Opinion Flash
December 6, 2002
Volume 8 — Number 214
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.
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 |
| 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 |
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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
RANDY CALDWELL & STEVIE W. CALDWELL v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Harvey Douglas Thomas, Algood, Tennessee, for the appellant, Randy W.
Caldwell.
Cynthia F. Burnes, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Stevie W.
Caldwell.
Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; David H. Findley, Assistant
Attorney General; William Edward Gibson, District Attorney General;
and Benjamin W. Fann and Anthony J. Craighead, District Attorneys
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
First Paragraph:
The petitioners, brothers, were tried and convicted, jointly, of first
degree murder, aggravated arson, and conspiracy to commit arson
against personal property. They filed petitions for post- conviction
relief, which the post-conviction court denied. After careful review,
we affirm the decision of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/caldwellr.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARK E. CONNER
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Margaret Jane Powers, Crossville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Mark
E. Conner.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kathy D. Aslinger,
Assistant Attorney General; Bill Gibson, District Attorney General;
and Terry D. Dycus, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
First Paragraph:
The Defendant, Mark E. Conner, was convicted by a jury of attempting
to manufacture methamphetamine, a Class D felony. In this appeal as
of right, the Defendant argues four issues: (1) whether the evidence
was sufficient to sustain his conviction, (2) whether the trial court
erred by denying the Defendant's motion to exclude the testimony of
witnesses Sherri Conner, the Defendant's wife and former co-defendant,
and Gloria Whitehead, the Defendant's mother-in-law, (3) whether the
trial court erred by denying the Defendant's motion to require the
State to provide the Defendant with any statement, arrest history, and
prior convictions of the State's witnesses, and (4) whether the trial
court erred by denying the Defendant's motion to exclude the State's
photographs and the Defendant's request to introduce at trial the
remaining photographs that were provided to the Defendant during
discovery. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/connerme.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. QUINN L. HAMILTON
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
John E. Rodgers, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Quinn
L. Hamilton.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner,
Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, District Attorney
General; and Bret T.Gunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
First Paragraph:
A jury convicted the Defendant, Quinn L. Hamilton, of aggravated
robbery, a Class B felony, and evading arrest, a Class D felony. The
trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range II multiple offender to
consecutive terms of nineteen years and seven years, respectively, for
an effective sentence of twenty-six years, to be served in the
Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant
contends that the trial court erred in declaring the victim witness
unavailable and allowing his prior testimony to be admitted at trial
as substantive evidence. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hamiltonql.wpd
ANTHONY HODGES v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Dwight E. Scott, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Anthony
Hodges.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney,
Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, District Attorney
General; and Bernard F. McEvoy, Assistant District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
First Paragraph:
The Defendant, Anthony Hodges, was convicted by a jury of first degree
felony murder and aggravated child abuse. He was sentenced to
concurrent sentences of life without parole and twenty- five years,
respectively, to be served in the Department of Correction. The
Defendant's convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal.
See State v. Hodges, 7 S.W.3d 609 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). The
Defendant subsequently petitioned for post-conviction relief, which
the trial court denied. The Defendant now appeals, alleging that he
received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and that his due
process rights were violated by the trial court's failure to instruct
the jury on second degree murder; by the State's employment of
inconsistent theories of guilt at his and his co- defendant's separate
trials; and by the denial of his right to testify. We affirm the
judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hodgesa.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RANDOLPH SCOTT JENNINGS
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Ardena Garth, District Public Defender, and Donna Robinson Miller,
Assistant District Public Defender, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the
Appellant, Randolph Scott Jennings.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; David H. Findley,
Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney
General; and Rodney C. Strong and Parke Masterson, Assistant District
Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
First Paragraph:
Randolph Scott Jennings appeals from his Hamilton County conviction of
aggravated robbery. He was found guilty by a jury of his peers and
sentenced by the trial court to a seventeen-year, Range II term in the
Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, he alleges error in
the trial court's (1) denial of his motion to suppress evidence of a
"showup" identification and admission of the subsequent in-court
identification of him as the perpetrator of the crime, (2) denial of
motions to compel production of clothing the defendant wore at the
time of his arrest, or alternatively, to dismiss the charged based
upon the state's inability to produce the clothing, and (3)
application of enhancement factors, imposition of a Range II sentence,
and order of consecutive sentencing. Because we are unpersuaded of
error, we affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/jennings.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANN MARIE THORNTON KELLY
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Hershell Koger, Pulaski, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ann Marie
Thornton Kelly.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth T. Ryan,
Assistant Attorney General; Mike Bottoms, District Attorney General;
and Richard Dunavant, Patrick Butler, and Cindi Johnson, Assistant
District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: MCGEE OGLE
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Ann Marie Thornton Kelly, was indicted by the Giles
County Grand Jury on twenty counts relating to incidents involving the
sexual abuse of her children. She was ultimately convicted of two
counts of rape of a child, three counts of criminal responsibility for
rape of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, one count of
criminal responsibility for aggravated sexual battery, and one count
of incest. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of
sixty-two years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of
Correction. On appeal, the State concedes that the appellant was not
competent to stand trial. Upon review of the record and the parties'
briefs, we reverse the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/kellyamt.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. COLIN REED WELLS
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Richard Clark and Russell Greene, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the
Appellant, Colin Reed Wells.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney,
Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney
General; and Marsha Mitchell, Assistant District Attorney General, for
the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
First Paragraph:
The defendant, Colin Reed Wells, was convicted by a Knox County
Criminal Court jury of carjacking (Class B felony), robbery (Class C
felony), aggravated assault (Class C felony), resisting arrest (Class
B misdemeanor), violation of driver's license law (Class B
misdemeanor), evading arrest (Class A misdemeanor), evading arrest
(Class D felony), and assault (Class A misdemeanor). Following his
convictions, the trial court merged some convictions and imposed an
effective sentence of 32 years as a multiple offender in the
Department of Correction. On appeal, he claims his carjacking
conviction is infirm because the prosecution failed to disclose
exculpatory evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/wellsc.wpd
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