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| Friday, August 05, 2011 |
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Sen. Alexander to speak at Supreme Court dinner
The Knoxville Bar Association's annual Supreme Court Dinner is Aug. 31 at the Knoxville Convention Center Ballroom. The event pays tribute to the justices of the court, as well as members of the local judiciary. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander will be the keynote speaker. A cash bar reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and tables of 10 may be reserved in advance. Reservations must be made by Aug. 26.
Learn more or register here
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database or to obtain a text version of each opinion, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at the TBA's Membership Central.
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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RICHARD ODOM
CORRECTION on pages 4, 20, 25 and 33 (see below)
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
Brock Mehler, Nashville, Tennessee and Gerald Skahan, Memphis, Tennessee, for the
appellant, Richard Odom.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; James E. Gaylord, Assistant Attorney
General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of
Tennessee.
Judge: WADE
SUMMARY OF CORRECTION
-- On page 4, in line 3 of the first paragraph, one "and" is deleted from "She and and her partner".
-- On page 4, in line 8 of the first paragraph, "break" is changed to "brake".
-- On page 20, in line 4 of the first full paragraph, an extra space between "attempted to" and "provide context" is deleted.
-- On page 25, in line 1 of the first full paragraph, an extra space between "reflected in" and "the" is deleted.
-- On page 33, an extra blank line just prior to the paragraph beginning with "There is no formula" is deleted.
-- On page 33, an extra blank line just prior to the block quote at end of page is deleted.
SUMMARY OF OPINION
The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder in the perpetration of rape. In the
penalty phase of the trial, the jury imposed a sentence of death, finding three aggravating
circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the defendant was previously convicted of one
or more violent felonies; (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (3)
the murder was committed during the defendant's escape from lawful custody or from a place
of lawful confinement. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction, but reversed
the death sentence, holding that the trial court's limitation on the mitigating evidence during
the penalty phase required a new sentencing hearing. This Court affirmed. A second jury
sentenced the defendant to death, concluding that the single aggravating circumstance, that
the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felonies, outweighed the
mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court of Criminal Appeals
affirmed. This Court reversed, holding that because the trial court had erroneously admitted
detailed evidence of the defendant's prior violent felony offense, a third sentencing hearing
was required. The jury again imposed a sentence of death, concluding that two statutory
aggravating factors, that the defendant had been previously convicted of a felony involving
the use of violence to the person and that the murder was committed while the defendant was
engaged in the commission of a robbery, had been established beyond a reasonable doubt,
and further determining that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the evidence of the
mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. This sentence was affirmed by the
Court of Criminal Appeals. Upon careful review of the entire record, we hold as follows:
(1) the defendant's constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury was not violated by the
disqualification of a prospective juror; (2) the prosecutor's closing argument did not result
in the use of non-statutory aggravating factors in the jury's weighing process warranting
reversal of the death sentence; (3) the admission of photographs of the body did not
constitute error; (4) the trial court's instructions on parole did not violate the defendant's
right to due process of law and heightened reliability; (5) the mandatory criteria of Tennessee
Code Annotated section 39-13-206(c)(1) are satisfied; and (6) the reduction of the amount
of compensation sought by appellate defense counsel by a judge on the Court of Criminal
Appeals did not require his disqualification from participating in this case. The judgment of
the Court of Criminal Appeals is, therefore, affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/odomr_CORR_080511.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DANIEL O'SICKY
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Ronald C. Newcomb, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Daniel O'Sicky.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Senior Counsel;
James B. Dunn, District Attorney General; and William Brownlow Marsh, Assistant District
Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
The Defendant, Daniel O'Sicky, pled guilty to second degree murder, a Class A felony;
especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony; and especially aggravated burglary, a Class
B felony, in exchange for concurrent sentencing, with the length of his sentences left to the
discretion of the trial court. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to concurrent sentences
of 25 years as a violent offender for the Class A felony offenses and 12 years as a Range I,
standard offender for the Class B felony offense. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant
contends that the trial court erred in setting the length of his sentences. Following our
review, we conclude that the Defendant's conviction for especially aggravated burglary
should be modified to reflect a conviction for aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, because
his especially aggravated burglary conviction was precluded by Tennessee Code Annotated
section 39-14-404(d). Because our modification of the Defendant's conviction does not
affect the Defendant's sentence length pursuant to the plea agreement, we impose a
concurrent sentence of 6 years for the Class C felony conviction. We affirm the judgments
of the trial court in all other respects.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/osickyd_080511.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Baumgartner talks about his addiction at drug commission celebration |
| Yesterday, as part of a celebration of 25 years of
fighting the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol,
members of Knoxville's Metropolitan Drug Commission watched a video alongside a crowd of hundreds as
former Judge Richard Baumgartner talked about his addiction.
His addiction, he said on the video, "cost me a career I loved." |
WBIR has the story with video
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| Pro bono key component to filling Legal Aid gap |
| The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands is featured in the Nashville Business Journal's "10 Minutes to Better Business" section for making up funding deficits with increased pro bono by private attorneys. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of cases handled by private attorneys rose 145 percent. Executive Director Gary Housepian credits the rise in part to working with firms to match the right expertise with each case, as well as training and providing support to the volunteers. |
The Nashville Business Journal has more [subscription required]
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| ABA annual meeting packed with programming |
| Today there were more than 20 sessions at the American Bar Association's Annual Meeting in Toronto, including the future of class action litigation, the use of psychology and computers in mediation, health care reform, and a look at Justice Scalia's tenure on the Supreme Court. |
Read highlights of the meeting
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| Governor will swear-in Sword in ceremony |
| The Knoxville Bar Association announced today that Gov. Bill Haslam will
be in Knoxville at 8:30 a.m on Aug. 8 for the ceremonial
swearing-in of Judge Steven W. Sword. The ceremony will be in the Knox
County Criminal Court, Division I courtroom. There will be a brief reception
in the judge's chambers following the ceremony. All members of the bar are
invited.
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| Judicial election to be business-related battle |
| How appellate judges are chosen "is shaping up to be the biggest business-related battle of the 2012 legislative session," the Nashville Business Journal says.
Business interests are arguing against overly political courts and hoping to avoid pouring money into judicial raises. Those on the other side of the debate, however, argue that retention elections don't meet the standards set out in the state Constitution. |
The Nashville Business Journal has more [subscription required]
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| Otis Jackson files suit to stop suspension |
| Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson filed a petition Thursday in Chancery Court seeking an injunction to stop his suspension from office. The suspension arose from an indictment on official misconduct charges that he coerced members of his staff into giving and collecting money for his 2012 campaign.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty.
He said the order was "arbitary and capricious," included no finding of fact and violated his right to due process as well as the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.
The matter is set for a hearing Aug. 25, although Jackson's request for an immediate stay of his suspension was not granted. |
The Commercial Appeal has more
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| Christian-run jail proposed in Maury Co. |
| A Texas-based nonprofit group wants to build a 600-bed prison in Maury County that would be staffed only by Christians and take a faith-based approach to rehabilitating inmates.
The project, which organizers say would be the first Christian-operated prison in the United States, is being proposed by Corrections Concepts Inc.
County commissioners have heard the proposal, and a vote could be scheduled as early as next month.
Supporters talk about the jobs it will bring to the area, but others worry about land values and safety risks. |
The Daily Herald tells you how it would work
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| TBA Member Services |
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About this publication: Today's News is a compilation of digests of news reports of interest to Tennessee lawyers compiled by TBA staff, links to digested press releases, and occasional stories about the TBA and other activities written by the TBA staff or members. Statements or opinions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff.
© Copyright 2011 Tennessee Bar Association
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