STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANTONIO TOOMES - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANTONIO TOOMES

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 30, 2020

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Michael R. Working and Janet H. Goode, Memphis, Tennessee (on appeal); and Antonio Toomes, pro se (at trial), for the appellant, Antonio Toomes.

Attorneys 2: Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Katharine K. Decker, Assistant Attorney General; Garry G. Brown, District Attorney General; and Hillary Lawler Parham, Jason Scott, and Jerald Campbell, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): WILLIAMS

The Defendant, Antonio Toomes, appeals his convictions for felony murder and especially aggravated burglary, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus thirty years. On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) the trial court erred in ordering him to proceed pro se at trial on the day before trial; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements to law enforcement; and (3) the prosecutors made improper comments during voir dire and closing arguments. We conclude that the trial court erred in finding that the Defendant implicitly waived or forfeited his right to counsel and in requiring the Defendant to proceed pro se at trial. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand for a new trial.

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