April 10, 2001 Volume 7 — Number 066 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 02 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 07 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 LINDA EK v. FLUOR DANIEL, INC. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Jason C. Scott, Flippin, Collins & Huey, Milan, Tennessee, for the appellant, Linda Ek. Catherine B. Clayton, Lisa A. Houston, Spragins, Barnett, Cobb & Butler, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellee, Fluor Daniel, Inc. Judge: LOSER First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this appeal, the employee or claimant, Linda Ek, contends (1) the evidence preponderates against the trial court's findings that the contract of hire was made in Mississippi and that she willingly and knowingly elected to receive benefits under Mississippi law; and (2) the conditional award of permanent partial disability benefits is inadequate. As discussed below, the panel has concluded that the contract of hire was made in Tennessee, that the employee did not voluntarily, deliberately and with full knowledge of her options, accept benefits under Mississippi law, and that the conditional award of permanent partial disability benefits should be affirmed. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/eklinda.wpd GLORIA ANN JOHNSON v. WORLD COLOR PRESS, INC. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Jeffrey L. Lay and Gary H. Nichols, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, World Color Press, Inc. Jay E. DeGroot, Jackson, Tennessee, and Tanda Rae Grisham, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Gloria Ann Johnson. Judge: BELL First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The defendant World Color Press, Inc. appeals the judgment of the Circuit Court of Dyer County which denied defendant's claim for set-off for short-term disability benefits paid by defendant under its disability plan. We find that the trial court erred in its application of Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-114 and reverse the trial court's judgment on that issue. We further find that plaintiff waived consideration on appeal of her claim that defendant failed to establish that the disability plan was "employer funded" as required by the statute. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/johnsong.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JAMES R. BRITT Court:TCCA Attorneys: James Robert Britt, Pro Se. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; James Michael Taylor, District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: The petitioner, James R. Britt, seeks correction of an alleged illegal sentence. He claims that he is serving an illegal and void sentence because he was sentenced as a Range III offender, even though he qualified for no more than Range I classification. Because we agree with the lower court that the petitioner's sentence is not illegal or void, we affirm the lower court's order dismissing the petition. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/brittjr.wpd ROSS GUNTER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: J. Allen Murphy, Jr. (post-conviction), and William C. Donaldson (trial), Athens, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ross Gunter. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Peter M. Coughlan, Assistant Attorney General, Jerry N. Estes, District Attorney General, Dan Cole and William Reedy, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: MCGEE OGLE First Paragraph: The petitioner, Ross Gunter, pled guilty in the McMinn County Criminal Court to second degree murder and was ordered to serve one hundred percent (100%) of his fifteen year sentence in confinement. The petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging fault in the plea agreement, and the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the petitioner raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the post-conviction court erred in not granting the petition for post-conviction relief based on the State's breach of the plea agreement, and (2) whether the post- conviction court erred in not granting the petition for post-conviction relief because the petitioner did not knowingly and voluntarily enter a guilty plea. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/gunterr.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LEON HURD Court:TCCA Attorneys: Billy P. Sams, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the appellant, Leon Hurd. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; and Jan Hicks, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WADE First Paragraph: The defendant, Leon Hurd, was charged with and convicted of one count of possession of cocaine for resale, a Class B felony; one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor; and one count of tampering with evidence, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. SS 39-7-417, 39- 17-425, and 39-16-503. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of eight years, 11 months and 29 days, and three years, respectively. In this appeal of right, the defendant presents the following issues: (1) whether the search warrant was valid; (2) whether the indictment for tampering with evidence should have been dismissed; (3) whether certain cross-examination by the state on prior instances of misconduct was proper; and (4) whether the chain of custody for the admission of the illegal drugs was properly established. Because the trial court should have excluded evidence of prior misconduct, the convictions are reversed and the causes are remanded for a new trial. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hurdleon.wpd CONCURRING OPINION http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hurdl_con.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LLEWELYN D. LARMOND Court:TCCA Attorneys: Steve McEwen, Mountain City, Tennessee (on appeal); Stephen M. Wallace, District Public Defender; and Leslie S. Hale, Assistant District Public Defender, Blountville, Tennessee (at hearing), for the appellant, Llewelyn D. Larmond. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Glen C. Watson, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General; and Teresa Murray-Smith, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: RILEY First Paragraph: Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, the defendant pled guilty to two counts of selling 0.5 grams or more of cocaine, possession of marijuana, and the sale of counterfeit cocaine. He received an effective sentence of sixteen years. The manner of service of his sentences was left to the discretion of the trial court. Defendant now contends the trial court erred in denying his request for alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/larmondld.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JEREMY TAYLOR Court:TCCA Attorneys: Raymond Mack Garner, District Public Defender, and Shawn G. Graham, Assistant District Public Defender, for the appellant, Jeremy Taylor. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Peter M. Coughlan, Assistant Attorney General; Michael L. Glynn, District Attorney General; and John A. Bobo, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: GLENN First Paragraph: The defendant was indicted by a Blount County Grand Jury for casual exchange of a controlled substance, marijuana, and found guilty following a bench trial. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail. As to the manner of service of the sentence, the first ninety days were ordered served in confinement with the option of serving the last thirty days in an inpatient drug abuse program. The balance of the sentence was ordered served on probation. In this appeal as of right, the defendant presents two issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; and (2) whether the manner of service of his sentence was appropriate. We affirm both the conviction and sentence. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/taylorj.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ROBERT HALL WAYMAN Court:TCCA Attorneys: Joe H. Walker, Public Defender; Alfred Lee Hathcock, Jr., Assistant Public Defender; and Rex A. Dale, Lenoir City, Tennessee, for the appellant, Robert Hall Wayman. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Clinton J. Morgan, Counsel for the State; J. Scott McCluen, District Attorney General; and Frank A. Harvey, Assistant District Attorney, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WILLIAMS First Paragraph: The defendant pled guilty to reckless vehicular homicide, simple possession of marijuana, and sale of a Schedule VI controlled substance. The trial court sentenced the defendant to four years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction (DOC), and the defendant appeals from this sentence, requesting probation. We affirm the sentence of incarceration from the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/waymanrh.wpd WESLEY LEE WILLIAMS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: David B. Hill, Newport, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Wesley Lee Williams. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Peter M. Coughlan, Assistant Attorney General; Al Schumtzer, District Attorney General; James B. Dunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellant, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: Wesley Lee Williams appeals the denial of his claim for post-conviction relief. He claims that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently entered because he was mentally impaired and taking prescription medication at the time he entered the pleas. He further claims that the trial court committed error of constitutional dimension in failing to inquire about his mental condition and the effect of his medication on his mental state. We conclude, as did the lower court, that the petitioner has failed to carry his burden of proof. Accordingly, we affirm the lower court's denial of post-conviction relief. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/williamswl.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. TBA members may join TBALink for just $50 per year. To join, go to: http://www.tba.org/join.html/ SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH! Would you like to receive the TBALink Opinion Flash free each day by e-mail? Anyone, whether a TBA member or not, is welcome to subscribe ... it's free! 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