Opinion FlashOctober 17, 2003Volume 9 — Number 190 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):
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. Howard H. Vogel BRIAN KEITH CHAPMAN v. BEKAERT STEEL WIRE CORPORATION, ET AL. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Jeffrey Allan Garrety, Joseph Ray Taggart, Jackson, Tennessee, for the Plaintiff-Appellant, Brian Keith Chapman. Paul C. Peel, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Defendants-Appellee, Bekaert Steel Wire Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Judge: ALISSANDRATOS First Paragraph: The claimant in this workers' compensation case has appealed the trial court's decision awarding him permanent partial disability benefits of twenty-five percent to the body as a whole. The trial court excluded the deposition of one of the physicians who examined the claimant but made alternative findings if the deposition were improperly excluded. The panel has concluded that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's exclusion of the deposition evidence. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court. We further find that the evidence preponderates in favor of the trial court's alternative finding of forty-five percent to the body as a whole. The trial court's judgment is modified accordingly. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/chapman.wpd IN RE: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SUPREME COURT RULE 19 Court:TSC - Rules Judge: PER CURIAM First Paragraph: This Court hereby publishes for public comment a proposed amendment to Supreme Court Rule 19, relative to pro hac vice appearances. The proposed amendment is attached hereto as Appendix A. This Court solicits written comments on the proposed amendment from the bench, the bar, and the public. The deadline for submitting written comments is December 17, 2003. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_Rules/rule19_ord.wpd JOHN HAWS BURRELL v. HOWARD CARLTON, WARDEN Court:TCCA Attorneys: John Haws Burrell, pro se, Mountain City, Tennessee. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Thomas E. Williams, III, Assistant Attorney General; and Joe Crumley, District Attorney General, for appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: SMITH First Paragraph: The petitioner, John Haws Burrell, has been convicted of twelve counts of sexual battery, three counts of rape, and two counts of coercion of a witness for which he is serving an effective twenty- four-year sentence. See State v. John Haws Burrell, No. 03C01-9404-CR-00157, 1997 WL 53455 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Knoxville, Feb. 11, 1997). The petitioner brings the instant appeal of the lower court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We find that the lower court properly summarily dismissed the petition because several of the alleged bases for relief in the petition are not proper grounds for habeas relief and the remaining allegations lack merit. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/burrelljohn.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLAUDE W. CHEEKS Court:TCCA Attorneys: Bryan Henry Hoss, C. Leland Davis, and David W. Wallace, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Claude W. Cheeks. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Angele M. Gregory, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, District Attorney General; and Dean Ferraro and Mary Sullivan Moore, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: OGLE First Paragraph: The appellant, Claude W. Cheeks, was convicted by a jury in the Hamilton County Criminal Court of one count of especially aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced the appellant to a total effective sentence of twenty-five years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The appellant appealed and on July 22, 2002, this court reversed his convictions, finding that the appellant had met his burden of establishing his insanity at the time of the offenses. The State filed an application for permission to appeal to our supreme court pursuant to Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The supreme court granted the State's application for the sole purpose of remanding the case to this court for reconsideration in light of its opinion in State v. Flake, 88 S.W.3d 540 (Tenn. 2002). Upon reconsideration, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/cheekscw.wpd JAMES EUGENE PARKS, JR. v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Lisa B. Morton, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, James Eugene Parks, Jr. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Brent C. Cherry, Assistant Attorney General; Randall Eugene Nichols, District Attorney General; Marsha Mitchell, Assistant District Attorney General; and Culver Schmid, Special Prosecuting Attorney, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: TIPTON First Paragraph: The petitioner, James Eugene Parks, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court's denial of his petitions for post-conviction relief from robbery-related convictions. He contends that he did not voluntarily enter guilty pleas because he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the pleas. He also claims that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorneys did not investigate the case adequately. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petitions. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/parksjameseugene.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIE IRA POTEAT, JR. Court:TCCA Attorneys: William A. Kennedy, Blountville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Willie Ira Poteat, Jr. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; Braden H. Boucek, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General; and J. Lewis Combs, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WEDEMEYER First Paragraph: The Defendant, Willie Ira Poteat, Jr., was indicted by the Sullivan County Grand Jury for possession of more than 26 grams of cocaine for resale and criminal conspiracy to sell more than 26 grams of cocaine. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence taken during the execution of a search warrant, which the trial court denied. Thereafter, the Defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charges against him, reserving the right to appeal a certified question of law regarding the trial court's ruling on the suppression issue. We now address the Defendant's appeal based upon this certified question of law. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/poteatwi.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANGELEE PRATER Court:TCCA Attorneys: Larry G. Roddy, Sale Creek, Tennessee, for the appellant, Angelee Prater. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Kathy D. Aslinger, Assistant Attorney General; J. Michael Taylor, District Attorney General; and Will Dunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: SMITH First Paragraph: The appellant, Angelee Prater, was convicted by a jury of aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony and fined $25,000. As a result of the conviction, the trial court sentenced her to twenty-one years and six months incarceration as a Range I, standard offender and classified her release eligibility at 100% as a violent offender. After the trial court denied the appellant's motion for a new trial, she appealed. The appellant argues on appeal that the aggravated child abuse statutes, Tennessee Code Annotated sections 39-15-401 and -402 are unconstitutionally vague as applied to her conduct and that the evidence was not sufficient to support a verdict of guilt. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the statutes in question are constitutional and that the evidence is sufficient to support the verdict of guilt. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/praterangelee.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 |
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