APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

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Yovonda S. Chambers v. State of Tennessee

M2012-02288-CCA-R3-PC

 The Petitioner, Yovonda S. Chambers, pled guilty to one count of identity theft and agreed to allow the trial court to determine sentencing. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the State entered a nolle prosequi as to a second count of identity theft. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner to four years to be served on intensive probation. The Petitioner timely filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. The Petitioner appeals the post-conviction court’s denial, claiming that her attorney failed to adequately investigate the case, discuss the case with the Petitioner, and properly prepare for sentencing. After a thorough review of the record, the briefs, and relevant authorities, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Timothy L. Easter
Williamson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/13/13
State of Tennessee v. Lam Hoang Nguyen

M2012-00654-CCA-R3-CD

A Davidson County Grand Jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Lam Hoang Nguyen, of sexual battery, for which he was sentenced to 18 months probation after service of 10 days in confinement. In this appeal, Nguyen argues (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for sexual battery; and (2) he was denied a fair and impartial trial due to jury bias. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge Steve Dozier
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/13/13
State of Tennessee v. Charles King Morris a/k/a Carl Adam Jackson

E2013-00230-CCA-R3-CD

Charles King Morris (“the Defendant”) pleaded guilty to one count of theft over $1000 and, pursuant to his plea, was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to a three-year sentence suspended to supervised probation. After the Defendant was arrested again for theft of property, his probation officer filed a probation violation report. The trial court subsequently held an evidentiary hearing, revoked the Defendant’s probation, and ordered the Defendant to serve the remainder of his original sentence in confinement. The Defendant appeals the trial court’s ruling. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge Rebecca J. Stern
Hamilton County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/12/13
State of Tennessee v. Tyris Lemont Harvey

E2012-02500-CCA-R3-CD

The defendant, Tyris Lemont Harvey, appeals the sentencing decision of the Blount County Circuit Court following the revocation of his probationary sentence. The defendant pled guilty in multiple cases, over a period of years, and was serving an effective eleven-year sentence on supervised probation. A violation report was filed, and, following a hearing, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered that the balance of the original sentences be served in confinement. On appeal, the defendant does not contest the trial court’s revocation, but argues that the court erred in ordering him to serve the balance of his sentence in confinement. After review, we conclude no error occurred and affirm the decision of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Originating Judge:Judge Tammy Harrington
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/12/13
State of Tennessee v. Don Maurice Taylor

W2012-02027-CCA-R3-CD

The appellant, Don Maurice Taylor, pled guilty in the Gibson County Circuit Court to one count of second degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of twenty-five years for the murder conviction, a Class A felony, and six years for each aggravated robbery conviction, a Class C felony. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that his effective twenty-five-year sentence is excessive because the trial court misapplied enhancement factors and failed to apply certain mitigating factors. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge Clayburn L. Peeples
Gibson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/12/13
Richard Herrera v. State of Tennessee

W2012-02229-CCA-R3-PC

The Petitioner, Richard Herrera, appeals the Obion County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2010 convictions for sexual battery and attempted sexual battery and his effective Range I, one-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by dismissing his petition on the ground that his sentence had expired. Because the trial court erred in dismissing the post-conviction petition on the ground of an expired sentence, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for an evidentiary hearing.

Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Judge William B. Acree Jr.
Obion County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Keith C. Buckalew

M2012-02356-CCA-R3-CD

The defendant, Keith C. Buckalew, was convicted by a Sumner County Criminal Court jury of solicitation of a minor to observe sexual conduct, a Class E felony, and assault, a Class B misdemeanor, and was sentenced to respective terms of four years and six months, to be served consecutively. On appeal, the defendant argues that: (1) the trial court erred in allowing the hearsay testimony of two minors under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule; (2) the trial court erred in failing to limit, in the second trial, the victim’s testimony about the defendant’s touching her breast; and (3) the trial court erred in failing to limit testimony of the State’s witnesses regarding the defendant’s consumption of alcohol. We conclude that the defendant has waived review of these claims and, accordingly, affirm the judgments of the trial court.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge Dee David Gay
Sumner County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Lewis

W2012-00723-CCA-MR3-CD

Terrance Lewis (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of one count of second degree murder, two counts of attempted second degree murder, and three counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of ninety-five years. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is not sufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in sentencing him. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge Chris Craft
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Shawn Anthony Jones

E2012-00480-CCA-R3-CV

A Green County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Shawn Anthony Jones, of one count of first degree premeditated murder, three counts of first degree felony murder, and one count of attempted first degree premeditated murder. The trial court merged the murder convictions and sentenced the appellant to life. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the appellant to twenty-five years for the attempted murder conviction and ordered that he serve the sentence consecutively to the life sentence. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court erred by (1) allowing the State to introduce into evidence unduly prejudicial photographs of the victims, (2) failing to suppress his statements to police, (3) refusing to allow him to show that a co-defendant told police she kicked open the door to the victims’ home, and (4) failing to grant his motion for a mistrial when the prosecutor commented on his failure to testify. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge John F. Dugger, Jr.
Greene County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Lewis - Concurring

W2012-00723-CCA-MR3-CD

I write separately to address the current split of authority on the standard to be applied to appellate review of consecutive sentencing. The majority determines that the abuse of discretion standard with a presumption of reasonableness is the applicable standard. However, as noted by the majority, the standard of review on the issue of consecutive sentencing is not clear under our state’s current jurisprudence. In the arena of consecutive sentencing, our supreme court has not issued a definitive ruling on the standard of review to be applied by this court.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas
Originating Judge:Judge Chris Craft
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Brian Wilcox

W2012-01592-CCA-R3-CD

Stephen Brian Wilcox (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of attempted aggravated sexual battery. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to six years’ incarceration. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is not sufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in sentencing him. The Defendant also argues that the trial court erred in excluding testimony related to alleged sexual accusations made by the victim against others, in permitting the victim to be brought into the courtroom to be identified, and in permitting the State to continue its direct examination of the victim’s mother after it passed the witness. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Special Judge David G. Hayes
Madison County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/09/13
State of Tennessee v. Randall Coleman

M2012-01285-CCA-R3-CD

A Davidson County jury found the Defendant, Randall Coleman, guilty of five counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of rape of a child. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to ten years for each aggravated sexual battery conviction and to the mandatory twenty-five-year sentence for the rape of a child conviction. The trial court ordered partial consecutive sentencing for a total effective sentence of fifty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred when sentencing him because his sentence is excessive. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude there exists no error in the judgments of the trial court. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Cheryl Blackburn
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/08/13
Anthony D. Forster v. State of Tennessee

M2012-01641-CCA-R3-PC

Anthony D. Forster (“the Petitioner”) filed a petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for especially aggravated robbery. In his petition, he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed his petition. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the post-conviction court erred in summarily dismissing his petition. Upon our thorough review of the record and applicable law, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand this matter to the Davidson County Criminal Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Judge Seth Norman
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/08/13
State of Tennessee v. Mark A. Vestal

E2012-00913-CCA-R3-CD

In three separate cases tried together, a Knox County jury convicted the Defendant, Mark A. Vestal, of two counts of the sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine, one count of the sale of less than 0.5 grams of cocaine, and two counts of the delivery of less than 0.5 grams of cocaine. The trial court merged some of the convictions and entered judgments of conviction for: two counts of the sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine and one count of the sale of less than 0.5 grams of cocaine. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to a total effective sentence of sixty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”). On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it: (1) excluded him from voir dire without advising him that he had a constitutional right to be present for jury selection; and (2) ordered that his sentences run consecutively. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we conclude that the trial court erred when it failed to inform the Defendant that he had a constitutional right to be present during jury selection. The Defendant’s judgments of conviction are reversed, and the case is remanded for a new trial.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Bob R. McGee
Knox County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/07/13
State of Tennessee v. Jacob Andrew Brown

W2012-01297-CCA-R3-CD

On January 18, 2011, Ed and Bertha Walker were found beaten to death in their home. In March 2011, Appellant, Jacob Andrew Brown, was indicted by the Tipton County Grand Jury for two counts of premeditated first degree murder, two counts of felony murder, and two counts of especially aggravated burglary. Appellant was sixteen at the time the crimes were committed. The juvenile court held a transfer hearing and determined that Appellant should be tried as an adult in the circuit court. At the conclusion of a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of each count. The trial court merged the two felony murder convictions into the two premeditated first degree murder convictions and merged one especially aggravated burglary charge into the other. Appellant was sentenced to life without parole for the two murder convictions and eight years to be served at 100% for the especially aggravated burglary conviction. The trial court ordered that all the sentences were to be served consecutively. On appeal, Appellant argues that the juvenile court improperly determined that his case should be transferred to the circuit court and that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Appellant cannot succeed on these issues. However, because the death of the victim is the serious bodily injury upon which his especially aggravated burglary convictions are based, we remand to the trial court for entry of a judgment reflecting a modified conviction of aggravated burglary and for re-sentencing.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Originating Judge:Judge Joseph H. Walker III
Tipton County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/07/13
State of Tennessee v. Martin Boyce - Concurring

W2012-00887-CCA-R3-CD

I respectfully disagree with the majority’s decision affirming the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences. With respect to the Defendant’s remaining issues, I concur with the majority’s decision.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas
Originating Judge:Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
Tracy Lynn Harris v. Henry Steward, Warden

W2013-00207-CCA-R3-HC

The Petitioner, Tracy Lynn Harris, appeals the Circuit Court of Lake County’s denial of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge R. Lee Moore Jr.
Lake County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
Kermit Penley v. State of Tennessee

W2013-00595-CCA-R3-HC

The Petitioner, Kermit Penley, appeals the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County’s denial of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge Joe H. Walker III
Lauderdale County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
State of Tennessee v. Jacob Andrew Reller

E2012-01842-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Jacob Andrew Reller, was convicted by a Sevier County Circuit Court jury of driving under the influence (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. § 55-10-401(2012). He received an eleven-month, twenty-nine-day sentence with all but ten days suspended. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, (2) the prosecutor failed to produce exculpatory evidence, and (3) the trial court erred in finding evidence of the Defendant’s alibi and Officer Wilder’s impeachment irrelevant. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Judge Rex Henry Ogle
Sevier County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
State of Tennessee v. Edward Warren Wise

M2012-02129-CCA-R3-CD

The defendant, Edward Warren Wise, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a Range I sentence of six years in confinement. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce the preliminary hearing testimony of a witness who died prior to trial and also challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
State of Tennessee v. David Chardwick Wooten

M2012-00366-CCA-R3-CD

A Davidson County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, David Chardwick Wooten, of two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and the trial court sentenced him to ten years for each conviction to be served concurrently. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions; (2) the State’s inadequate election of offenses deprived him of his constitutional right to a unanimous verdict for count 2; and (3) the trial court should have granted his request for a mistrial when a State witness testified that he refused to take a polygraph examination. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
 

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge Cheryl Blackburn
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
State of Tennessee v. Martin Boyce

W2012-00887-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant, Martin Boyce, was indicted in a seven-count indictment alleging one count of second degree murder, two counts of attempted second degree murder; two counts of aggravated assault; one count of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the lesser-included offenses of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in counts 1 and 2, attempted second degree murder in count 3, aggravated assault in count 5, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in count 6, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in count 7. Defendant was acquitted of one count of aggravated assault in count 4. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to serve four years for each conviction in counts 1 and 2, 17 years for his conviction in count 3, eight years for his conviction in count 5, and six and four years respectively for his convictions in counts 6 and 7. Defendant’s sentences in counts 1, 2, 3, and 5 were ordered to run concurrently with each other and consecutively to his sentences in counts 6 and 7, which were ordered to run consecutively with each other and his other sentences, for a total effective sentence of 27 years. On appeal, Defendant asserts that: 1) the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for attempted second degree murder; 2) the trial court erred by failing to sever count 7; 3) the trial court erred by not requiring the State to elect a dangerous felony underlying the offense in count 6 and by failing to instruct the jury as to the dangerous felony underlying the offense in count 6; 4) Defendant’s dual convictions for employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm violate double jeopardy, and 5) the trial court should not have ordered Defendant’s sentence in count 7 to run consecutively to his other sentences. The State asserts that Defendant has waived all issues except sufficiency of the evidence and consecutive sentencing because the motion for new trial was untimely filed. We reject the State’s argument concerning the timeliness of the motion for new trial. The judgment of conviction was not stamp-filed by the clerk, and thus there is nothing in the record to show that the motion for new trial was filed late. After reviewing the issues on the merits, we reverse Defendant’s conviction in count 6 and remand for a new trial. We also remand count 3 for entry of a corrected judgment which indicates the disposition of the charge as guilty by jury verdict. The remaining convictions and sentences are affirmed.

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/06/13
State of Tennessee v. Kedrick Carwell

W2012-01868-CCA-R3-CD

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Kedrick Carwell, was convicted of carjacking, a Class B felony, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to fifteen years for the carjacking conviction and as a violent offender to ten years for the firearm conviction, to be served consecutively. On appeal, he argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge James C. Beasley Jr.
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/05/13
State of Tennessee v. Kyle Ronald Fencl

M2012-01265-CCA-R3-CD

The appellant, Kyle Ronald Fencl, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to one count of theft of property valued less than $500, one count of robbery, seven counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated assault. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge Steve R. Dozier
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/05/13
State of Tennessee v. Jermaine Owens

W2012-00054-CCA-R3-CD

The Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Appellant for two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count for each victim; two counts of especially aggravated robbery, one count for each victim; and two counts of aggravated rape. At the conclusion of a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of all counts. The trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of 125 years. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his identification in the photographic lineup presented to one of the victims, that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, and that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the trial court did not err in denying the motion to suppress the line-up results or imposing consecutive sentences. Further, we hold that the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Originating Judge:Judge Lee V. Coffee
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 08/05/13