Opinion FlashFebruary 06, 2004Volume 10 — Number 025 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 JAMES ROY SMITH, JR. v. MARY ELIZABETH SMITH AND AIR DRAULICS ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC., GARNISHEE Court:TCA Attorneys: Howard B. Hayden, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Air Draulics Engineering Company, Inc. Valorie Corder, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, James Roy Smith, Jr. Terese B. Deboo, Guardian Ad Litem, Memphis, Tennessee, appellee, pro se. Judge: KIRBY First Paragraph: This is a garnishment case. In the underlying child custody proceedings, the father obtained primary custody of the parties' minor child, and the mother was ordered to pay child support. The father and the child's guardian ad litem subsequently obtained judgments against the mother for child support, attorney's fees, and guardian ad litem fees. To collect on the judgments, the father and the guardian ad litem filed four garnishments against the mother's wages. After the fourth garnishment was filed, the garnishee failed to answer. A hearing was set to determine whether a conditional judgment should be against the garnishee for the entire debt. On the eve of the hearing, the garnishee filed an answer to the garnishment, admitting liability. Nevertheless, the trial court entered a conditional judgment against the garnishee for the entire amount of the mother's debt. After a subsequent scire facias hearing, the trial court made the conditional judgment a final judgment for the entire amount of the debt. The garnishee now appeals. We reverse, concluding that, because the garnishee filed an answer, albeit untimely, the trial court was without authority to enter a conditional judgment against the garnishee. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/smithlr.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ALFRED EUGENE BRADLEY Court:TCCA Attorneys: Melanie R. Snipes, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Alfred Eugene Bradley. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kathy D. Aslinger, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and Lila J. Statom and David W. Denny, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: GLENN First Paragraph: The defendant was convicted by a Hamilton County Criminal Court jury of four counts of attempted first degree murder, Class A felonies; aggravated arson, a Class A felony; and false imprisonment, assault, and theft under $500, all Class A misdemeanors. He was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of twenty-two years and six months in the Department of Correction. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, the defendant filed a timely appeal to this court, raising the following issues: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions for aggravated arson and attempted first degree murder; (2) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements to law enforcement officers; (3) whether the trial court erred in allowing the State to call a rebuttal witness during the presentation of its case in chief; (4) whether the trial court properly sentenced the defendant for his attempted first degree murder and aggravated arson convictions; and (5) whether the cumulative errors prevented the defendant from receiving a fair trial. Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court, but remand for entry of a corrected judgment for the defendant's assault conviction in Count 2 of Case No. 234375. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/bradleyalfrede.wpd JAMES LARRY CONRAD, SR. v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Matthew John, Memphis, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, and James Larry Conrad, Sr., Whiteville, Tennessee (on appeal), Pro se. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; John H. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Paul Hagerman, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: OGLE First Paragraph: The petitioner, James Larry Conrad, Sr., appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition. The petitioner timely appealed, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, that the trial court erred in an evidentiary ruling, and that trial counsel was ineffective. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/conradjl.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLIFFORD JAMES ENGUM Court:TCCA Attorneys: Helen M. Donnelly, Knoxville, Tennessee (at trial and on appeal) and Patrick B. Moore, Atlanta, Georgia (at trial), for the appellant, Clifford James Engum. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; James G. (Jerry) Woodall, District Attorney General; and Alfred L. Earls, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: OGLE First Paragraph: The appellant, Clifford James Engum, pled guilty in the Madison County Criminal Court to vehicular homicide by recklessness and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, to-wit: a motor vehicle. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant received a total effective sentence of eight years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The trial court ordered the appellant to serve one year of his sentence in confinement and the remainder of his sentence on probation. On appeal, the appellant contests the trial court's denial of full probation and the eight-year suspension of his driver's license. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we remand to the trial court for correction of the judgment of conviction for vehicular homicide to reflect that the appellant's driving privileges in the state of Tennessee are revoked for a period of eight years. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed in all other respects. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/engumcj.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRANDON D. FORBES Court:TCCA Attorneys: Merrilyn Feirman, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal); William Bradley Lockert, III, District Public Defender; and Christopher L. Young, Assistant Public Defender (at trial) for the appellant, Brandon D. Forbes. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kim R. Helper, Assistant Attorney General; Dan M. Alsobrooks, District Attorney General; and Kim Menke, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant, Brandon D. Forbes, was indicted on one count of aggravated robbery and one count of theft. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of both counts. The trial court merged the two counts into a single count of aggravated robbery. Following a sentencing hearing, Defendant was sentenced to serve ten years. In this appeal as of right, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and argues that his sentence was excessive. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/forbesbrandond.wpd BLAKE E. HALLUM v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: David A. Gold, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Blake E. Hallum. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kim R. Helper, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Katrin Novak Miller, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Petitioner, Blake E. Hallum, appeals from the trial court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. After a review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/hallumblakee.wpd MICHAEL P. HEALY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Juni Ganguli, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael P. Healy. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Thomas E. Williams, III, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Lee Coffee, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WILLIAMS First Paragraph: The petitioner appeals the trial court's finding that the petitioner received effective assistance of counsel both before and during trial. We affirm the denial of the post-conviction relief. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/healymp.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DERRY LAVELLE LOVINS Court:TCCA Attorneys: Charles M. Agee, Jr., Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Derry Lavelle Lovins. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; and C. Phillip Bivens, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WEDEMEYER First Paragraph: A Dyer County jury found the Defendant, Derry Lavelle Lovins, guilty of second degree murder, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-three years in prison. The Defendant now appeals, contending that the evidence presented at trial is insufficient to support his conviction. Finding that sufficient evidence exists, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/lovinsdl.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KENNETH RICHARD Court:TCCA Attorneys: Frank Deslauriers, Covington, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kenneth Richard. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; Elizabeth T. Rice, District Attorney General; Walt Freeland, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WEDEMEYER First Paragraph: A Tipton County jury found the Defendant, Kenneth Richard, guilty of two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of vandalism. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to eleven months and twenty-nine days on each count, to run concurrently and to be served in the Tipton County Jail. The Defendant appeals, contending that the trial court erred when it failed to sentence him to probation. After reviewing the record, we find no reversible error and we, therefore, affirm the judgments of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/richardk.wpd CLIFFORD WARD, JR. v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Matthew F. Mayo, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Clifford Ward, Jr. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Brian Keith Holmgren, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: TIPTON First Paragraph: The petitioner, Clifford Ward, Jr., appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty pleas to two counts of rape of a child, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and effective twenty-five-year sentence. He contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to investigate his case. We affirm the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/wardclifford.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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