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Thursday, August 18, 2011

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AOC to assist limited English petitioners

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has received a $200,000 grant to provide assistance to people with limited English proficiency who come before the courts. The one-year grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Competitive Grant Program will pay for interpreters for specific non-indigent parties. Courts that incur expenses may file claims through June 2012. Funds will be distributed on a first-come, first serve basis.

Learn more about the grant

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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You can obtain full-text versions of the opinions two ways. We recommend that you download the Opinions to your computer and then open them from there. 1) Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file to your computer. 2) 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.

PAUL PITTMAN v. CITY OF MEMPHIS

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

John F. Canale, III, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Paul Pittman.

John H. Dotson and Michael Casey Shannon, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Memphis.

Judge: FARMER

Petitioner firefighter appeals denial of on-the-job injury benefits by the City of Memphis. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/pittmanp_081811.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LAMONT HOGAN

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

William Bradley Lockert, III, District Public Defender, and Richard D. Taylor, Jr., Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Lamont Hogan.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Nicholas W. Spangler, Assistant Attorney General; Dan Mitchum Alsobrooks, District Attorney General; and Billy Henry Miller, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: THOMAS

The Defendant, Lamont Hogan, pled guilty as indicted by the Dickson 1 County Grand Jury for sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony, and sale of a counterfeit controlled substance, a Class E felony, with the length and manner of service for the sentences left to the discretion of the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant as Range III, persistent offender to ten years for the Class C felony conviction and a concurrent four years for the Class E felony conviction. The trial court ordered the Defendant to serve his total effective sentence of ten years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying alternatively sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/hoganl_081811.pdf

ISAAC EUGENE JONES, III v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Mike A. Little, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Isaac Eugene Jones, III.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Senior Counsel; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and M. Neal Pinkston, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: THOMAS

The Petitioner, Isaac Eugene Jones, III, appeals as of right from the Hamilton County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to 25 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Petitioner contends that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to ensure that he was given the opportunity to testify at trial and for failing to object to his statement in which he said that he had molested his cousin. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/jonesi_081811.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DAVID ENRIQUE LEON

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

William B. "Jake" Lockert, III (at trial and on appeal), and Dawn Kavanaugh and Kathleen Mitchell (at trial), Ashland City, Tennessee, for the appellant, David Enrique Leon.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Nicholas W. Spangler, Assistant Attorney General; Dan Mitchum Alsobrooks, District Attorney General; and Billy Henry Miller, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: OGLE

A Dickson County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellant, David Enrique Leon, of first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to consecutive sentences of life and ten years, respectively. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions. Based upon the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/leond_081811.pdf

BRANDON MOBLEY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
With a Concurring & Dissenting Opinion

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Wade V. Davies, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Brandon Mobley.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie E. Price, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney General; and TaKisha Fitzgerald, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WITT

The petitioner, Brandon Mobley, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post- conviction relief challenging his 2005 convictions of two counts of premeditated first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, and setting fire to personal property for which he is now serving two consecutive life sentences plus 19 years in the custody of the Department of Correction. On appeal, the petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying his petition for post-conviction relief based upon allegations that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and other constitutional deprivations. Because we determine that the petitioner is entitled to relief on the issue of the ineffective assistance of counsel concerning the use of expert testimony, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/mobleyb_081811.pdf

SMITH concurring in part and dissenting in part
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/mobleyb_CON_081811.pdf

SENTORYIA LAWAND YOUNG v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Hershell D. Koger, Pulaski, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sentoryia Lawand Young.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Nicholas W. Spangler, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Renee Erb, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WITT

The petitioner, Sentoryia Lawand Young, appeals from the Davidson County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his jury conviction of second degree murder and two convictions of aggravated assault. Following our review, we affirm the order of the post-conviction court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/youngs_081811.pdf

TODAY'S NEWS

Legal News
Passages
TennBarU CLE
TBA Member Services

Legal News

Criminal charges weighed in drug task force case

An independent prosecutor has been asked to determine if criminal charges should be filed against members of the 24th Judicial District Drug Task Force, its board of directors, District Attorney General Hansel McCadams and Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew based on allegations that they misused drugs, cash, weapons and other items confiscated during drug cases, and failed to exercise adequate oversight of the assets. The allegations were made public yesterday by the Tennessee Comptroller.

The Jackson Sun has more

DA disagrees with some audit findings

District Attorney General Hansel McCadams says he disagrees with some of the findings included in an audit report about the 24th Judicial District Drug Task Force that was released yesterday. Specifically, he rejects the claim that task force helicopters were used to fly "dignitaries" to high school football games arguing it was school administrators who used the service as part of a joint agreement with the school system. McCadams and others implicated in the audit also maintain that vehicles, a motorcycle, golf cart, go-cart, four-wheeler and trailer were used only for official functions and activities. McCadams did agree with many of the findings and said corrective measures have been put in place to avoid future abuses.

The Post-Intelligencer reports

Deal may set 'West Memphis Three' free

The judge in the West Memphis Three triple murder case has scheduled a hearing for Friday morning in Jonesboro, Ark., at which all three defendants will be present. According to legal sources and relatives of victims, prosecutors and defense attorneys are working out a deal that could result in the release of the men as early as tomorrow. The three are in prison for the 1993 murders of three 8-year-old boys. They have maintained their innocence and recent DNA testing has indicated an unidentified person was at the scene of the crime.

The Commercial Appeal reports

Suspended clerk pleads not guilty

Suspended Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson was arraigned this morning on charges that he coerced his staff into giving and collecting money for his 2012 re-election campaign. Jackson's appearance was waived, but his attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and asked that a special judge handle the case. Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft set the case off until Oct. 24 and said a special judge would be requested.

The Commercial Appeal has more

Jury awards $200,000 to shackled immigrant

Jury members in the Juana Villegas trial today awarded the woman $200,000 after deliberating for less than an hour. An earlier court order had found that Villegas' rights were violated when Davidson County sheriff's deputies shackled her before and after she gave birth to a baby boy. Her attorney had asked the jury to consider damages of $1.2 million. Metro Nashville government says it plans to appeal the ruling.

The City Paper reports

Knoxville Bar Foundation inducts new fellows

The Knoxville Bar Foundation recently inducted its 2011 class of Fellows at its annual dinner. New inductees are Tasha C. Blakney, Wynne du Mariau Caffey, S. Dawn Coppock, Robert A. Crawford, Wade V. Davies, Sam C. Doak, Michael J. King, Jason H. Long, Jack H. "Nick" McCall, Mary LeAnn Mynatt, Carl A. Pierce, Rick L. Powers, Mary Ann Stackhouse, David N. Wedekind and Judge Dale C. Workman. The Knoxville Bar Association announced the class in the August issue of its magazine Dicta.

UT Law welcomes 160 first-year students

The University of Tennessee College of Law welcomed 160 first-year law students to campus on Monday. The group has been spending the week in orientation sessions but classes got underway today. On Monday, the group heard from Melvin J. Malone (class of 1989), managing member and chair of Miller & Martin PLLC in Nashville. On Wednesday they were hosted at a dinner organized by the law school faculty. The entering class hails from 15 states and the majority graduated with a degree in one of three undergraduate fields of study: political science, English and psychology.

Article about parolees raises concerns

A recent Tennessean article about parolees participating in the Board of Parole and Probation's phone-in Interactive Offender Tracking (IOT) program has advocates and former prisoners up in arms. The story raised questions about "dangerous" offenders participating in the program and although it featured the photos of 42 individuals, it provided no context or explanation for many of them. One such individual was shocked that his 16-year-old mugshot was splashed across the front page of the paper after spending years trying to rehabilitate his reputation.

The Nashville Scene has more on the story and the IOT program

Passages

NSL graduate dies

Sam Erwin Shelby Sr., 94, died Aug. 14 in Nashville. A graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and Nashville School of Law, Shelby served as vice president for the Federal Chemical Company (later Kaiser Chemical) in Louisville, Ky., before returning to his native Tennessee. A memorial service was held yesterday at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home.