Opinions

State vs. Michael N. Grey
M1999-01428-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Allen W. Wallace
The appellant, Michael N. Grey, was convicted by a jury in the Dickson County Circuit Court of two counts of aggravated robbery, a class B felony, and two counts of theft under $500, a class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the appellant to ten years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for the aggravated robbery convictions. The trial court also sentenced the appellant to eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration in the Dickson County Jail for the theft convictions.The trial court further ordered that the appellant's sentences be served concurrently. The appellant raises the following issue for review: whether the appellant was denied due process because the State failed to provide him with proper pre-trial exculpatory evidence. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgments of the trial court.

Travis Plummer vs. State
M1999-01406-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Seth W. Norman
The petitioner, Travis Plummer, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court of Davidson County of one count of rape of a child, and subsequently also pled guilty to one count of rape. The trial court sentenced the petitioner to twenty years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for rape of a child and to twelve years incarceration for rape. The trial court further ordered that the petitioner's sentences be served consecutively. In this post conviction proceeding, the petitioner raises the following issue(s) for review: whether the petitioner was denied his constitutional rights at trial and at the plea proceeding when his counsel(s) failed to investigate and evaluate his competency to stand trial and to plead guilty. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Thomas W. Yelton vs. State
M1999-00597-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: William Charles Lee
The petitioner, Thomas W. Yelton, appeals the denial by the Bedford County Circuit Court of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 1992 convictions of fabricating evidence, theft of property worth more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), coercion of a witness, and harassment. Specifically, he alleges that he is entitled to relief from his convictions because he received ineffective assistance of counsel during trial proceedings. The petitioner predicates his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel upon the following grounds: (1) trial counsel failed to submit to the trial court a motion requesting the severance of his offenses; (2) trial counsel maintained inadequate contact with the petitioner during trial proceedings; (3) trial counsel failed to adequately investigate his case; and (4) trial counsel failed to adequately advise the petitioner concerning the waiver of his right to appeal his convictions. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State vs. Barry Waters Rogers
M1999-01389-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Robert L. Jones
The appellant, Barry Waters Rogers, appeals his conviction by a jury in the Giles County Circuit Court of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the underlying indictment. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State ex rel Graham vs. Cherry
M1999-01623-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Muriel Robinson
669. The trial court granted child support from the time of the filing of the petition. However, the court denied retroactive support on the basis of the delay of the State of Tennessee in filing the petition finding that such a judgment would be burdensome to the respondent, David R. Cherry, Jr., the father of the children. The State of Tennessee appeals, and we reverse and remand on the issue of retroactive child support.

State vs. Wayne Joseph Burgess, Jr.
M1999-02040-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Jim T. Hamilton
The appellant, Wayne Joseph Burgess, Jr., was convicted by a jury in the Giles County Circuit Court of one count of first degree felony murder, with the underlying felony being aggravated child abuse. The trial court sentenced the appellant to life in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The appellant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court erred in overruling the appellant's motion to strike the jury panel because the appellant's race was substantially under- represented on the venire from which the petit jury was selected under a practice providing "the opportunity for discrimination;" (2) whether the trial court erred in overruling the appellant's motion to suppress a confession that was obtained by the use of intimidation, threat, and coercion by the Pulaski Police Department; (3) whether the trial court erred in overruling the appellant's objection to allowing the prior inconsistent statement of Rickey Sikes to be entered into the record as substantive evidence; (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the appellant's conviction of first degree murder in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse as the State failed to prove the requisite mental status of "knowing" to commit that offense. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Kelly vs. So. Central Corr. Facility Disciplinary Bd.
M1999-02083-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Robert L. Jones
Petitioner, Henderson Kelly, appeals the action of the trial court in granting a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) motion to dismiss his petition for a writ of certiorari requesting review of an agency decision. We affirm the action of the trial judge.

Hope Cobb v. Advantage Manufacturing Corporation
W1999-01147-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Weatherford, Sr. J.
Trial Court Judge: George R. Ellis, Chancellor
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated _5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee, Hope Cobb, insists that the trial court erred in dismissing her claim at the conclusion of a bench trial on the grounds that she failed to carry the burden of proof that she had given proper notice of her injury to her employer, Advantage Manufacturing Corporation. The employer moves that we find this appeal to be frivolous and grant attorney fees and expenses incurred as a result of this appeal. For the reasons stated in this opinion, We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State vs. Christina L. Howard
M1999-02473-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Henry D. Bell
Defendant Christina L. Howard was found guilty by a Williamson County jury of possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine in an amount greater than 300 grams, possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I standard offender to concurrent terms of twenty years for cocaine possession, one year for marijuana possession, and one day for possession of drug paraphernalia. Defendant raises the following issues in this appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred when it did not instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of facilitation of a felony; (2) whether the trial court erred when it sentenced Defendant as a standard offender; and (3) whether the trial court erred when it denied Defendant alternative sentencing. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

State vs. James Eric Alder
M1999-02544-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Thomas W. Graham
The appellant, James Eric Alder, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court for Sequatchie County of one count of aggravated robbery, a class B felony. The trial court sentenced the appellant, as a Range I offender, to ten years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction and assessed a fine of $25,000. The appellant raises the following issue(s) for review: whether the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury as to aggravated assault, assault, and theft as lesser-included offenses of aggravated robbery. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davis vs. TN Bd. of Paroles
M2000-00668-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
This is another in a series of cases filed by a certain prison inmate, Ronald L. Davis, this time seeking the issuance of a common law writ of certiorari on the basis that the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole improperly refused to grant him early release. The board cited the seriousness of the offense for which he was convicted as the basis for its decision and moved for dismissal of the petition or alternatively for summary judgment. The trial court held this suit to be barred by Tennessee Code Annotated section 41-21-812 which prohibits the filing of subsequent lawsuits by inmates who have unpaid costs related to previous suits. The trial court dismissed this case under Tennessee Code Annotated section 41-21-812 and on the basis that the Petition for Writ of Certiorari failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. We affirm.

State vs. Jeffery Leon Medley
M1998-00439-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Charles D. Haston, Sr.
The appellant, Jeffrey Leon Medley, appeals his sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration imposed by the Warren County Circuit Court pursuant to the appellant's conviction of improper influence of a juror. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we dismiss this appeal.

Karen Garrett Humphries v. David Alison Humphries
E1999-02694-R3-CV

Trial Court Judge: Jean A. Stanley

Ronald Bradford Waller vs. State
E1999-02034-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Douglas A. Meyer
The petitioner was convicted in the Hamilton County Criminal Court in 1992 of first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, and theft over $1,000, receiving an effective sentence of life plus twenty-three years. The convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal in 1993; and the petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, presenting as issues, whether there was a variance between the indictment and the proof, whether he was improperly compelled to participate in a courtroom demonstration, whether he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on direct appeal, whether his convictions constitute double jeopardy, whether the trial court erred in evidentiary rulings, whether he was improperly convicted because of prosecutorial misconduct or cumulative errors at the trial, and whether his convictions amount to a miscarriage of justice. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court denying the petition for post-conviction relief.

Henry Eugene Hodges vs. State
M1999-00516-CCA-R3-PD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Walter C. Kurtz
The appellant, Henry Eugene Hodges, seeks post-conviction relief from his 1992 first degree murder conviction and sentence of death. The Davidson County Criminal Court denied the appellant's petition and this appeal was taken. This court is presented with the following issues: (1) the effectiveness of trial counsel; (2) the post-conviction court's failure to provide funds for expert services; and (3) the post-conviction court's denial of a continuance and refusal to bifurcate the post-conviction evidentiary hearing. Following review of the record, we conclude (1) the appellant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel; (2) the post-conviction court properly denied the appellant's request for funds for additional expert services; and (3) the post-conviction court properly denied the appellant's request for a continuance of the evidentiary hearing. Accordingly, we affirm the post-conviction court's finding that the appellant is not entitled to post-conviction relief.

State vs. Marcus Morrow
M1999-00769-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Jim T. Hamilton
The appellant, the State of Tennessee, appeals the order of the Maury County Circuit Court permitting the appellee, Marcus Morrow, to participate in a work release program during his forty-five-day incarceration for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), second offense. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

State vs. Reginald Tyrone Donnell
M1999-02184-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: J. O. Bond
Defendant, Reginald Tyrone Donnell, was indicted on two counts of first degree murder. A Wilson County jury found him guilty of two counts of second degree murder. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-five (25) years in the Department of Correction for each count, with the sentences to run consecutively. The Defendant now appeals contending: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support convictions of second degree murder, 2) the trial court failed to exclude autopsy photographs of the victims, 3) the sentences imposed by the trial court were excessive, and 4) the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentences. After review of the record, we affirm.

Ann Phillips v. Marvin Windows
W1999-02243-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: William Michael Maloan, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Martha B. Brasfield, Chancellor
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated _5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The defendant, Marvin Windows (Marvin), appeals the judgment of the Lauderdale Chancery Court awarding the plaintiff, Ann Phillips (Phillips), permanent partial disability of seventeen percent (17%) to the body as a whole.

William Andrew Dixon vs. Flora J. Holland, Warden
M1999-02494-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Seth W. Norman
William Andrew Dixon was convicted of kidnapping for ransom in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-2603 in April 1981 in the Circuit Court of Dickson County. The offense was committed in April 1978. Between the time of the offense in 1978, and the time of trial in 1981, kidnapping for ransom was redesignated by the legislature as the offense of aggravated kidnapping; the maximum punishment was reduced by the legislature from life imprisonment without parole to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The Tennessee Department of Correction maintains that it is incarcerating Petitioner under a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Petitioner filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Criminal Court of Davidson County, asserting the judgment is illegal and void. The petition was denied. The judgment is affirmed.

Robert B. Clark v. State of Tennessee
W2007-01440-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Lee V. Coffee

M2008-01607-COA-R3-PT
M2008-01607-COA-R3-PT
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Steven Stafford
Trial Court Judge: Larry G. Ross

Beasley Cotton Co. vs. Ralph
W1999-00273-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Dewey C. Whitenton
This appeal arises from a breach of contract between Farmer and Broker. After signing a contract to deliver cotton to Broker, Farmer failed to do so. Broker was then forced to purchase the cotton elsewhere for a substantial loss and brought suit to recover the losses. At the start of the trial, Farmer requested that the trial court dismiss the case and order the parties to proceed to arbitration. Finding that Farmer had waived his rights under the contract to arbitration, the trial court refused. Proceeding with the case, court found that Farmer had breached the contract and awarded damages to Broker. We affirm.

Victor Williams vs. Percey Pitzer
W2000-00028-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Jon Kerry Blackwood
This is a habeas case. A Wisconsin inmate housed in a Tennessee prison filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The prisoner was incarcerated in Tennessee pursuant to a contract between the Wisconsin correctional department and a private corporation. In his petition, the prisoner alleged that the Wisconsin correctional department did not have the authority to transfer him across state lines, and thus, his incarceration in Tennessee was illegal. The trial court dismissed his petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The plaintiff prisoner appealed. We affirm.

Willie Toles/Ida Toles vs. City of Dyersburg
W1999-01238-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Lee Moore
The present appeal arises out of a zoning dispute between the plaintiff property owner and the City of Dyersburg, Tennessee. The property in question had been operated as a tavern since 1960. In 1998, the area in which the property was located was re-zoned as a residential area. At that point, the tavern became a non-conforming use. Prior to the re-zoning, the tavern's business license had expired and the beer license had also lapsed. The operator of the club applied for a beer permit but was denied based upon the fact that at the time of the re-zoning there was no business in operation on the premises. Therefore, the City determined that the premises could not be "grandfathered" into the new zoning classification. The Plaintiffs filed a Statutory Writ of Certiorari challenging the City's actions. The trial court held a trial de novo after which the City's actions were upheld.

Robinson Property vs. Yoanne Russell
W2000-00331-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: D'Army Bailey
This case arises out of a $23,800.00 debt incurred by appellee Yo Anne Russell at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Robinsonville, Mississippi. The court below granted summary judgment to Yo Anne Russell because the court held that the debt represented by the drafts is unenforceable in Tennessee due to public policy considerations embodied in section 29-19-101 of the Tennessee Code. Plaintiff appeals from the court below, arguing that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Defendant Yo Anne Russell. For the reasons stated hereafter, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.