APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The defendant was convicted of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range I, standard offender to three years in the Department of Correction, with the sentence to be suspended and the defendant placed on probation after one year in the county workhouse. She raises two issues on appeal: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support her conviction; and (2) whether the trial court erred in ordering that she serve one year of her sentence in the county workhouse. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Michael Anthony Scruggs, pled guilty to forgery and theft under $500. The trial court ordered concurrent sentences of six years for the forgery and eleven months, twenty-nine days, for the theft. No appeal was taken. Later, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, finding that the petitioner had failed to prove that his appointed counsel fell below the required level of competency. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.

The Appellant, Jason R. Garner, appeals his conviction by a Shelby County jury of second degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. The convictions arose from Garner's involvement in the robbery and shooting of Charles Bledsoe. Garner received consecutive sentences of twenty years for second degree murder and twenty years for especially aggravated robbery. On appeal, Garner argues that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the convictions are "irreconcilable;" (3) the trial court erred by allowing the State to file untimely notice of sentence enhancements; (4) the trial court erred by failing to submit an instruction with regard to accomplice testimony to the jury; and (5) his sentences were excessive and the imposition of consecutive sentences was error. After review, we find these issues without merit. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Petitioner, Sharon R. Hurt, was convicted by a jury of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The trial court sentenced Petitioner to serve consecutive sentences of life imprisonment and twenty-four years. On direct appeal, this court affirmed Petitioner's convictions and sentences. State v. James Murray, Marcie Murray and Sharon R. Hurt, No. 01C01-9702-CR-00066, 1998 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1323, 1998 WL 934578 (Tenn. Crim. App., filed at Nashville, Dec. 30, 1998), perm. to app. denied (Tenn., June 28, 1999). On September 4, 2001, Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, in which she alleged the existence of new scientific evidence establishing her actual innocence. The State sought to dismiss the petition. The trial court dismissed the petition, finding that Petitioner failed to show the existence of new scientific evidence, and the petition was therefore barred by the statute of limitations. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

An Obion County jury convicted the defendant, Eric Gene Island, of attempt to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. The trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of four years for each conviction. On direct appeal, the defendant contends: (1) trial counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate the case and secure witnesses; and (2) he was denied his right to testify at trial. Upon reviewing the record, we conclude the failure to conduct a Momon hearing to determine whether the defendant personally waived his right to testify was plain error. Therefore, we remand the case to the trial court for a full hearing on the issue.

The petitioner, Thomas J. McKee, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for first degree premeditated murder and resulting life sentence. He contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed (1) to request a mental evaluation for him; (2) to make a contemporaneous objection to the state's improper closing argument; and (3) to object to the inclusion of the phrase "moral certainty" in the jury's instruction on reasonable doubt. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.

The defendant appeals her sentence of three years imprisonment for the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony. The defendant argues she is a favorable candidate for alternative sentencing. The record supports the defendant's assertion that she is entitled to an alternative sentence. The defendant is sentenced to three years in split confinement, with thirty (30) days incarceration and the remainder on supervised probation. We remand this judgment to determine if the defendant continues to hold full-time employment. If the defendant is employed full-time, she is to serve her thirty (30) days in periodic confinement.

Dennis J. Hughes appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He claims on appeal that the lower court erred in (1) denying his claim that his constitutional rights were abridged by the state's failure to disclose evidence against him prior to trial as part of the bill of particulars, and (2) ruling that he could not impeach the prosecutor from the conviction proceedings with the prosecutor's own alleged prior bad acts. Because we are unpersuaded of reversible error, we affirm the post-conviction court's denial of relief.

The Appellant, James Mario Starnes, was indicted by the Bedford County Grand Jury for first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Starnes pled guilty to attempted second degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Following a sentencing hearing, Starnes received concurrent sentences of ten years, nine months for attempted second degree murder and twenty-five years for especially aggravated robbery. Starnes now appeals his especially aggravated robbery conviction, contending that the evidence is insufficient to establish his guilt for that offense. Because the error complained of was waived as a matter of law by Starnes’ plea of guilty, this issue is not reviewable upon direct appeal. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed. 

The defendant, Charles E. Jones, pled guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and unlawful possession of a weapon. For these convictions, the trial court classified the defendant as a Range I standard offender and ordered him to serve an aggregate one year sentence, consisting of concurrent sentences of one year for his possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver conviction, eleven months and twenty-nine days for his possession of drug paraphernalia conviction, and thirty days for his unlawful possession of a weapon conviction. The state agreed to suspend the two latter sentences, and the trial court sentenced the defendant to serve four years of probation and one year of incarceration, which was to be suspended after the defendant served ninety days in the county jail. The defendant now appeals his sentence, alleging (1) that the trial court erroneously modified his plea agreement with the state after it had been submitted to the trial court for approval, (2) that the trial court improperly denied his request to serve the entirety of his sentence on probation, and (3) that the trial court improperly weighed and applied various enhancement and mitigating factors. After reviewing the record, we find that none of the defendant's allegations merit relief and therefore affirm the defendant's sentence.

The defendant, Shani Carr, appeals as of right from her three-year jail sentence imposed by the Coffee County Circuit Court following her guilty plea to manufacturing methamphetamine, a Class C felony. She contends that the trial court should not have sentenced her to incarceration based upon the need for deterrence because the record is devoid of proof for such need. We agree, reverse the trial court's sentence of incarceration, and sentence the defendant to split confinement.

The petitioner, Delivetrick Dewon Blocker, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In this appeal, he contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The defendant, Scott Benn, who was originally charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse, was convicted of one count of aggravated child abuse. The trial court imposed a sentence of twenty-five years. In this appeal, the defendant asserts (1) that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offenses of felony murder and aggravated child abuse; (2) that the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence; and (3) that the sentence is excessive. Although the trial court erred by failing to instruct on the lesser included offenses, the error can be classified as harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The judgment is, therefore, affirmed.

The Appellant, Donald E. Bryant, entered guilty pleas to the offenses of evading arrest, class D felony theft, misdemeanor theft, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, and two violations of the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offender Act (MVHO). Under the terms of the plea agreement, Bryant received an effective twenty-year sentence as a range II multiple offender for these crimes. The plea agreement provided that the manner of service of the sentences would be submitted to the trial court. Following the sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the sentences be served in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Bryant argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant him a sentence of community corrections. Finding this argument without merit, the judgment of the Blount County Circuit Court is affirmed.

The Appellant, Roger D. Harrison, was convicted, following a bench trial, of DUI, second offense. On appeal, Harrison challenges his conviction upon grounds that: (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence of driving under the influence because there was insufficient probable cause to stop his vehicle and his pre-arrest period of detention was excessive and unreasonable, and (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Although not raised as an issue on appeal, we find it necessary to address the question of whether a federal law enforcement officer, when acting beyond his assigned federal duties and jurisdiction, may lawfully stop or seize a person who commits a state traffic offense in his presence. After review, we find the federal officer in this case had state authority to stop Harrison's vehicle. Moreover, finding Harrison's issues on appeal without merit, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence after being convicted by a Davidson County jury of premeditated first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Upon his plea of guilty, the Defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle after having been ordered not to under the terms of the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offenders Act. For this Class E felony, the Defendant was sentenced as a Range II multiple offender to serve four years in the Department of Correction. In this appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred by not allowing his sentence to be served in community corrections. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Stanley Mills, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for second degree murder and resulting twenty-year sentence. He contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney did not (1) prepare for trial adequately; (2) object to the trial court's erroneous jury instruction regarding his possible sentences; and (3) object to the trial court's amending his judgment of conviction to reflect that he was to serve one hundred percent of his sentence instead of thirty percent. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.

The appellant, Jared Michael Christein, was convicted by a jury in the Sullivan County Criminal Court of second degree murder, felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery. The appellant's second degree murder conviction was merged into his felony murder conviction and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The trial court also sentenced the appellant to twenty-five years incarceration for the especially aggravated robbery conviction. On appeal, the appellant raises the following issues for our review: whether sufficient evidence existed to support his convictions and whether the trial court properly charged the jury on the appropriate lesser-included offenses. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant was convicted of assault, a Class A misdemeanor, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-101 and sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days, with ninety days to be served in the county jail and the remainder on supervised probation. On appeal, in addition to challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, he argues that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence and erred by ordering that he serve ninety days in confinement. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction and the record supports the trial court’s sentencing determinations. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Ronald Paul, appeals the Robertson County Criminal Court's disposition of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petition alleged ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. The lower court ruled that, because appellate counsel's single issue raised on direct appeal was deemed waived by the appellate court, the petitioner would be entitled to a delayed appeal. The court also dismissed without prejudice the remaining allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel, indicating that the petitioner could file a new petition for post-conviction relief after the conclusion of the delayed direct appeal. Because we lack jurisdiction in this appeal, we dismiss the appeal.

A Madison County jury convicted the defendant, Ricky Woods, of aggravated burglary, theft of property valued over $500, and vandalism of property under $500. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range II multiple offender for the convictions for aggravated burglary and theft and imposed concurrent sentences of eight years for aggravated burglary, three years for theft, and eleven months and twenty-nine days for vandalism. On appeal, the defendant contends (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions; and (2) the sentences are excessive. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

A Maury County jury convicted the defendant, Donnie Thompson, of voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I standard offender to the maximum sentences of six years for voluntary manslaughter and four years for attempted voluntary manslaughter, with the sentences to run consecutively. On appeal, the defendant contends his sentences are excessive. We reduce the sentence for voluntary manslaughter to five years, affirm the four-year sentence for attempted voluntary manslaughter, and order the sentences to run concurrently.

The defendant, Donald P. Wilcox, appeals the Sullivan County Criminal Court's denial of his request for probation for his guilty pleas to violating a habitual traffic offender order, a Class E felony; violating the registration law, a Class C misdemeanor; and possession of alprazolam pills, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, Class A misdemeanors. We affirm the decision of the trial court.