APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

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State of Tennessee v. Terry Wayne Henson

W2019-00462-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Terry Wayne Henson, was convicted by a McNairy County jury of two counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony; one count of incest, a Class C felony; and one count of violation of the sex offender registry, a Class E felony. He was sentenced by the trial court to an effective term of thirty-five years at 100% in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of his child rape and incest convictions, arguing that the State failed to prove that the alleged offenses occurred during the time frame set out in the indictment and that there was insufficient proof of penetration of either victim. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge J. Weber McCraw
McNairy County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/28/20
State of Tennessee v. Eric D. Wallace

W2019-01140-CCA-R3-CD

In 1995, the Defendant, Eric D. Wallace, was convicted in the Shelby County Criminal Court in case number 95-03054 of first degree felony murder and in case number 95-03055 of attempted first degree murder and was sentenced to consecutive terms of life and fifteen years. The judgment forms reflected over 1,000 days of jail credit awarded in each case. In April 2019, apparently in response to a declaratory judgment action filed by the Defendant against the Department of Correction in the Davidson County Chancery Court, pretrial jail credits that were erroneously included in case number 95-03055 were presumably deleted from the judgment form by notation on the original judgment. The pro se Defendant is now attempting to appeal to this court the trial court’s alleged correction of the judgment in case number 95-03055 to remove the erroneously applied jail credits. In the meantime, the Defendant has an appeal of the decision of the Davidson County Chancery Court in his declaratory judgment action pending before the Court of Appeals. Because the record in this case is wholly inadequate for this court to determine what, if anything occurred in the criminal court, and the Defendant appears to have an appeal pending concerning the same matter in the Court of Appeals, we dismiss this appeal.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge J. Robert Carter, Jr.
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/28/20
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LACY LYNDON AUSTIN

M2018-00591-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Lacy Lyndon Austin, appeals his convictions for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell or deliver within 1,000 feet of a school zone, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony drug offense and a felony involving the use of force or violence, simple possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the evidence seized as a result of a traffic stop; (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; and (3) the trial court abused its discretion by admitting a cell phone and photographs of text messages sent to the phone. Following our review, we affirm.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge William R. Goodman, III
Montgomery County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/27/20
ERIC JAMES BOGLE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

M2019-01728-CCA-R3-PC

The Petitioner, Eric Bogle, appeals from the Marshall County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for rape of a child. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in (1) failing to introduce photographs of the Petitioner and the minor victim in order to establish a “positive relationship” between them and (2) failing to present evidence that the Petitioner’s prescribed medication had an effect on his confession given to law enforcement. Following our review of the facts and relevant law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge M. Wyatt Burk
Marshall County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/26/20
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Dewayne Golden

W2019-01418-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Kelvin Dewayne Golden, was convicted after a jury trial of rape of a child, and he received a sentence of thirty years. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends (1) that the juvenile court erred in transferring him to criminal court, (2) that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss due to a delay in prosecuting the case, and (3) that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.
Madison County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/23/20
State of Tennessee v. Larreal Brown and Randall Rowland

W2018-02128-CCA-R3-CD

After a joint trial, a Shelby County jury found the defendants, Larreal Brown and Randall Rowland, guilty of especially aggravated kidnapping (Count 1), aggravated rape (Counts 2, 3, and 4), aggravated robbery (Count 5), and aggravated assault while acting in concert with two or more others (Count 6). The trial court imposed effective sentences of 120 and 71 years in confinement, respectively. On appeal, Defendant Brown asserts the trial court improperly limited his ability to cross-examine Gage Caulk, a co-defendant, regarding Mr. Caulk’s sentencing exposure, and Defendant Rowland argues the trial court erred by excluding prior inconsistent statements made by the victim and contained in a police report. After our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Originating Judge:Judge Lee V. Coffee
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/23/20
State of Tennessee v. Amanda Jones

W2019-01771-CCA-R3-CD

A Dyer County jury found the defendant, Amanda E. Jones, guilty of sale of amphetamine, a Schedule II drug. As a result of her conviction, the trial court sentenced the defendant to six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, suspended to supervised probation after serving 365 days in confinement. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Originating Judge:Judge R. Lee Moore, Jr.
Dyer County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/23/20
State of Tennessee v. Nichole Larae Marlow

E2019-01878-CCA-R3-CD

The Appellant, Nichole Larae Marlow, pled guilty in the Campbell County Criminal Court to possession of contraband in a penal institution, a Class D felony, and received a sevenyear sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that her sentence is excessive and that the trial court erred by denying her request for alternative sentencing. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge E. Shayne Sexton
Campbell County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/23/20
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ADAM LEE LOPER

M2019-02258-CCA-R3-CD

On September 30, 2019, the Defendant, Adam Lee Loper, pleaded guilty to theft of more than $2,500. The trial court imposed a
three-year sentence of incarceration. The Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his request for probation. After thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge Wesley Thomas Bray
Putnam County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/22/20
Antonio Romero Roberts v. State of Tennessee

E2019-01975-CCA-R3-PC

Pro se petitioner, Antonio Romero Roberts, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court for Hamilton County. Upon our review, we affirm.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge Barry A. Steelman
Hamilton County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/22/20
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHRISTOPHER MCLAWHORN

M2018-02152-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Christopher McLawhorn, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder; especially aggravated burglary, a Class B felony; and two counts of theft of property valued at $1000 or less, Class A misdemeanors. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (first degree murder) (2014) (subsequently amended), 39-14-404 (2018) (especially aggravated burglary), 39-14-146 (2014) (subsequently amended) (theft). The trial court merged the first degree murder convictions and imposed a life sentence. Following a sentencing hearing, the court imposed a sentence of twelve years as a Range I offender for especially aggravated burglary, to be served consecutively to the life sentence. The court imposed sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days for each of the two theft convictions and ordered them to be served consecutively to each other and concurrently to the life sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress and admitting evidence obtained from a search of his cell phone. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery.Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Steve R. Dozier
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/20/20
State of Tennessee v. Edward Rudolph Wyse, Jr.

E2019-01454-CCA-R3-CD

The defendant, Edward Rudolph Wyse, Jr., appeals his 2019 Cocke County Circuit Court jury convictions of rape and incest, challenging the denial of the motion to suppress his statement to the police, the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, and the propriety of the sentence. The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to suppress the statement. Sufficient evidence supports the defendant’s conviction of incest, and that conviction is affirmed. Because the State failed to produce any evidence that the defendant used force or coercion to accomplish the sexual penetration of the victim, we reverse the conviction of rape and dismiss that charge. Because the trial court erroneously failed to consider probation as a sentencing alternative and because our dismissal of the rape charge impacts the defendant’s eligibility for other sentencing alternatives, we reverse the sentencing decision of the trial court and remand the case for a new sentencing hearing for the conviction of incest.

Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge James L. Gass
Cocke County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/20/20
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Siler

E2020-00468-CCA-R3-CD

Jeffery Siler, Defendant, appeals the trial court’s summary dismissal of his Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 motion to correct a clerical error in the trial court’s order revoking Defendant’s probation. Defendant claims that the revocation order erroneously failed to award 622 days’ jail credit for the time Defendant served on a concurrent federal sentence while his state court sentence was suspended and Defendant was on unsupervised probation. Defendant’s probationary period ran from the date of his state court convictions until the date the probation revocation warrant was issued. This probationary period encompassed the 622 days Defendant was incarcerated on the concurrent federal sentence. Because Defendant’s probation was revoked before his probationary period expired, Defendant was not entitled to credit upon reinstatement of the original state court sentence. State v. Hunter, 1 S.W.3d 643, 644 (Tenn. 1999). Therefore, there is no clerical error in the revocation order. We affirm the trial court’s summary denial of the Rule 36 motion.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Bobby R. McGee
Knox County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/19/20
State of Tennessee v. Carl Allen

W2019-02162-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant, Carl Allen, is appealing the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct illegal sentence filed pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Originating Judge:Judge Lee V. Coffee
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
James Kelly v. State of Tennessee

E2020-00759-CCA-R3-PC

The pro se Petitioner, James Kelly, appeals as of right from the Bradley County Criminal Court’s order summarily denying his pro se pleading that the trial court treated as a petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion to affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we conclude that the State’s motion is well-taken and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge. D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Andrew M. Freiberg
Bradley County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
Brandon Harris v. State of Tennessee

W2019-00996-CCA-R3-PC

The Petitioner, Brandon Harris, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief arguing that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate and call witnesses, failing to present expert testimony of mental impairment, and failing to object to the State’s certification of a voice recognition expert. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge Lee V. Coffee
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
Darrell A. Cooper v. State of Tennessee

E2019-02132-CCA-R3-PC

The Petitioner, Darrell A. Cooper, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2016 convictions for two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon, for which he is serving a twenty-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel, rendering his guilty pleas involuntary. We remand the case to the post-conviction court for the entry of an order setting forth findings of facts and conclusions of law in compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-111(b) (2018).

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge G. Scott Green
Knox County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
State of Tennessee v. Nelson P. Troglin

E2020-00129-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Nelson P. Troglin, appeals from the Bledsoe County Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. See Tenn. R. Crim. P. 36.1. He contends that the trial court erred in denying relief on the basis that he was illegally convicted of the offense of attempted first degree felony murder. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Thomas W. Graham
Bledsoe County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
State of Tennessee v. Robert Glen Gray

W2019-01806-CCA-R3-CD

A McNairy County jury convicted the Defendant, Robert Glen Gray, of two counts of delivery of methamphetamine weighing .5 grams or more. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to a total effective sentence of twenty-five years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge J. Weber McCraw
McNairy County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
State of Tennessee v. Ronald Davis

W2019-01315-CCA-R3-CD

The Defendant, Ronald Davis, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his three-year probationary sentence for identity theft. The trial court determined that the Defendant’s failure to report to his probation officer violated the terms of his probation sentence and ordered the Defendant to serve his sentence. The Defendant asserts that the trial court’s revocation of his probation sentence was an abuse of discretion because he “was trying to connect with his probation officer.” The record supports the trial court’s finding that the Defendant failed to report to his probation officer during a six-month period. Based upon this evidence, we conclude that revocation of the probation sentence was not an abuse of discretion.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
Corey Mitchell v. State of Tennessee

W2019-02267-CCA-R3-PC

Following the reversal and remand of this case for a new evidentiary hearing, Corey Mitchell v. State, No. W2016-01818-CCA-R3-PC, 2018 WL 3005379, at *7 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 14, 2018), the post-conviction court again denied relief to the Petitioner, Corey Mitchell. In this appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, that his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary, and that his plea should be withdrawn to correct manifest injustice. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Originating Judge:Judge John W. Campbell
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/16/20
State of Tennessee v. Gil Jackson Groseclose

E2019-01721-CCA-R3-CD

The Appellant, Gil Jackson Groseclose, pled guilty in the Sullivan County Criminal Court to driving under the influence (DUI) and DUI, per se, and the trial court convicted him after a bench trial of DUI, second offense. The trial court merged the convictions, Class A misdemeanors, and sentenced the Appellant to eleven months, twenty-nine days to be served as one hundred twenty days in jail followed by supervised probation. On appeal, the Appellant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of DUI, second offense, because the judgment of conviction for his prior DUI was void and that the trial court erred by ordering confinement of more than the mandatory minimum sentence in jail. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Originating Judge:Judge James F. Goodwin, Jr.
Sullivan County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/15/20
State of Tennessee v. Adonis Donnell Holbrooks

M2019-02099-CCA-R3-CD

Adonis Donnell Holbrooks, Defendant, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury in a superseding indictment for one count of attempted rape of a child, one count of solicitation of a minor, one count of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor via electronic means. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted as charged. As a result of the convictions, Defendant received an effective sentence of twelve years in incarceration with 100% release eligibility. The trial court denied a motion for new trial and motion to reconsider the denial of the motion for new trial. Defendant appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions for attempted rape of a child and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Originating Judge:Judge Mark J. Fishburn
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/14/20
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RICHARD JOSEPH DURICK

M2019-01155-CCA-R3-CD

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Richard Joseph Durick (“Defendant”) pled guilty to one count each of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in exchange for an effective sentence of three years, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered Defendant to serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a sentence of confinement, arguing that: (1) the trial court committed plain error in considering polygraph results and reports based on polygraph results when sentencing Defendant; (2) the trial court failed to consider Defendant’s presumption of eligibility for probation; (3) the trial court failed to consider all of the factors under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-103(1)(A)-(C); and (4) the trial court inappropriately considered factors used to determine length of sentence when determining the manner of service of his sentence. Defendant further contends that the trial court erred by denying his subsequently filed motion for a reduction of sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Deanna B. Johnson
Williamson County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/13/20
Billy F. Johnson, III v. State of Tennessee

M2019-00910-CCA-R3-ECN

The pro se Petitioner, Billy F. Johnson, III, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of error coram nobis, alleging that he is entitled to relief based on newly discovered evidence of insanity. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court denying the petition.

Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Originating Judge:Judge Jennifer Smith
Davidson County Court of Criminal Appeals 10/13/20