Opinion Flash
April 16, 2003
Volume 9 — Number 068
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):
| 01 |
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 |
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
RICKY HARRIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TSC
Attorneys:
Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, and Mark A. Fulks, Assistant
Attorney General, for the appellant, State of Tennessee.
Kenneth F. Irvine, Jr. and Robert R. Kurtz, Knoxville, Tennessee, for
the appellee, Ricky Harris.
Judge: DROWOTA
First Paragraph:
In this appeal, the dispositive issues are whether a claim that the
prosecution failed to disclose exculpatory evidence in violation of
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), is a cognizable basis for
reopening a post-conviction petition under Tennessee Code Annotated
section 40-30-217(a) and whether the Court of Criminal Appeals erred
in sua sponte treating the petitioner's motion as a petition for writ
of error coram nobis based upon newly discovered evidence. The trial
court denied the petitioner's motion to reopen on the basis that it
did not state a cognizable ground for reopening a post-conviction suit
under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-217(a). The Court of
Criminal Appeals agreed that the motion did not state grounds for
reopening under the post- conviction statute, but the intermediate
court sua sponte treated the motion as a petition for writ of error
coram nobis and concluded that due process precluded application of
the one-year statute of limitations to bar the petition. The Court of
Criminal Appeals therefore remanded the case to the trial court to
consider the merits of the coram nobis claim. From this decision, the
State filed an application for permission to appeal, primarily arguing
that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred in sua sponte treating the
motion to reopen as a petition for writ of error coram nobis. We
granted the State's application for permission to appeal, and for the
reasons herein stated, this Court concludes that the lower courts
correctly held that the motion does not state grounds for reopening
under the post-conviction statute but that the Court of Criminal
Appeals erred in sua sponte treating the motion to reopen as a
petition for writ of error coram nobis. The judgment of the Court of
Criminal Appeals therefore is reversed, and the judgment of the trial
court dismissing the motion is reinstated.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC/harrisr_opn.wpd
RICKY HARRIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TSC
JANICE HOLDER CONCURRING
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC/harrisr_con.wpd
RICKY HARRIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TSC
RILEY ANDERSON AND ADOLPHO BIRCH CONCURRING AND DISSENTING
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC/harrisr_conanddis.wpd
HUGH PETER BONDURANT v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
M. Wallace Coleman, Jr., Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the appellant,
Hugh Peter Bondurant.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner,
Assistant Attorney General; Mike Bottoms, District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
First Paragraph:
The Appellant was convicted in 1991 of second degree murder, and his
conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. He subsequently filed a
"PETITION FOR RELIEF FROM CONVICTION OR SENTENCE PURSUANT TO TENNESSEE
CODE ANNOTATED 40-30-301 THROUGH 40-30- 312," and the trial court
summarily dismissed the petition relying upon the Post-Conviction
Procedure Act. The Appellant now appeals the summary dismissal of his
opinion. Our review of the complete petition filed by the Appellant
reveals that, despite the statutory sections inappropriately cited in
its title, the Appellant sought relief under the Post-Conviction DNA
Analysis Act. We therefore reverse the judgment of the trial court
and remand to the trial court for findings of fact pursuant to the
Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/bonduranthp.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TONYA M. JENNINGS
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Jay Steed and Jeffrey A. DeVasher (on appeal) and Laura C. Dykes (at
trial), Assistant Public Defenders, Nashville, Tennessee, for the
appellant, Tonya M. Jennings.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Christine M. Lapps,
Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney
General; Pam Anderson and Gigi Braun, Assistant District Attorneys
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
First Paragraph:
A trial court found the Defendant not guilty by reason of insanity of
the offense of stalking. Following judicial hospitalization in the
Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute, the Defendant filed a motion
requesting the trial court to expunge all public records pertaining to
the stalking offense. The trial court denied the Defendant's request.
The Defendant now appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by
denying the Defendant's request to expunge her records. Finding no
reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/jenningstm.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
