APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Defendant, LaBryant King, pled guilty in 1998 to one count of selling over .5 grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, a Class A felony. The Defendant agreed to be sentenced as a Range I offender to fifteen years. The Defendant subsequently filed for post-conviction relief raising challenges to his indictment, conviction and sentence. After a hearing the trial court denied relief, and this appeal followed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Clarence W. Carter, was tried and convicted of one count of conspiracy to sell cocaine and one count of possession of cocaine. He was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to consecutive sentences of thirty-two years for the conspiracy conviction and sixteen years for the possession conviction. This Court affirmed the Defendant's convictions and sentences on direct appeal. See State v. Clarence W. Carter, No. M2000-02230-CCA-R3-CD, 2002 WL 31370469 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Oct. 21, 2002). The Tennessee Supreme Court granted review, and upheld the Defendant's convictions and sentence on the possession conviction, but determined the trial court committed error in sentencing the Defendant as a Range II offender for his conspiracy conviction when he did not receive notice of intent to seek enhanced punishment by the State in the superceding indictment under which he was tried. See State v. Carter, 121 S.W.3d 579 (Tenn. 2003). Upon remand, the Defendant was re-sentenced on his conspiracy conviction as a Range I, standard offender to twenty-five years imprisonment to be served consecutively to his prior sentences. In this appeal the Defendant raises two issues, claiming that upon re-sentencing the trial court erred by: 1) imposing an excessive sentence for his conspiracy conviction, and 2) imposing consecutive sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The state has appealed the Knox County Criminal Court's suppression of statements made to police by the defendant, Thomas Dee Huskey, and of items found and seized from his home. The state contends that (1) the trial court erred as a matter of law in suppressing the statements and (2) the trial court erred in suppressing the items found at the home (a) because the police arrested the defendant in good faith reliance upon a capias which subsequently was declared void and (b) because the defendant's father consented to a search of the defendant's room. The defendant asserts that if the state's appeal is successful, then he contends that the trial court erred in prior rulings denying suppression of his statements and the items seized from his home on other myriad grounds raised by the defendant. We affirm the trial court.

The defendant, Tony Evans, pled guilty to unlawful possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to sell. He was sentenced to six years in a community corrections program but was later placed on probation. Thereafter, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court’s revocation of his probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Larita Lyons, of robbery, and the trial court sentenced her to serve five years in the workhouse. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain her conviction. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Michael Braxton, was convicted by a jury in the Davidson County Criminal Court of aggravated rape and aggravated assault. He received a total effective sentence of twenty-three years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which petition the post-conviction court summarily dismissed as being untimely. The petitioner appeals the dismissal, arguing that his petition was not barred by the statute of limitations. Upon our review of the record and the parties' briefs, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for a hearing on the timeliness of the petitioner's petition.

The defendant, William Ferris, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony; two counts of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony; and one count of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced him as a violent offender to twenty-five years for each of the especially aggravated kidnapping convictions and as a Range II, multiple offender to ten years for the aggravated burglary convictions and twenty years for the aggravated robbery conviction. The court merged the two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and the two counts of aggravated burglary and ordered that the kidnapping, burglary, and robbery sentences be served consecutively to each other for an effective sentence of twenty-five years in the Department of Correction. The defendant raises essentially three issues on appeal: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) whether the trial court erred by not declaring a mistrial sua sponte upon admission of testimony about the defendant’s pending indictment for attempted second degree murder; and (3) whether the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The petitioner, Terry Lee Robinson, was convicted in the Davidson County Criminal Court of first degree murder and received a life sentence. Following an unsuccessful appeal of his conviction, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The petitioner now brings this appeal challenging the post-conviction court's denial of his petition. After reviewing the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Petitioner, Andrew Charles Helton, filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, which was amended after appointment of counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court dismissed the petition. On appeal, Petitioner argues (1) that the prosecutor misrepresented to the jury during closing argument evidence concerning the 911 tape; (2) that the prosecutor improperly pointed the murder weapon at the jury during closing argument; (3) that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutorial misconduct which occurred during closing argument; and (4) that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance when he objected to the jury's request during deliberations to review the tape of a neighbor's call to the 911 operator on the night of the shootings. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The petitioner was convicted of possession of twenty-six (26) grams or more of cocaine with intent to deliver. He appealed this conviction. We affirmed his conviction in State v. Bigsby, 40 S.W.3d 87 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). The petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief. The trial
court denied the petitioner’s petition. On appeal, we remanded the petition for the trial court to enter findings of fact. Frank Robert Bigsby v. State, No. M2002-02260-CCA-R3-PC, 2003 WL 22927139 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Dec. 11, 2003). The trial court entered its findings, and we now address the appeal on the merits. The petitioner’s sole issue in his appeal from the trial court’s denial of his post-conviction petition is that he was offered ineffective assistance of counsel. We have reviewed the record in this case and conclude that the trial court’s denial of the petitioner’s petition was proper. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s decision.

The petitioner appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for delivery of .5 grams or more of a Schedule II controlled substance, cocaine, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding he received effective assistance of trial counsel. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

The Petitioner, Domingo Ponce, filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis, which the trial court summarily dismissed. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred when it dismissed his petition. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he should have been appointed post-conviction counsel and given an evidentiary hearing. Following our review, we remand this matter to the post-conviction court to determine whether the petitioner’s right to due process of law requires that the petition be considered regardless of its untimeliness.

The Defendant, Kenneth Strickland, was convicted by a jury of possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver, and sentenced to twelve years in the Department of Correction. The judgment against the Defendant was affirmed on direct appeal. See State v. Kenneth Strickland, No. M2002-00543-CCA-R3-CD, 2003 WL 21997739 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Aug. 22, 2003). The Defendant subsequently filed for post-conviction relief claiming that he had been denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. After an evidentiary hearing the trial court denied relief and this appeal followed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, William L. Smith, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Because the petitioner's sentence for rape of a child is illegal, the judgment of the habeas corpus court is reversed, relief is granted, and the cause is remanded to the Bledsoe County Circuit Court for transfer to the Hamilton County Criminal Court for appropriate remedial action.

The defendant, Candice Workman, pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to soliciting the sale of less than one-half gram of cocaine, a Class E felony. The trial court sentenced her to one year in the workhouse to be served on probation and fined her $2000.00. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying her request for judicial diversion. We affirm the trial court but remand the case for correction of a clerical error on the judgment of conviction.

The defendant, Robert Williams, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, and sentenced by the trial court as a career offender to fifteen years in the Department of Correction. The sole issue he raises on appeal is whether the circumstantial evidence presented in his case was sufficient to support his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Larry W. Clark, appeals from the dismissal of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that the 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 judgment of the trial court is affirmed pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The pro se petitioner, Thomas Eugene Graham, appeals from the trial court's order denying the petitioner's motion to reopen his post-conviction petition. The states moves the court to affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of this court's rules. The motion was properly denied for lack of merit. Accordingly, the state's motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The Petitioner, Michael Bell, 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, Joseph Larue Davis, pled guilty in the Cocke County Circuit Court to aggravated burglary and theft of property over $1,000. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant received concurrent four-year sentences with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the appellant to serve his sentences in confinement. On appeal, the appellant claims the trial court improperly enhanced his sentences and erred by refusing to grant his request for alternative sentencing. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The appellants, Rycine Ellison and Mandrell Christmon, appeal on a certified question of law after their guilty pleas. On appeal, they challenge the trial court's denial of their motions to suppress. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, William Vanblaricum, was convicted by a Franklin County Circuit Court jury of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days, with probation after thirty days in jail and one hundred hours of community service. The trial court also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of $350.00. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Harold Wayne Shaw, was convicted by a jury of second degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in 1996. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the petitioner's conviction, but remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing. See State v. Harold Wayne Shaw, No. 01C01-9707-CR-00259, 1998 WL 731573 (Tenn. Crim. App, at Nashville, Oct. 21, 1998), perm. app. denied (Tenn. 1999). On remand, the petitioner was resentenced. The petitioner appealed, challenging his sentence for the second time, and this Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. See State v. Harold Wayne Shaw, No. M1999-01119-R3-CD, 2000 WL 1606585 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Oct. 27, 2000), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. 2001). The petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel in various ways. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A jury convicted the Defendant, Algernon Cross, of one count of facilitation of possession with the intent to sell .5 grams or more of a schedule II controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of fourteen years. The Defendant appeals, contending that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred on two of its evidentiary rulings; and (3) the trial court erred when it sentenced him. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.