State of Tennessee v. Terrance G. Motley - Concurring
W2002-02079-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

I concur in the result reached and most of the reasoning in the majority opinion. However, I do not believe that we should rely on T.C.A. § 40-18-110 to bar relief in this case relative to a jury instruction for the lesser included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter. The state has not raised the statute to bar the defendant’s jury instruction claim, and, obviously, the defendant has not had an opportunity to address the validity of the statute. In this respect, I believe that legitimate questions exist about the constitutionality of, at least, part of T.C.A. § 40-18-110 but that this case is not the one to answer those questions. The fact that no harm could flow to the defendant under the circumstances in this case is sufficient, by itself, to warrant affirming the judgments of conviction. Therefore, I concur in the majority opinion.

Devon Crawford v. State of Tennessee
W2003-00016-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge John P. Colton, Jr.

On August 19, 1999, the petitioner, Devon M. Crawford, filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions of aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery and first degree murder. Counsel was appointed and an evidentiary hearing was held. In this appeal, petitioner argues that the trial court erred in dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief. After a review of the record, we reverse and remand this case to the trial court for a decision on the merits of the post-conviction petition as it relates to indictments 97-02686 and 97-03493.

State of Tennessee v. Calvin Lyons, Sr.
W2003-00917-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

The Defendant, Calvin Lyons, Sr., appeals as of right from the judgment of the trial court, which revoked the Defendant’s probation and reinstated his original sentence. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Antonio Bonds v. State of Tennessee
W2003-00260-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Arthur T. Bennett

The petitioner, Antonio Bonds, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief based upon its filing beyond the statute of limitations. He argues his petition was timely filed. We hold that for purposes of the post-conviction relief statute of limitations, the final action of the Tennessee Supreme Court is the date of its denial of an application for permission to appeal, not the date it denied the petition to rehear. Because the instant petition was filed more than one year from the date of denial of the application for permission to appeal, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Antonio Bonds v. State of Tennessee - Dissenting
W2003-00260-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Gary R. Wade
Trial Court Judge: Judge Arthur T. Bennett

I fully agree with my colleagues that the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure do not recognize a petition to rehear the denial by our supreme court of an application for permission to appeal. In several instances, our supreme court had observed that there is no authority for such a petition. See, e.g., John Wayne Slate, Jr. v. State, No. 03C01-9201-CR-00014 (Tenn., at Knoxville, Feb. 6, 1995) (stating that “a petition to rehear the denial of a Rule 11 application for permission to appeal is unknown to the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure”). In this case, however, as in some others, our supreme court “denied” the petition, thereby acting on the request. Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-202(a) requires a post-conviction petition within one year of “the final action of the highest state appellate court to which an appeal is taken.” In Lease v. Tipton, 722 S.W.2d 379 (Tenn. 1986), our high court issued an opinion resulting from a petition to rehear its denial of an application for permission to appeal. Further, the Advisory Commission Comments to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 39 provide that the court “generally disfavors petitions to rehear following denials of applications for permission to appeal.” (Emphasis added.) The Comments do not indicate that such petitions are prohibited.

Billy B. Brown v. State of Tennessee
W2002-00986-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bernie Weinman

The petitioner appeals the denial of post-conviction relief. He argues the post-conviction court erred in determining he received the effective assistance of counsel at his trial. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Larry S. Reese
E2002-02003-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Gary R Wade
Trial Court Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

The defendant, Larry S. Reese, was found guilty of aggravated assault based, in part, on the violation of a protective order obtained by the victim, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-102(c), and public intoxication, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-310. Upon finding that the order of protection had not been served on the defendant prior to the assault, the trial court modified the aggravated assault conviction to simple assault and ordered a sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days. In this appeal, the state asserts that the trial court erred by reducing the defendant’s conviction to simple assault. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

State of Tennessee v. Larry S. Reese - Dissenting
E2002-02003-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

Because I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that there was no valid order of protection at the time of the instant offense, I must respectfully dissent. Orders of protection are governed in general by Tennessee Code Annotated sections 36-3-601 through 36-3-324. Initially, an ex parte order of protection is issued, followed by a hearing to determine whether a permanent order should be entered:

State of Tennessee v. Ernesto Gonsales
E2002-02687-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Gary R Wade
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lynn W. Brown

The defendant, Ernesto Gonsales, pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault. After determining that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had a detainer out for the defendant, the trial court modified the defendant's sentence to six years' unsupervised probation and release to the INS, noting that the defendant would immediately be deported to Mexico. In this appeal, the state contends that the trial court exceeded its authority by modifying the terms of the plea bargain agreement. Because the initial judgment should not have been altered, the order of modification is reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. John Brewer
M2002-02749-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Stella L. Hargrove

The defendant pled guilty to aggravated burglary, theft over $1000, and vandalism and was sentenced to five years probation. Subsequently, after the defendant tested positive for marijuana and his probation officer filed a probation violation report, the trial court revoked his probation following a hearing. The defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in relying upon a laboratory report showing marijuana in his urine because the accompanying affidavit had not been executed by the technician who performed the test but by the assistant laboratory director. Following our review, we affirm the order of the trial court revoking the defendant's probation.

State of Tennessee v. Mitchell Wayne Hiles
M2002-02973-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Michael R. Jones

The Appellant, Mitchell Wayne Hiles, was convicted of one count of aggravated sexual battery, a class B felony, following a jury trial. The trial court sentenced Hiles to an eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Hiles raises the single issue of whether the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict. After review of the record, we affirm the conviction.

State of Tennessee v. Albert G. Gassaway
M2002-02121-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert E. Burch

The defendant, Albert G. Gassaway, appeals his conviction for DUI, second offense. The trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days, with six months to be served in the county workhouse and the remainder on probation, ordered him to pay a $600 fine, and suspended his driving privileges for two years. The defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for DUI, second offense, and that the court erred in imposing more than the minimum sentence. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Beverly A. Taylor v. Ebasco Constructors, Inc.
E2002-01929-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Thayer, Sp. J.
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Jeffrey R. Stewart, Chancellor
The trial court found the employee was permanently and totally disabled as a result of her exposure to aluminum during the course of her employment. The employer contends the evidence is not sufficient to establish a compensable work injury. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Thad Guerra v. Leonard Peeks
M2002-02580-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Sr. Judge William H. Inman
Trial Court Judge: John D. Wootten, Jr.
The permit for a sewage disposal system required that the driveway be constructed along the lot line and be no wider than ten feet. The plaintiffs, during the course of constructing a residence on their lot, did not locate the driveway along the lot line as required, and made it twenty-five feet wide. The system was disapproved by the State unless the plaintiffs obtained a duplicate area, i.e., procured by easement or purchase square footage equivalent to the footage utilized by the mis-located, widened driveway. The complaint was filed more than three years after the disapproval by the State, the date on when the cause of action accrued, and the action was dismissed. We affirm.

Richard Feldman v. Board of Medical Examiners
M2002-02784-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
This is an appeal from a Chancery Court's review of an administrative hearing concerning violations of the Tennessee General Rules and Regulations Governing the Practice of Medicine for advertising. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.

RDM v. State of Tennessee, Department of Children's Services, In the Matter of: AGM
E2003-00330-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Herschel Pickens Franks
Trial Court Judge: Judge Russell E. Simmons, Jr.

The Trial Court terminated parents’ parental rights. The father has appealed. We affirm the Trial
Court.

Hollingsworth, Inc. vs. Ruth E. Johnson
E2002-02561-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Houston M. Goddard
Trial Court Judge: William E. Lantrip
This appeal questions the holding of the Trial Court regarding the right of a corporation to claim bad debt credits for sales tax remitted relative to health club membership contracts which were subsequently defaulted upon. We affirm in part and reverse and dismiss in part.

Marie Ann Burnett v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
W2003-00060-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Joe H. Walker, III, Sp.J.
Trial Court Judge: Creed Mcginley, Judge
The only issues submitted to the trial judge were the extent of the employee's vocational disability and whether the disability was related to the accident. Employer appeals the award of thirty percent permanent disability to the body for employee's work related accident. We affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Andrew Phillip Stover
E2002-02821-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lynn W. Brown

The defendant pled guilty to the sale of less than .5 gram of a Schedule II controlled substance, a Class C felony, and two counts of the sale of a Schedule VI controlled substance, Class E felonies, receiving an effective sentence of five years in the Department of Correction. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court granted the defendant's request for judicial diversion, concluding he was eligible for diversion because he had not previously been convicted of a felony or a Class A misdemeanor and his history and circumstances demonstrated he was a suitable candidate for judicial diversion. The State appealed, arguing that the defendant was eligible for diversion only because the trial court modified his prior conviction from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C misdemeanor. Following our review, we affirm the order of the trial court.

Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, v. State of Tennessee, Department of Safety
M2003-00147-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Special Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge by Interchange Walter C. Kurtz

This case involves the seizure and forfeiture of a leased vehicle. The Department of Safety ("the Department") sent a notice of the forfeiture proceedings to the corporate owner/lessor at the address listed on the vehicle's certificate of title. Because the owner had moved two years previously and the Postal Service had ceased forwarding its mail, the unopened certified letter was returned to the Department marked "Not Deliverable as Addressed Unable to Forward." The Department took no further steps to locate the owner and summarily ordered the forfeiture of the vehicle. Upon learning of the forfeiture, the owner filed a petition for a stay and reconsideration, which the Department denied. The owner then filed a petition for review in the Chancery Court of Davidson County in which it challenged the adequacy of the notice procedure. The trial court ruled the notice procedure did not meet constitutional due process requirements under the circumstances, in which the corporate owner had a registered agent for service of process whose name and address were easily obtainable through the Secretary of State's Office. The Department appeals, arguing that due process does not require that it seek out a corporate owner that has failed to notify the Department of its change of address, as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-4-131. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Fredrequos Damon Neal
W2002-00946-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

The defendant, Fredrequos Damon Neal, was convicted by a Madison County Circuit Court jury of attempted first degree murder, a Class A felony. The trial court sentenced him to twenty-two years as a Range I, standard offender. The defendant appeals, claiming that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Peggy Gaston v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
E2001-01487-SC-R11-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice E. Riley Anderson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lawrence H. Puckett

We granted review to decide whether there was sufficient evidence to require a jury to determine
whether the insurer waived compliance with insurance policy provisions requiring the insurer’s
consent to a third-party settlement by its insured. After the insurance company denied her claim, the insured filed a complaint alleging breach of contract, violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and bad faith. The trial court directed a verdict for the insurance company, finding that the insured failed to comply with the subrogation provisions of her policy and that the insurance company did not waive these provisions. The Court of Appeals reversed. After reviewing the record and applicable authority, we agree with the Court of Appeals that there was evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that the insurance company waived the subrogation provisions. We also conclude that the insured was not required to demonstrate that the insurance company had not been prejudiced and that the trial court improperly directed verdicts on the insured’s claims under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act and the bad faith statute. We therefore affirm the Court of Appeals’ judgment and remand to the trial court for a new trial. Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Appeal by Permission; Judgment of the Court of Appeals Affirmed; Case Remanded to the Trial Court.

Randy Arnwine v. Union County Board of Education, et al.
E2001-02719-SC-R11-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Billy Joe White

We granted permission to appeal in this case to determine whether the  Union County Board of Education had authority to enter into a four-year employment contract with an assistant superintendent. The trial court found that the parties' four-year contract was valid. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's decision, concluding that no statutory authority existed for the Union County Board of Education to enter into a multi-year employment contract with an assistant superintendent. We affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.

State of Tennessee v. Robert Michael Winters
E2002-00160-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Rebecca J. Stern

Robert Michael Winters appeals his Hamilton County convictions of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery relative to events which culminated in the death of Vernise Sheffield, for which the defendant is serving concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole and 12 years, respectively. In this direct appeal, Winters alleges that his convictions are unsupported by sufficient evidence, that the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on criminal responsibility, that the trial court erroneously admitted a letter from the defendant to his wife which was properly subject to the marital communications privilege, and that the trial court erroneously admitted a prior consistent statement to rehabilitate a state's witness. Because we are unconvinced that harmful error occurred, we affirm the defendant's first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery convictions. However, instructional error with respect to the first-degree premeditated murder conviction requires that we reverse that count and remand for a new trial.

State of Tennessee v. Theresa C. Runion
E2002-02759-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

The appellant pled guilty to simple burglary. At sentencing, the trial court imposed a two-year sentence with sixty days to be served in the county jail followed by probation. In this appeal, the appellant argues the trial court erred: (1) in denying judicial diversion; and (2) in denying full probation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.