APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Defendant, Marcie Lynn Pursell, was found guilty by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of three counts of aggravated child abuse, Class A felonies. See T.C.A. § 39-15-402 (2006) (amended 2009, 2011, 2012). She was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to three concurrent terms of fifteen years’ confinement. On appeal, she contends that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions and that the trial court erred by not allowing her to present evidence that she consented to a polygraph examination. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Jim George Conaser, contends (1) that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for harassment and (2) that the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing was improper. After a review of the record and the applicable authorities, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the Defendant’s harassment conviction and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the sentence from that conviction to run consecutively to a prior, unserved sentence.

Following a jury trial, Petitioner, Damien Clark, was convicted of second degree murder. This court affirmed the judgment of conviction in State v. Damien Clark, W2007-00651-CCA-R3-CD, 2009 WL 890886 (Tenn. Crim. App. April 1, 2009), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Aug. 17, 2009). Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the petition was dismissed. Petitioner appeals, asserting that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Neil Vader, was convicted of driving in violation of a motor vehicle habitual offender (MVHO) order, driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), violation of the implied consent law, and driving on a revoked driver’s license. Defendant waived a jury trial to determine the number of his prior DUI convictions. The trial court found that Defendant had three prior DUI convictions and was guilty of DUI fourth offense. The trial court sentenced Defendant to serve one year and nine months for counts one and two and eleven months and twenty nine days for count three. All of Defendant’s sentences were ordered to run consecutively. The trial court merged count four, driving on a revoked driver’s license, with violation of a MVHO order. On appeal, Defendant raises the following issues: (1) the trial court erred in excluding testimony offered as extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement to impeach a witness; (2) the prosecuting attorney engaged in misconduct during closing arguments; and (3) the cumulative effect of the trial court’s evidentiary error and prosecutorial misconduct constitutes reversible error. After thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, John Allen Hessmer, appeals pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The trial court denied the Defendant’s request to proceed pro se during his pretrial hearings on the charges of aggravated burglary, arson of a structure, arson of personal property or real estate, harassment, and stalking. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case to the Criminal Court for Wilson County

The defendant, Lewis Green, appeals the trial court’s decision to deny his request for alternative sentencing and judicial diversion. The defendant pled guilty to seven counts of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and one count of possession of marijuana with intent sell. He received an effective five-year sentence for the convictions. Following a hearing, the trial court ordered that the sentences be served in incarceration and denied the defendant’s request for judicial diversion. Following review of the record, we affirm the sentencing decisions of the trial court.

The appellant, Deon Marquett Boykins, pled guilty to two counts of introducing contraband into a penal institution and one count of possessing a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to deliver. He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to an effective five years on probation. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court erred by denying his request for judicial diversion. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for a new sentencing hearing.

The Petitioner, Ira Minnifee, Jr., appeals the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court for Knox County. He originally entered guilty pleas to one count of possession of more than one gram of cocaine with the intent to sell within a thousand feet of a school and six counts of half a gram of cocaine or more within a thousand feet of a school, all Class A felonies. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he received an effective sentence of twenty years. In this appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s failure to adequately investigate his case. Consequently, the Petitioner claims he did not enter a knowing and voluntary guilty plea. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

In a joint trial, the Appellants, Alexis Mason and Terrence Harris, were convicted of various offenses by a Shelby County jury. Appellant Mason was found guilty of one count of second degree murder, a Class A felony, and three counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, for which she received an effective sentence of thirty-seven years in the Department of Correction. Appellant Harris was convicted of three counts of facilitation of aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and one count of facilitation of criminally negligent homicide, a Class A misdemeanor, for which he received an effective sentence of twelve years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days in the Department of Correction. In this consolidated appeal, both Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions and the sentences imposed by the trial court. Appellant Harris additionally argues that the trial court erred in the following evidentiary rulings: admission of various out-of-court statements; admission of an autopsy photograph; exclusion of evidence of the deceased victim’s violent character; and the denial of jury instructions on self-defense and lesser included offenses. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant-Appellant, Dustin Swaney, entered a plea of guilty to abuse of a child under the age of eight, a Class D felony, with the court to determine the length and manner of service of sentence. After a sentencing hearing, Swaney was sentenced to three years and six months’ confinement. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the trial court abused its discretion in imposing sentence. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Charles Rice, appeals from the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. A Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner of premeditated first degree murder and felony murder and imposed a sentence of death. The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Petitioner’s convictions and sentence on direct appeal. See State v. Rice, 184 S.W.3d 646 (Tenn. 2006). On appeal, the Petitioner challenges the effectiveness of his counsel’s representation in both the guilt and penalty phases of the trial. We hold that the post-conviction court properly found that the Petitioner received effective assistance of counsel at trial. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.

Petitioner, Derrick Lemon Goode, was convicted by a Bedford County jury of one count of the sale of .5 grams of cocaine and one count of the delivery of .5 grams or more of cocaine. State v. Derrick Lemon Goode, No. M2009-02259-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 4674298, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Nov. 17, 2010), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Apr. 13, 2011). After the merger of the convictions, Petitioner was sentenced to twelve years. He was unsuccessful on appeal. Id. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he was afforded ineffective assistance of counsel. After conducting a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, Petitioner alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to adequately prepare for trial; failed to adequately prepare, interview and call witnesses for trial; and failed to properly investigate his addiction. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has not proven either that trial counsel’s representation was deficient, or that Petitioner was prejudiced by trial counsel’s representation. Therefore, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition.

A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Curtis Stanton, of the first degree premeditated murder of the victim, Regina Tidwell. The trial court sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining his conviction. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Appellant, Danny Ray Dunn, entered guilty pleas without recommended sentences to four counts of vehicular assault, one count of reckless aggravated assault, one count of driving under the influence, one count of driving on a revoked license, and one count of violation of the financial responsibility law. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced him to an effective twenty-year sentence consisting of five consecutive sentences of four years each for the assaultive offenses; eleven months, twenty-nine days for driving under the influence; six months for driving on a revoked license; and thirty days for violation of the financial responsibility law, to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Appellant challenges the length of his sentences, sentence alignment, denial of a suspended sentence, and denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Upon our review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Stephen Bartholomew Gillard, of possession of a controlled substance, third offense. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the prior conviction evidence introduced at trial to support the third offense classification for possession of a controlled substance. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

A Lincoln County jury convicted petitioner, Shawn Simmons, of first degree murder. After an unsuccessful direct appeal, petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief, and petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we discern no error and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Petitioner, Dakota Cisneros, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2010 convictions upon guilty pleas for aggravated sexual battery and three counts of aggravated robbery and his effective twenty-four-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by finding that his guilty pleas were knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Hardeman County jury convicted appellant, Jason Allen Cobb, of second degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to twenty-three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, appellant contends that (1) the trial court erred in admitting improper character evidence; (2) a witness’s false testimony violated his right to a fair trial; (3) the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct; (4) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; and (5) the trial court erred in ordering him to serve his sentence in this case consecutively to his sentence in another case. Upon review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Cheatham County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Eugene M. Hogbin, of two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of 20 years’ incarceration. On appeal, the defendant challenges both the length and the alignment of the trial court’s sentencing determination. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Lance Vogel, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions of possession of over half a gram of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver, initiating a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and habitual traffic offender, for which he received an effective forty-year sentence. In this appeal, he contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Elgene Porter ("the Petitioner") was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated rape, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a Range I, violent offender to an effective sentence of forty-two years’ incarceration at 100%. The Petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied following an evidentiary hearing. The Petitioner now appeals, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon our thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Defendant-Appellant, Shelton Hall, appeals the revocation of his Rutherford County Circuit Court community corrections sentence. Following his revocation hearing, Hall was ordered to serve consecutive sentences of eight years for his two convictions for the sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and twelve years for his convictions for the sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school zone in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Hall argues that (1) his probation officer wrongfully violated his community corrections sentence without just cause, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion in declining to appoint counsel, in determining that he had waived his issues, and in failing to consider his "Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment Orders" and "Motion for Modification of Judgment Orders." Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Jose L. Hidalgo, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, one count of aggravated rape, one count of aggravated child abuse, and one count of aggravated child neglect. Thereafter, the aggravated child neglect conviction was merged with the aggravated child abuse conviction. The Defendant received sentences of four years for each count of sexual battery by an authority figure, twenty years for the aggravated rape conviction, and ten years for the aggravated child abuse conviction. The trial court ordered each of the four-year sentences to run concurrently with one another but consecutive to the remaining sentences of twenty and ten years, which were likewise to be served consecutively, resulting in a total effective sentence of thirty-four years. On appeal, the Defendant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court erred by allowing the victim’s mother to testify in rebuttal as to when the victim reported the sexual abuse to her; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his aggravated child neglect conviction; and (3) whether partial consecutive sentences were appropriate. Following our review, we affirm the jury’s verdicts of guilt for each offense and the imposition of consecutive sentencing. However, we remand for entry of corrected judgment of conviction forms to properly reflect the counts as numbered in the amended indictment and the merger of the aggravated child neglect conviction into the aggravated child abuse conviction. The judgments are affirmed in part and vacated in part, and this case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

The Defendant-Appellant, Taiwan S. Hoosier, entered a guilty plea to three counts of aggravated assault, Class C felonies, in the Montgomery County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five years each on two counts and six years on the third. The trial court ordered these sentences to be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of sixteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Hoosier claims the trial court erred in imposing a consecutive sentence. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant-Appellee, Jermaine Johnson, was indicted for one count of possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of cocaine in a drug-free zone. The trial court granted in part and denied in part Johnson’s motion to suppress evidence. Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, we granted the State’s interlocutory appeal challenging the trial court’s suppression of 14.5 grams of cocaine found near Johnson, and we granted Johnson’s cross-appeal of the denial of his motion to suppress 1.43 grams of cocaine found on him. Upon review, we affirm the partial denial of Johnson’s motion, reverse the court’s decision to suppress evidence, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.