer and witness for the State had committed crimes in her official capacity as manager of the evidence and property room. Following our review, we affirm the order of the trial court denying the petition.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Brian A. Lowman
E2007-02343-CCA-R10-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Rebecca J. Stern

The defendant, Brian A. Lowman, was denied pretrial diversion by the district attorney general for Hamilton County and requested review of the denial by the trial court. After review, the trial court reversed the denial of pretrial diversion by the district attorney general. The State then appealed the decision of the trial court to this court for review. After careful review, we conclude that the district attorney general did not abuse his discretion in denying pretrial diversion and reverse the decision of the trial court granting pretrial diversion.

Hamilton Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Carlos A. Branch and Edward Allen, Jr.
M2006-01686-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.

Appellants, Edward Earl Allen, Jr. and Carlos A. Branch, entered best interest guilty pleas in Davidson County to one count of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a weapon on school property after an incident at Vanderbilt University. The plea agreement did not specify the length or manner of service of the sentences but specified that the sentences would run concurrently to each other. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Appellants to six years for aggravated assault and two years for possession of a weapon on school property, as Range I Standard Offenders. Appellants seek a review of their sentence on appeal. Because the record supports the sentences and the trial court properly denied alternative sentencing as to Appellant Branch, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Carmi Binkins
W2007-02403-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge James M. Lammey

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Carmi Binkins, was convicted of two counts of attempted second
degree murder, a Class B felony; two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony; and one count of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The trial court merged the aggravated assault conviction with one of the attempted murder convictions and sentenced Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to twelve years for each of the attempted second degree murder convictions and to twenty-four years at 100 percent for each of the especially aggravated kidnapping convictions. The court ordered that the especially aggravated kidnapping convictions be served concurrently with the attempted murder convictions but consecutively to each other, for an effective sentence of fortyeight years at 100 percent in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) his right to confrontation was violated when a crying victim was allowed to display his injuries to the jury despite being found incompetent to testify; and (2) the trial court provided erroneous instructions on the elements of especially aggravated kidnapping when answering a question from the jury. The State argues that the defendant has waived the issues by failing to include an adequate record on appeal and that the trial court’s jury instructions were proper. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm Defendant’s convictions but remand to the trial court for entry of corrected judgment forms to reflect that count four is to be served concurrently with count two and that Defendant’s especially aggravated kidnapping sentences are to be served at 100 percent release eligibility.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals