Opinion Flash

December 12, 2002
Volume 8 — Number 218

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
02	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

JOHN ROBERT BENSON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court:TCCA

Attorneys:   

Larry F. Wallace, Jr., Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the appellant, John
Robert Benson.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; John H. Bledsoe,
Assistant Attorney General; William Michael McCown, District Attorney
General; and Robert Crigler, Assistant District Attorney General, for
the appellee, State of Tennessee.                        

Judge: GLENN

First Paragraph:

The petitioner was convicted of two counts of attempted first degree
murder and three counts of reckless endangerment and received an
effective sentence of thirty years.  On direct appeal, this court
affirmed the petitioner's convictions and sentence.  The petitioner
now contends that his trial counsel provided ineffective
representation.  After reviewing the record, we conclude that the
petitioner has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his
trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.  Accordingly, we affirm
the denial of the petition for post-conviction relief.

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

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MELVIN L. HARPER

Court:TCCA

Attorneys:

Steve McEwen, Mountain City, Tennessee (on appeal);  Leslie S. Hale,
Blountville, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, Melvin L.
Harper.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kathy D. Aslinger,
Assistant Attorney General;  H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney
General; and Barry P. Staubus and William B. Harper, Assistant
District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.                        

Judge: MCGEE OGLE

First Paragraph:

The appellant, Melvin L. Harper, was convicted by a jury in the
Criminal Court of Sullivan County of aggravated robbery, a Class B
felony.  The appellant was sentenced as a Range II multiple offender
to twenty years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of
Correction.  On appeal, the appellant challenges: (1) the sufficiency
of the evidence to support his conviction of armed robbery; (2) the
trial court's granting of the State's motion to amend the indictment
on the day of trial; (3) the wording of the trial court's jury
instructions regarding lesser-included offenses; and (4) the sentence
imposed by the trial court.  After a careful review of the record and
the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

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

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