November 20, 2001 Volume 7 — Number 215 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 05 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. Howard H. Vogel Knoxville, Tennessee Editor-in-Chief, TBALink STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JIMMY D. GOODE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Thomas McKinney, Jr., Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jimmy D. Goode. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General; and Todd Martin and James Goodwin, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WADE First Paragraph: The defendant, Jimmy D. Goode, pled guilty to one count of operating a motor vehicle in violation of the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offenders Act. See Tenn. Code Ann. S 55-10-616. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range I offender to one year in the Department of Correction. In this appeal of right, the defendant asserts that because he had driven the vehicle due to an emergency, the trial court should have suspended his sentence pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-616(c). Because the trial court erroneously determined that section 55-10-616(c) was inapplicable, the sentence imposed is set aside and the cause remanded for a new sentencing hearing. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/goodejd.wpd BILLY JOE HENDERSON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Billy Joe Henderson, Pro Se, Whiteville, Tennessee. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; T. E. Williams, III, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: HAYES First Paragraph: The Appellant, Billy Joe Henderson, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief without the appointment of counsel and an evidentiary hearing. Henderson is currently serving a life sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction pursuant to his 1998 conviction for first degree murder. Following a review of the record, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the post-conviction court dismissing the petition. Because Henderson in part states a "colorable claim," the case is remanded for the appointment of counsel and an evidentiary hearing. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hendersonbillyj.wpd CHARLES MITCHELL v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Kevin W. Shepherd, Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Charles Mitchell. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth T. Ryan, Assistant Attorney General; C. Berkley Bell, Jr., District Attorney General; and W. Chris Scruggs, Assistant District Attorney General for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: TIPTON First Paragraph: The petitioner, Charles Mitchell, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for first degree murder and resulting sentence of life without parole. First, he contends that his mental condition prevented him from knowingly and intelligently entering his guilty plea. Second, he contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his defense attorneys (1) did not seek to suppress statements that the petitioner gave to police soon after he murdered his wife; (2) did not use diminished mental capacity in his defense; (3) induced him to plead guilty by telling him that the state had filed a notice to seek the death penalty when no such notice had been filed; and (4) failed to request a more detailed mental evaluation of him. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/mitchellc.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SCOTT BRADLEY PRICE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Gerald L. Gulley, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Scott Bradley Price. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; Angele M. Gregory, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols District Attorney General; and Kevin Allen, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: HAYES First Paragraph: The Appellant, Scott Bradley Price, was convicted of child rape, a class A felony, following a Knox County jury trial. The trial court sentenced Price, as a range I offender, to twenty-one (21) years in the Department of Correction. In his sole issue on appeal, Price argues that the trial court erred in the length of sentence because the mitigating factors outweighed the enhancement factors and, therefore, his sentence should have been reduced below the midpoint range of twenty (20) years. After a review of the record, we affirm the sentence of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/pricescottb.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JIMMY JOE RITTENBERRY Court:TCCA Attorneys: J. Thomas Marshall, Jr., District Public Defender, for the appellant, Jimmy Joe Rittenberry. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; James N. Ramsey, District Attorney General; and Jan Hicks, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: RILEY First Paragraph: The defendant was convicted by a jury on one count of sale of marijuana, a Class E felony, and one count of possession of cocaine, a Class A misdemeanor. In this appeal, the defendant contends (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain the sale of marijuana conviction; (2) the trial court erroneously admitted rebuttal testimony regarding an undisclosed, out-of-court statement made by the defendant; and (3) the trial court failed to instruct the jury on simple possession of marijuana as a lesser-included offense. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude (1) the evidence is sufficient to sustain the convictions; (2) the failure of the state to disclose the out-of-court statement made during the defendant's interrogation violated Tenn. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(A); and (3) the trial court erroneously failed to instruct the jury on simple possession of marijuana as a lesser-included offense. The conviction for sale of marijuana is reversed; the conviction for possession of cocaine is affirmed; and this matter is remanded for a new trial on the sale of marijuana. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/rittenberryjj.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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