Opinion FlashJune 19, 2002Volume 8 — Number 105 Following this index are summaries of each case, including its name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion.
TBA members can get the full-text versions of these opinions three ways detailed below. All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password, you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi . If you are a TBA member, but do not have a username and password, you can receive one online at http://www.tba.org/signup.mgi. Here's how you can obtain full-text version.
Howard H. Vogel JUDY C. BURROUGHS, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS SURVIVING SPOUSE AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF HAROLD L. BURROUGHS, DECEASED v. ROBERT W. MAGEE, M.D. Court:TCA Attorneys: J. Houston Gordon and Jason G. Whitworth, Covington, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Judy C. Burroughs. Hubert B. Jones and Gary H. Nichols, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Robert W. Magee, M.D. Judge: LILLARD First Paragraph: This is a personal injury and wrongful death case. The plaintiff and her husband were involved in an automobile accident. The plaintiff sued the driver of the other vehicle for her husband's wrongful death as well as for injuries she sustained in the accident. The plaintiff named the driver's physician as an additional tortfeasor, alleging that the physician negligently prescribed drugs to a known drug addict, negligently prescribed two contraindicated drugs, and negligently failed to warn his patient of the risks of driving while under the influence of the drugs. The trial court granted the physician's motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the physician had no duty to unidentifiable third parties such as the plaintiff. We affirm in part and reverse in part, finding that the physician owed a duty to the plaintiff and the decedent to warn his patient of the risks of driving while under the influence of the prescribed drugs. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/burroughsj.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ERICK DARNELL BAILEY Court:TCCA Attorneys: Ralph Newman and Elizabeth Ezell, Nashville, Tennessee (at trial) and C. Dawn Deaner, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal) for the Appellant, Erick Darnell Bailey. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Pamela Anderson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: The defendant, Erick Darnell Bailey, appeals his first-degree murder convictions imposed following a jury trial in the Davidson County Criminal Court. The defendant was tried and convicted on both felony-murder and premeditated-murder counts in the indictment, and the trial court merged the convictions into a single conviction of first-degree murder. The single issue raised on appeal is whether the convicting evidence is sufficient to support the verdicts. We modify the conviction for premeditated murder to second-degree murder and affirm the conviction for first-degree, felony murder. The second-degree murder conviction merges into the felony murder conviction. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/baileyerickdarnell.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM C. BENTLEY Court:TCCA Attorneys: Lawrence Wilson, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, William C. Bentley. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Gill Robert Geldreich, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Shelli Neal, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant, William C. Bentley, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of attempted aggravated robbery. In this appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction, and argues that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting hearsay testimony. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/bentleywilliamc.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ERIC B. BLAKEMORE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Garland Erguden, Assistant Public Defender; AC Wharton, Jr., Shelby County Public Defender, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Eric Blakemore. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Charles Bell, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: HAYES First Paragraph: The Appellant, Eric B. Blakemore, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted second degree murder. After a sentencing hearing, Blakemore received concurrent sentences of twenty-two years for the murder conviction and ten years for the attempted murder conviction. On appeal, Blakemore asserts that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for second degree murder. Specifically, he argues that the evidence presented supports the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. After review, we find the evidence legally sufficient; accordingly, the judgment of conviction is affirmed. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/blakemoreericb.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DAVID TYRONE DOWELL Court:TCCA Attorneys: Gary F. Antrican, Covington, Tennessee, for the Appellant, David Tyrone Dowell. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Christine M. Lapps, Assistant Attorney General; Elizabeth T. Rice, District Attorney General; and Kim Linville, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: The defendant, David Tyrone Dowell, appeals the sentence imposed by the trial court on his guilty- plea-based aggravated assault conviction. Because the record supports the trial court's sentencing determination, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/dowelld.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. FLOYD EARL RAYNER, III Court:TCCA Attorneys: Edward S. Ryan, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Floyd Earl Rayner, III. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Jennifer L. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bernard McEvoy and Phil Wheby, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: The defendant, Floyd Earl Rayner, III appeals from his five convictions of rape of a child and five convictions of aggravated sexual battery, claiming that the trial court (1) failed to fulfill its duty as the "thirteenth juror" and (2) erred in its sentencing determinations by not applying mitigating factors in establishing the length of his sentences and in ordering partial consecutive service of the sentences. Because we hold that the trial court discharged its "thirteenth juror" responsibility and that the sentencing issues have been waived, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/raynerfloydearl.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM TONY WRIGHT Court:TCCA Attorneys: Merrilyn Feirman, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal); and Gerald L. Melton, District Public Defender; and Jeffrey S. Henry, Assistant Public Defender, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (at trial) for the appellant, William Tony Wright. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Gill Geldreich, Assistant Attorney General; William C. Whitesell, Jr., District Attorney General; and Roger Moore, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant, William Tony Wright, pled guilty to one count of violation of the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offender Act (MVHO), Tenn. Code Ann. S 55-10-616, a Class E felony. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, wherein other pending charges were dismissed, he was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender, with the length and manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Thirty days later, and prior to the sentencing hearing, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the count of the indictment to which he had previously pled guilty. In the alternative, Defendant moved to withdraw his guilty plea. Defendant asserted that he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea because he was "legally innocent" of the charge of violation of the MVHO Act. He argued that the order declaring him a motor vehicle habitual offender was not effective at the time of the offense because the order failed to comply with Rule 58 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. On the same date, he filed a motion in Rutherford County Circuit Court Case No. M-43411 to obtain relief from the order declaring him an habitual motor vehicle offender pursuant to Rule 60.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Both motions were denied by the trial court, and following a sentencing hearing, Defendant was sentenced to serve four years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Defendant has appealed in both cases, and they have been consolidated for our consideration. In addition to appealing the denial of his motions, Defendant argues that the sentence for violation of the MVHO Act is excessive. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/wrightwilliamt.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! JOIN THE TENNESSEE BAR ASSOCIATION! SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH! UNSUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH? ... SURELY NOT! But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at: http://www.tba.org/op-flash.mgi Home • Contact Us • PageFinder • What's New • Help |
|
© Copyright 2002 Tennessee Bar Association
|