State of Tennessee v. Alkita M. Odom
M2000-02676-CCA-R9-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jane W. Wheatcraft

This is an interlocutory appeal by the State pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Defendant, Alkita M. Odom, was indicted for the offenses of forgery and criminal simulation, each in the amount of $250,000. The indictment reflected that each offense was a Class B felony. Upon the Defendant's motion, the trial court dismissed the indictment to the extent that it reflected Class B felonies because the court found that for the crime to be anything other than Class E felonies, the Defendant would have had to have actually obtained goods or services. The court then granted the State's motion to amend the indictment to reflect Class E felonies for the purposes of appeal. The State argues on appeal that the trial court improperly dismissed the indictment based on the grade of the offense charged. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse the dismissal of the indictment and reinstate it as originally returned by the Grand Jury.

Danny Thomas vs. Dr. Molly O'Toole, et al
M2001-00305-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Hamilton V. Gayden, Jr.
Appellant, Danny Ray Thomas, a prison inmate, brought suit against two medical doctors, Molly P. O'Toole and Donald J. Boatright, on September 1, 2000 alleging various acts of malpractice. On November 9, 2000, Plaintiff sought a default judgment. On November 15, 2000, counsel for Defendants made his appearance and, on November 22, 2000, answered the complaint. Both Defendants filed motions for summary judgment, which motions were granted by the trial court. Plaintiff appealed, and after consideration, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Frankie L. Richardson
M2000-02518-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald P. Harris

The Defendant, Frankie L. Richardson, appeals as of right from the revocation of his probation. He argues that the trial judge abused his discretion by revoking probation. We find no abuse of discretion; thus, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Mohamed Ali v. Board of Paroles
M2001-02302-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
Appellant, an inmate of the Department of Corrections, appeals the dismissal of his Petition for Certiorari in the Chancery Court of Davidson County. He was convicted in 1993 of one count of rape and one count of attempted bribery of a witness. He received sentences of twelve years and three years, respectively, to be served consecutively. He seeks mandatory parole under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-28-117(b) and other relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Paul Dennis Reid, Jr.
M1999-00803-CCA-R3-DD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Cheryl A. Blackburn

Paul Dennis Reid, Jr. was found guilty by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery. Reid’s convictions stem from the execution style murders of two Captain D’s employees and the especially aggravated robbery of one of the employees. The jury returned a sentence of death for each of the homicides based upon its finding of three aggravating factors, i.e., (i)(2), prior violent felony; (i)(6), murder committed for the purpose of avoiding prosecution; and (i)(7), murder committed during commission of robbery. The Davidson County Criminal Court subsequently imposed a twenty-five-year sentence for the especially aggravated robbery conviction and ordered this sentence to be served consecutively to the two death sentences.  In this appeal as of right, Reid presents numerous issues for our review, including (1) issues arising from suppressed evidence; (2) challenges to the selection of jurors; (3) the sufficiency of the convicting evidence; (4) the admission and exclusion of evidence at both the guilt and penalty phases; (5) the propriety of the prosecution’s closing argument during the guilt phase; (6) the failure to instruct on lesser-included offenses; (7) the trial court’s act of holding court into late hours of the evening without cause; (8) the admissibility in general and the introduction of specific victim impact evidence; (9) prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; (10) the propriety of the jury instructions; (11) whether application of the (i)(7) aggravator violates State v. Middlebrooks; (12)
the propriety of a twenty-five-year sentence for especially aggravated robbery; (13) the constitutionality of Tennessee’s death penalty statutes; and (14) whether the sentences of death imposed by the jury are proportionate sentences. After a careful review of the record, we affirm Reid’s convictions for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery. Additionally, we affirm the imposition of the sentences of death and the accompanying sentence for especially aggravated robbery.

State of Tennessee v. Paul Dennis Reid, Jr. - Concurring
M1999-00803-CCA-R3-DD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.

I fully concur in Judge Hayes’s thorough, incisive opinion. With respect to a portion of the analysis of the especially aggravated robbery sentencing issues, I concur merely in the results.

State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Anderson
M2000-00754-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer

The Defendant, Kenneth Anderson, appeals as of right from the revocation of his probation by the trial court. On appeal, he asserts that the trial court erred by ordering him to serve the balance of his sentence in incarceration after finding that he had violated his probation. We find no error; thus, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Joseph Darryl Taylor
M2000-00525-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Charles Lee

Defendant, Joseph Darryl Taylor, was convicted of attempt to commit sexual battery, attempt to commit rape, and aggravated kidnapping. In this appeal as of right, Defendant contends that the evidence adduced at trial concerning all three offenses was insufficient to find him guilty and that the trial court erred when it sentenced Defendant. Following a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in part and reverse in part.

State of Tennessee v. David D. Bottoms
M2000-02080-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Cheryl A. Blackburn

The defendant pled guilty in Davidson County Criminal Court to one count of arson, a Class C felony, based on his setting fire to a rental house. According to a plea agreement with the State, he received a four-year sentence as a Range I, standard offender. A sentencing hearing was held to determine the manner of service of his sentence and the amount and manner of payment of any restitution. The trial court ordered that the defendant serve his entire sentence in confinement in the workhouse and that he pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim. In this appeal as of right, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying any alternative sentence and in ordering restitution in the amount of $10,000. Having reviewed the record on appeal, we affirm the judgment of the trial court as to the manner of service. As to restitution, we reverse and remand to the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Michael Pittman
W2000-01027-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris B. Craft

After a jury trial, the Defendant, Michael Pittman, was convicted of aggravated robbery. He was subsequently sentenced to twenty years incarceration as a Range II, multiple offender. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court abused its discretion by ruling that his prior convictions for robbery and theft were admissible to impeach his credibility should he elect to testify. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the Defendant's conviction and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling that the Defendant's prior convictions were admissible. Thus, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Ernest Soloman
W2000-01176-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

The defendant was convicted in the Shelby County Criminal Court of two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of attempted aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated assault. He appealed the aggravated robbery convictions, arguing that the proof was insufficient to sustain the convictions. We affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand for resentencing as to the conviction for attempted aggravated robbery.

Marlon R. Jackson v. State of Tennessee
W2000-01887-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge James C. Beasley, Jr.

The petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, later amended by appointed counsel, claiming that his 1999 pleas of guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court were involuntary and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, and the petitioner timely appealed, raising the same two issues. We affirm the judgments of the trial court dismissing the petition.

Larry Howard, M.D. vs. Cornerstone Medical Associates, P.C.
E2000-01659-SC-WCM-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice Janice M. Holder
Trial Court Judge: W. Frank Brown, III
In this workers' compensation case, the employee sustained injuries in an automobile accident while traveling to one of two nursing homes at which he worked as medical director pursuant to his employment contract. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer, finding that the employee's injuries did not occur in the course of his employment. The Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel reversed the trial court's decision, held that the injuries were compensable, and remanded the case for a determination of benefits. We disagree with the Panel's recommendation and affirm the trial court's judgment.

2000-01720-COA-R3-CV
2000-01720-COA-R3-CV
Trial Court Judge: Jerri S. Bryant

Randall Webber, Jr., et al vs. State Farm Mutual Ins. Co.
E1999-01909-SC-R11-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice William M. Barker
Trial Court Judge: James B. Scott, Jr.
Anderson County -The sole issue in this appeal is whether the plaintiff ratified an insurance policy that provided uninsured motorist coverage in amounts less than the policy's coverage for bodily injury liability. The plaintiff argued in the trial court that he did not authorize the lesser limits of uninsured motorist coverage contained in the contract and that the court should construe the policy to provide for coverage equivalent to the liability provided for bodily injury. The trial court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff had ratified, and was bound by, the coverage limits as expressed in the contract. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed, finding that an issue of fact existed as to whether the plaintiff intended to ratify the lower uninsured motorist coverage limits. We granted permission to appeal and hold that the trial court correctly granted summary judgment to the defendant. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed.

B. Gayden Pate, et al vs. C & S of Tenn., Inc., et al
M2000-02283-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Leonard W. Martin
The plaintiffs signed a contract for the purchase of a new home, conditional on their ability to sell their present home and to obtain a mortgage loan. They gave the defendant developer $30,000 as earnest money. When they were unable to sell their home, they asked for the return of the earnest money. The defendant refused, and the purchasers sued. The trial court ordered the defendant to return the $30,000. We affirm, but we modify the court's judgment to assess interest and attorney fees against the sellers.

Billy Hembree, et al vs. State
M2000-00767-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Lester Peavyhouse, having been found not guilty by reason of insanity after an April 1985 attack upon his sister with a hatchet, was committed by the Circuit Court of Stewart County to the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute ("MTMHI") in Nashville for involuntary care and treatment on March 1, 1988. In January 1989, he was transferred from MTMHI to Luton Community Mental Health Center subject to a mandatory outpatient therapy plan. In July 1989, he was transferred to Vanderbilt Mental Health Center Adult Outpatient Services section. Ultimately, Peavyhouse enrolled as a student at Austin Peay State University with out patient therapy through Harriet Cohn Center in Clarksville. On October 31, 1991, Peavyhouse entered a private residence in Clarksville with a .410 gauge shotgun and shot to death Misty Harding and Billy Hembree, seriously wounded David Ross and Robert Huff, and committed aggravated assaults upon Charity Baggett, Deanna Shepherd, Walter Scott Palmer, and Jeffery Underwood. Peavyhouse was convicted on all charges and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison plus fifty-six years. The estates of Harding and Hembree, together with the other victims of the October 31, 1991 assaults, brought suit against the State of Tennessee before the Tennessee Claims Commission charging MTMHI with negligence in the January 23, 1989 release of Peavyhouse from a secure treatment facility. The Tennessee Claims Commission rendered judgment in favor of the claimants and the State of Tennessee Appeals. We affirm the judgment of the Claims Commission.

State of Tennessee v. William R. Stevens
M1999-02067-CCA-R3-DD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The Defendant, William R. Stevens, was convicted of two counts of first degree premeditated murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery, arising out of the deaths of his wife and mother-in-law. For each of his murder convictions, he was sentenced to death. He now appeals as of right, raising the following eleven issues for our review: (1) whether it was error to limit the testimony of crime-scene expert Gregg McCrary; (2) whether it was error to exclude evidence which tended to show that Corey Milliken had an independent motive to commit the murders; (3) whether it was error to admit a redacted version of Sandi Stevens' diary; (4) whether the trial court failed to apply the hearsay and other evidentiary rules in an evenhanded manner; (5) whether the hearsay statements of Corey Milliken to Sarah Suttle should have been excluded as not being "in furtherance of the conspiracy"; (6) whether the cumulative effect of all errors at trial violated the Defendant's right to due process of law; (7) whether instructing the jury that it must agree unanimously in order to impose a life sentence and prohibiting it from being told the effect of a non-unanimous verdict violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; (8) whether the Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-204(i)(4) aggravating circumstance fails to narrow the class of death-eligible defendants in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; (9) whether the failure to articulate meaningful standards for proportionality review mandated by Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-206 violates the Defendant's right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment; (10) whether the unlimited discretion vested in the prosecutor as to whether or not to seek the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; and (11) whether the death penalty is imposed in a discriminatory manner in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. After a thorough review of the record and the relevant legal authorities, we find no reversible error on the part of the trial court. Accordingly, we affirm the Defendant's convictions and his sentences of death.

Derrick Webb vs. Marvell Collier
W1999-01682-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Robert A. Lanier
This is a false arrest case. The plaintiff was arrested by one of the defendants, a security guard, in a Kroger grocery store. The plaintiff sued the security guard, Kroger, and others. The uncontroverted evidence showed that the security guard was an employee of a private security firm and not an employee of Kroger. The trial court granted Kroger's motion for summary judgment. We reverse, finding that Kroger may be held liable under some circumstances for the actions of a security guard who is an independent contractor.

Richard Lee Franklin v. State of Tennessee
E2000-01398-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Leon C. Burns, Jr.

In his original trial, the Petitioner, Richard Lee Franklin, was convicted of first degree murder by a Cumberland County jury for the death of David Kirkland. Due to procedural errors at Petitioner's first trial, the trial court granted Petitioner's motion for a new trial. Petitioner was retried and the jury convicted him of second degree murder. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner to twenty-two years of incarceration. State v. Richard Lee Franklin, No. 03C01-9706-CR-00219, 1998 WL 458580, at *1, Cumberland County (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, August 10, 1998), perm. to appeal denied (Tenn. 1999). Subsequently, Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief which was denied. In this appeal as of right, he asserts that the post-conviction court erred in finding his trial counsel's performance to be effective. Specifically, the appellant contends that trial counsel was ineffective for (1) failing to investigate and present witnesses that would support a defense of self-defense; (2) for failing to discuss trial strategies and defenses with the Petitioner; and (3) for failing to request an instruction on self-defense. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

George Clayton vs. Betty Clayton
E2000-01413-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Lawrence H. Puckett
This is a divorce case. The trial court granted the counter-plaintiff, Betty L. Clayton ("Wife"), a divorce from the original plaintiff, George M. Clayton ("Husband"), on the ground of inappropriate marital conduct; divided the parties' marital property; identified and decreed the distribution of their separate property; and awarded Wife alimony in solido of $325,000, plus attorney's fees of $15,000. Husband appeals the division of property, the amount of the alimony award, and the award of attorney's fees. We affirm.

Tennessee Farmers Mutual Ins. Co. vs. Robert Westmoreland, et al
E2000-02693-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David Michael Swiney
Trial Court Judge: Jeffrey F. Stewart
Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company ("Plaintiff") filed a declaratory judgment action claiming that the homeowner's insurance policy issued to Robert and Elizabeth Westmoreland ("Defendants") was void due to material misrepresentations made on the application for insurance by Mr. Westmoreland. Defendants claim they provided the correct information, but it was incorrectly recorded by the insurance agent. The Trial Court granted Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Charles Arthur Reeves
M2000-01201-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge John H. Gasaway, III

The defendant appealed the trial court's loss of jurisdiction when he was transferred into the custody of the Department of Correction. The issue is now moot. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.

Johnny Wayne Garner and Richard Darrell Miller v. State of Tennessee
M2000-01258-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Stella L. Hargrove

Both Petitioners appeal from the post-conviction court's denial of their post-conviction relief petitions. The Petitioners claim ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal for failing to object to an erroneous jury instruction and failing to raise the erroneous jury instruction in their direct appeal. The post-conviction court found the jury instruction to be erroneous; however, it denied relief. After a thorough review, we conclude that the jury instruction was erroneous and prejudicial to the Petitioners and find that trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to object to the erroneous jury instruction at trial and for failing to raise it on direct appeal. Accordingly, we reverse the post-conviction court's denial of relief and remand the Petitioners' cases to the trial court for new trials on the issues of aggravated arson.

State of Tennessee v. Marlo Jones
W2000-01565-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

The defendant was convicted by a jury of aggravated criminal trespass, attempted aggravated assault, and two counts of felony reckless endangerment. The trial court sentenced the defendant to concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days for aggravated criminal trespass, two years for attempted aggravated assault, and one year each for both counts of felony reckless endangerment. The defendant was granted probation after service of 120 days. In this appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court's denial of full probation. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the sentence imposed by the trial court.