Opinion Flash

December 26, 2002
Volume 8 — Number 226

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
03	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

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.

Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document.

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.

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

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. NKOBI I. DUNN

WITH CONCURRING OPINION

Court:TCCA

Attorneys: 

Deborah Black Huskins, Assistant Public Defender, Johnson City,
Tennessee, for the appellant, Nkobi I. Dunn.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; P. Robin Dixon, Jr.,
Assistant Attorney General; Joe C. Crumley, Jr., District Attorney
General; Steven R. Finney and Dennis Dwayne Brooks, Assistant District
Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WEDEMEYER

First Paragraph:

Pursuant to the judicial diversion statute, the Defendant pled guilty
to possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and
possession for resale of less than .5 grams of a Schedule II
controlled substance, a Class C felony.  The plea was entered pursuant
to Tennessee Code Annotated S 40-35-313, otherwise referred to as
judicial diversion, and the trial court placed the Defendant on
probation for three years.  Approximately six months later, a
probation violation warrant was issued against the Defendant, alleging
that he had tested positive for marijuana use.  An amended probation
violation warrant was subsequently filed, alleging that the Defendant
had failed to make payments on court costs and had failed to pay child
support, the latter being a special condition of probation.  The
Defendant pled guilty to violating his probation and the trial court
revoked the Defendant's probation.  Without conducting a sentencing
hearing, the trial court entered judgments sentencing the Defendant to
concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days to serve in
the county jail for the paraphernalia conviction and three years to
serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction for the felony drug
conviction.  After reviewing the record, we reverse the judgments of
the trial court and remand for a sentencing hearing.

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

WITH CONCURRING OPINION:

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

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. FRANK GAITOR

Court:TCCA

Attorneys: 

Clifton R. Corker, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Frank
Gaitor.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Angele M. Gregory,
Assistant Attorney General; Joe C. Crumley, Jr., District Attorney
General; and Steve Finney, Assistant District Attorney General, for
the Appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WITT

First Paragraph:

Frank Gaitor appeals from his Washington County Criminal Court
convictions of Class B felony possession of 0.5 grams or more of
cocaine with intent to sell and misdemeanor simple possession of
marijuana.  He is presently serving an effective 22-year sentence as a
Persistent Offender for these crimes.  In this direct appeal, he
raises numerous challenges to the firmity of the conviction
proceedings.  Upon examination, however, none of these claims warrant
relief.  Thus, we affirm.

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

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. OTIS LEE PRICE

Court:TCCA

Attorneys:  

Amber D. Haas, Assistant Public Defender, Newport, Tennessee, for the
appellant, Otis Lee Price.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Helena Walton
Yarbrough, Assistant Attorney General; Al C. Schmutzer, Jr., District
Attorney General; and Ronald C. Newcomb, Assistant District Attorney
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WEDEMEYER

First Paragraph:

A Cocke County jury convicted the Defendant of attempted burglary, and
the trial court sentenced the Defendant to three years incarceration. 
The Defendant now appeals, arguing that insufficient evidence was
presented at trial to convict him of attempted burglary.  Finding no
error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/priceol.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 THE TENNESSEE BAR ASSOCIATION!
While Opinion Flash is a free service of the Tennessee Bar Association, you must be a member of the Tennessee Bar Association in order to access the full text of the opinions or enjoy the many other features of TBALink.

To join the TBA go to: http://www.tba.org/join_bar.mgi

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! Sign up for text or HTML version.

Visit the TBALink web site at: http://www.tba.org/op-flash.mgi

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