June 15, 2001
Volume 7 — Number 109

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
01 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
 

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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink

HERSCHEL LEON COFFELT, JR. v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA

Attorneys:

Joseph E. Ford, McBee & Ford, Winchester, Tennessee, for the Appellant
Herschel Leon Coffelt, Jr.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Patricia C. Kussman,
Assistant Attorney General; James Michael Taylor, District Attorney
General; Steven Blount, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
Appellee, State of Tennessee.                         

Judge: WITT

First Paragraph:

The petitioner, Herschel Leon Coffelt, Jr., appeals the Franklin
County Circuit Court's denial of his motion to re-open his
post-conviction relief proceeding.  His March 19, 1996 post-conviction
petition challenged his guilty-plea based,1987 Franklin County
conviction of selling marijuana.  He received an incarcerative
sentence of three years and a fine of $10,000 and did not appeal. On
October 30, 1997, the lower court determined that the post-conviction
petition was barred by the statute of limitations and dismissed it. 
See Tenn. Code Ann. S 40-30-202(a) (1997).  The petitioner then filed
affidavits of two persons who claimed to have been present during the
drug transaction that resulted in the 1987 case.  The affiants stated
that the petitioner was not present when the offense was committed. 
Based upon their affidavits, the petitioner moved the lower court to
reconsider its denial of the petition, but when his counsel appeared
before the court to argue his motion, counsel asked the court to treat
the motion as one to reopen the post-conviction proceeding.  See Tenn.
Code Ann. S 40-30-217 (1997). The lower court  denied the motion, and
the petitioner appealed.  We conclude that the record supports the
trial court's action, and accordingly, we affirm.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/coffelthl.wpd

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