State of Tennessee v. Anderson Toliver

The defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated child abuse. The trial court imposed a
nine-year sentence for each conviction and ordered concurrent service of these sentences. The
defendant appealed, raising numerous issues, but the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the
convictions and sentences. We granted the defendant’s application for permission to appeal and,
after thoroughly reviewing the record, conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in
consolidating the two indictments for trial. Furthermore, we have concluded that the erroneous
consolidation of the indictments, in conjunction with the erroneous admission of evidence of
other crimes, wrongs, or acts, affirmatively appears to have affected the verdict of the jury.
Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court and Court of Criminal Appeals are reversed, and
these cases are remanded for new trials at which evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts
committed by the defendant against the victim or others shall not be admitted unless relevant to a
material issue. Tenn. R. App. P. 11; Reversed and Remanded for New Trials