APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The petitioner, Ronnie Finch, was convicted by a jury of facilitation of first degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. As a result, the petitioner was sentenced to a total of forty-nine years in incarceration. The petitioner's convictions and sentence were affirmed by this Court on appeal. See State v. Frank E. Huey, et al, No. M2000-02793-CCA-R3-CD, 2002 WL 517132 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Nashville, Apr. 5, 2002), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Oct. 14, 2002). The petitioner subsequently filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, alleging inter alia ineffective assistance of counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the post-conviction court's denial of the petition. For the following reasons, the judgment on post-conviction petition is reversed; the judgment of acquittal is entered; and verdicts of guilt are vacated and dismissed.

The defendant, Harold Frank Henderson, Jr., pled guilty to aggravated assault in return for a four-year sentence served in a manner to be determined by the trial court. The trial court ordered the defendant to serve his sentence in confinement, and the defendant appealed. Following our review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

For the reasons stated herein, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion. I further wish to express concerns over a recurring anomaly with which we are faced. An ever-increasing number of incarcerated inmates are filing habeas corpus petitions in reliance upon the holding in McLaney v. Bell, 59 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2001). These petitioners complain that their sentences are illegal, as they were required to be sentenced consecutively rather than concurrently. In the instant case, the petitioner received an effective sentence of twenty years but complains that he should have received a sentence of at least twenty-three years. At the time of his guilty plea, he was facing a sentence of forty-three years minimum, if all sentences ran consecutively. I fail to understand how the petitioner is aggrieved by the agreed sentence.

Petitioner, Richard Howell, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief which alleged that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, Petitioner contends that trial counsel's assistance was ineffective for failure to object to the admission of certain evidence at trial. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that he was prejudiced by any deficiencies in his trial counsel's performance and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The appellant, Larry Ballentine,¹ was convicted by a jury in the Wayne County Circuit Court of possession of a Schedule III controlled substance with the intent to sell. He received a sentence of six years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant contests the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction and the trial court's evidentiary rulings on impeachment evidence. Upon our review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Larry Dotson, appeals from the lower court’s summary dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review of the parties’ briefs and applicable law, we reverse the court’s dismissal of the petition and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The defendant appeals his conviction for theft of property, contending that the evidence failed to establish that he took the property without the owner's effective consent. However, upon review, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court's failure to merge his sexual battery and attempted false imprisonment convictions into his rape conviction; the denial of alternative sentencing; and the sufficiency of the evidence. Upon review, we conclude that the acts perpetrated on the victim constituted three discrete offenses and that the trial court did not err in failing to merge them. We further conclude that the trial court appropriately denied alternative sentencing and that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdicts. For these reasons, we affirm.

The majority concludes that the trial court committed reversible error by failing to grant a mistrial. I respectfully dissent. The majority opines that trial counsel’s overreaching remarks made during his opening statement, informing the jury that it was the victim who first struck the defendant, so tilted the scales of justice as to require the granting of a mistrial for reasons of manifest necessity.  See generally Millbrooks, 819 S.W.2d at 443; Zimmerman, 823 S.W.2d at 226.

The Petitioner, Freddy Lee Parrish, Jr., appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The defendant, Kervin Collins, was involved in an altercation with his father, the victim. The defendant hit the victim several times with a shovel. After an indictment for aggravated assault, a Davidson County jury found the defendant guilty as charged. The trial court sentenced the defendant to five years as a Range I standard offender, and the defendant appealed. We reverse the judgment of the trial court with regard to the denial of the defendant’s motion for mistrial and remand for a new trial.

A Hamblen County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, William G. Arterburn, of driving under the influence, second offense ("DUI"), a Class A misdemeanor, and driving on a revoked license, a Class B misdemeanor, and the trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days for the DUI and six months for the driving on a revoked license, ordering the defendant to serve fifty percent of his sentence in incarceration. The defendant appeals, claiming that the evidence is insufficient and that a rebuttal witness violated Rule 615 of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, thereby denying him a fair trial. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

A Hamilton County jury convicted the defendant, Alfonzo Thomas Peck, of two counts of aggravated rape (a Class A felony), and the trial court sentenced him as a repeat violent offender to concurrent sentences of life without the possibility of release. On direct appeal, the defendant raises multiple issues for our review, including the sufficiency of the evidence, challenges to the admission of a prior conviction, a limiting instruction, and sentencing. Upon review, we conclude that the trial court erred in allowing the defendant to be cross-examined regarding his prior conviction of aggravated rape. However, given the overwhelming proof of the defendant's guilt notwithstanding the conviction, we further conclude that the error was harmless. Moreover, we find no error in the balance of the issues presented. Therefore, we affirm.

The defendant was convicted of attempted second degree murder and sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to confinement for nineteen years to be served consecutively to two prior sentences. In his appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in allowing hearsay testimony as to the desire of one of the witnesses, prior to the incident, to leave the house where the offense occurred, and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Rahim Al Zarkani, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The Appellant, Tim Holt, appeals the judgment of the Hancock County Criminal Court denying post-conviction relief. Holt was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, Holt argues that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. After review, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.

The Appellant, Norman Kyle Lewis, was convicted by a Washington County jury of attempted first degree murder and was sentenced as a Range I standard offender to twenty-five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Lewis argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. After review of the record, we conclude that the convicting evidence was legally sufficient. Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.

The defendant, Corey Moten, was convicted of second degree murder, a Class A felony, and sentenced as a violent offender to twenty years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in giving a sequential jury instruction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner Gregory Hedges appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief.  The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgment of conviction void. Accordingly, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

The petitioner, Wayford Demonbreun, Jr., appeals the trial court's dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. In this appeal, he alleges that his judgment of conviction for aggravated assault is void because the indictment was defective in that it failed to inform him of the essential elements of the offense for which he was convicted. The judgment of the trial court is reversed. The conviction at issue is vacated, habeas corpus relief is warranted as to that offense, and the cause is remanded for appropriate remedial action. Because the petitioner is also imprisoned for second degree murder, he is not entitled to release by virtue of this opinion.

The Petitioner, Charles Hall, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief.  The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The appellant, Jarrod Johnston Slaughter, was convicted by a jury in the Madison County Circuit Court of driving under the influence (DUI), third offense. He received a sentence of eleven months, and twenty-nine days, with 208 days to be served in confinement. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction and the length of confinement imposed by the trial court. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Ronald Dennis Crafton, appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to reopen his petition for post-conviction petition. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court dismiss the above-captioned appeal, or in the alternative, affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because Petitioner has failed to properly invoke this Court’s jurisdiction, the above-captioned appeal is dismissed.

The Petitioner, Eric Glover, appeals the lower court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner is procedurally barred from pursuing appellate review of the lower court’s denial of post-conviction relief. Accordingly, the above-captioned appeal is dismissed.

The Petitioner, Jessie Hodges, appeals the lower court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner is procedurally barred from pursuing appellate review of the lower court’s denial of post-conviction relief. Accordingly, the above-captioned appeal is dismissed.