August 29, 2000 Volume 6 -- Number 137 What follows is the case style or name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion released eletronically today to TBALink. This Issue (IN THIS ORDER):   00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel 00 New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 04 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Attorney General (PDF format) 00 New Judicial Ethics Opinion(s) 00 New Formal Ethics Opinion(s) from the Board of Professional Responsibility   There are three ways for TBALink members to get the full-text versions of these opinions from the Web: Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink. This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document. Lucian T. Pera Editor-in-Chief, TBALink STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MICHAEL LYNN BREEDEN Court:TCCA Attorneys: Raymond Mack Garner, District Public Defender, and Shawn G. Graham, Assistant District Public Defender, for the appellant, Michael Lynn Breeden. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Patricia C. Kussmann, Assistant Attorney General; Michael L. Flynn, District Attorney General; and William Ramsey Reed, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: TIPTON First Paragraph: The defendant, Michael Lynn Breeden, appeals the revocation of his probation. He contends that his remaining on probation would provide more supervision than he will have on parole and would allow him to be more timely in paying restitution. We hold that the defendant's record of noncompliance with the terms of probation is substantial evidence to support the trial court's decision to revoke probation. We affirm the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/Breedenml.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARK ANTHONY GRIFFIN Court:TCCA Attorneys: Mark E. Stephens, District Public Defender; John R. Halstead (at trial) and Paula R. Voss (on appeal), Assistant District Public Defenders, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Mark Anthony Griffin. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Clinton J. Morgan, Assistant Attorney General; Randall Eugene Nichols, District Attorney General; and Scott Green, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: RILEY First Paragraph: The defendant appeals his convictions for aggravated robbery and attempted robbery, for which he received an effective nine-year sentence. The defendant raises the following issues in this appeal: 1) whether evidence presented at trial was sufficient to sustain the guilty verdicts; 2) whether the trial court erred by not suppressing his confession; and 3) whether the trial court erred by denying the defendant's motion for dismissal based upon a violation of due process and denial of a speedy trial. We conclude the first two issues are without merit, but remand for another hearing on the due process/speedy trial issue. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/Griffinma.wpd State of Tennessee v. James Robert Ledford Court:TCCA Attorneys: James F. Logan, Jr., Cleveland, Tennessee, for the appellant, James Robert Ledford. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Michael Moore, Solicitor General, Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General, Jerry N. Estes, District Attorney General, and Stephen D. Crump and Joseph Hoffer, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: HAYES First Paragraph: A Bradley County jury found the appellant, James Robert Ledford, guilty of one count of conspiring to present a false insurance claim, presenting a false insurance claim, and arson of personal property. For these offenses, the appellant was sentenced to five years, with all but ninety days suspended. In this appeal as of right, the appellant contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying suppression of his statement to the police which was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights and (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for conspiracy to present a false insurance claim. After review, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/LedfordJR.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM BRET ROBINSON Court:TCCA Attorneys: Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter, R. Stephen Jobe, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, James N. Ramsey, District Attorney General, Jan Hicks, Assistant District Attorney General, Clinton, Tennessee, for the Appellant, State of Tennessee. Ronald H. Ridenour, Clinton, Tennessee, for the Appellee, William Bret Robinson. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: The state appeals the trial court's exoneration of a bond forfeiture taken against AA Bonding Company. The trial court exonerated the bonding company of the entire bond amount of $8,000, even though the forfeiture was final and the full amount had been paid to the trial court clerk. Concluding that Tenn. Code Annotated section 40-11-204(a) authorizes the action of the trial court and that the record reflects no abuse of the trial court's discretion, even though the trial court granted the exoneration via an $8,000 credit against AA Bonding's future forfeitures in Anderson County, we affirm the trial court's order to grant exoneration; however, we reverse as to the amount of, and the manner of effectuating the refund. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/RobinsonWB.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! Feel free to forward this Opinion Flash on to anyone you know of with an e-mail address. GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! See the intrsuctions at the beginning of this edition of Opinion Flash. JOIN TBALink! While Opinion Flash is a free service of the Tennessee Bar Association, you must be a subscriber to TBALink, the premier Web site for Tennessee attorneys, in order to access the full-text of the opinions or enjoy many other features of TBALink. 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