APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Petitioner, Ronald L. Davis, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. 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. We find the State's motion has merit. Accordingly, the motion is granted and the appeal is affirmed pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

In this consolidated appeal, the petitioners challenge the denial of post-conviction relief, contending that their respective trial counsel were ineffective in failing to advise them of authority that indicated that their conduct fell outside the scope of the statute. On appeal, the State concedes that the petitioners received ineffective assistance of counsel. Following thorough review, we agree. Therefore, we reverse the denial of post-conviction relief, set aside the judgments, and remand the matter to the trial court.

The appellant, Billy Mac Montgomery, pled guilty in the Tipton County Circuit Court to driving under the influence (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail, to be suspended after serving forty-eight hours, and imposed a three hundred fifty dollar fine. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant reserved the right to appeal a certified question of law challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress. The State contends that the question presented is not dispositive and, therefore, that this court is without jurisdiction over the appeal. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, Allen D. Baldwin, of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and robbery, a Class C felony. The trial court merged the robbery conviction into the aggravated robbery conviction and sentenced the appellant to ten years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant claims that the trial court erred by ruling that the State could impeach him with his prior convictions for robbery and theft if he chose to testify.  Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Scotty Dewayne Robinson, pleaded guilty to theft of an amount less than $10,000.  Pursuant to his plea agreement, the petitioner received a three-year incarcerative sentence as a Range I offender to be served consecutively to the federal sentence he was currently serving. The petitioner filed an untimely appeal, and this court accordingly dismissed the appeal. State v. Scotty Dewayne Robinson, No. E2001-02342-CCA-R3-CD, slip op. at 2 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, May 20, 2002). The petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that as a result, his guilty plea was not knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily made. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner brings the instant appeal challenging that denial. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Defendant, Bill Vaughn Halton, pled guilty to three counts of sexual battery and to one count of sexual assault. The Defendant filed a petition to suspend fees and court costs. After a hearing, the trial court waived the Defendant's counseling and probation fees, but concluded that it had no authority to waive the Defendant's court costs. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it refused to waive court costs. After thoroughly reviewing the record and the applicable authorities, we remand this case to the trial court to consider whether or not the Defendant's court costs should be waived.

The petitioner, James M. Loveday, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of trial counsel. Because the record reveals that the petitioner filed his petition outside the one-year statue of limitations, we conclude that this case is not properly before this court. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

The Appellant, Brian L. Woods, appeals the Dyer County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, Woods argues that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. After review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

The petitioner, Roy Wilson, pled guilty to four (4) counts of aggravated rape, eleven (11) counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, seven (7) counts of aggravated robbery, and two (2) counts of aggravated burglary, for convictions stemming from multiple indictments. As a result of the guilty
pleas, the petitioner received a fifteen (15) year sentence for one (1) of the aggravated rape convictions that was ordered to run consecutive to all of the other convictions, which ran concurrent to each other for a total of fifteen (15) years, for a total effective sentence of thirty (30) years. The petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief based upon ineffective assistance of counsel with respect to his guilty plea on one (1) of the aggravated rape convictions. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the trial court’s denial of the petition. Because the petitioner failed to prove that he received ineffective assistance of counsel or that his guilty plea was involuntary, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The appellant, Travis Young, was convicted by a jury of especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, and criminal attempt to commit second degree murder. As a result, the appellant was sentenced to an effective sentence of twenty (20) years. After the denial of a motion for new trial, the appellant appealed. On appeal, the following issues are presented for our review: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the jury verdict; (2) whether the trial court improperly refused to dismiss the especially aggravated kidnapping charge; and (3) whether the trial court improperly instructed the jury with regard to especially aggravated kidnapping and especially aggravated robbery. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authority, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Gerald Buchanan, appeals the Hardeman County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief from his conviction for first degree murder and resulting sentence of life imprisonment. He claims his judgment of conviction is void because it classifies his release eligibility status as thirty percent in violation of our statutory sentencing scheme. We affirm the trial court.

The defendant, Darryl J. Leinart, II, was indicted on one (1) count of possession of marijuana and one (1) count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him contending that the warrantless search of his residence was illegal. The trial court granted the motion to suppress and the State filed this appeal. We find the State failed to carry its burden in the trial court of proving that the warrantless search of the defendant's residence was valid. The judgment of the trial court is therefore affirmed.

The appellant, Ken Childress, was convicted by a jury of attempted first degree murder and aggravated criminal trespass. The trial court sentenced the appellant to an effective sentence of twenty-five (25) years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and his sentence as improper in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Blakely v. Washington, 542, U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). Because the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions and the Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that Blakely has no effect in Tennessee, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The appellant, Jared C. Brown, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to possession of over ten pounds of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, and he received a sentence of two years. As a condition of his plea, the appellant reserved a certified question of law regarding the validity of a search warrant. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we conclude that the question is not dispositive of the appellant's case and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Aleta Renee Souder, appeals her Sullivan County effective incarcerative sentence of 18 months on her guilty-pleaded convictions for possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana for resale, a Class E felony, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of a switchblade knife, a Class A misdemeanor. The defendant had sought a probationary sentence or some form of alternative sentencing, which the trial court rejected. Our review of the record discloses no basis to disturb the trial court's sentencing decision, and we affirm the judgments.

The petitioner, Shannon Wade Jacobs, filed a petition for post-conviction relief from his 2000 jury conviction of second degree murder in the Giles County Circuit Court, for which he received a sentence of 23 years in the Department of Correction. After the post-conviction court appointed counsel for the petitioner and conducted an evidentiary hearing, the court dismissed the petition. The petitioner appeals. Upon our review, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

The Appellant, James O. Martin, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief by the Knox County Criminal Court. Martin is currently serving a twenty-two year sentence as a result of his jury conviction for aggravated arson. On appeal, Martin argues that the trial court erred "by failing to grant post-conviction relief." Specifically, he argues that his conviction was unlawfully obtained as a result of juror misconduct and bias of the juror at his trial. After review of the record, the denial of post-conviction relief is affirmed.

The defendant, Mandel Benton, who was originally charged with statutory rape, was convicted of attempted statutory rape. The trial court imposed a sentence of one hundred and eighty days to be served in the county jail. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. The judgment is affirmed.

The Defendant, Gary Lee Silcox, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide, aggravated assault, and theft of property valued over $1000. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of ten years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction for criminally negligent homicide; and (2) the trial court improperly ordered that the Defendant's sentences run consecutively. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Kevin Smith, was convicted of two counts of spousal rape and one count of aggravated assault, both Class C felonies. After merging the aggravated assault conviction with one of the spousal rape convictions, the trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range I, standard offender to six years for each rape conviction, to be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of twelve years. The issues on appeal are whether the trial court properly concluded that the defense would open the door for the victim to testify about the defendant’s prior bad acts if asked why she did not resist the assault and whether the trial court properly sentenced the defendant. Following our review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The Appellant, Cortez D. Hubbard, appeals the sentencing decision of the Shelby County Criminal Court which resulted in the imposition of an effective eight-year sentence of incarceration. On appeal, Hubbard challenges the trial court’s denial of alternative sentencing. After review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, James Rimmer, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition seeking post-conviction relief on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel. After a thorough review of the issues and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the lower court.

The defendant, Thomas Allen Franks, II, was convicted of aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, evading arrest, and resisting arrest. The trial court imposed consecutive sentences of ten years for aggravated burglary and six years for aggravated assault. There were concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days each for misdemeanor evading arrest and resisting arrest. The effective sentence is, therefore, sixteen years. In this appeal as of right, the single issue presented for review is whether the trial court erred by declining to grant a continuance or other relief when the state filed notice of its intent to use impeaching convictions just before the beginning of the trial. The judgments are affirmed.

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Lawrence Ralph, Sr., was convicted of failure to display a driver's license, a Class C misdemeanor; resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor; and simple possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced Defendant to concurrent terms of thirty days for his failure to display a driver's license conviction, six months for his resisting arrest conviction, and eleven months, twenty-nine days for his simple possession conviction, for an effective sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days. The trial court suspended all but 120 days of Defendant's effective sentence, and placed Defendant on probation. Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for simple possession. On appeal, Defendant argues that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress; (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for resisting arrest and failure to display a driver's license; and (3) the trial court erred in determining the percentage of Defendant's effective sentence which must be served in confinement. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Robertson County Circuit Court convicted the defendant, Larry Dale Driver, of assault, a Class A misdemeanor, following a bench trial. The trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days, with probation following 180 days in jail. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by denying him judicial diversion. We affirm the trial court.