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Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 28, 2020

A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant of possession of heroin with intent to sell, a Class B felony; possession of heroin with intent to deliver, a Class B felony; two counts of possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, Class D felonies; and two counts of simple possession of Alprazolam, Class A misdemeanors. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged the possession of heroin convictions, merged the possession of a firearm convictions, and merged the simple possession convictions and sentenced the Appellant to an effective sentence of nineteen years in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence and that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to show that the Appellant actually or constructively possessed the drugs or gun. Accordingly, the Appellant’s convictions are reversed, and the charges against him are dismissed.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 28, 2020

The Defendant, Edward Jerome Harbison, appeals from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial of his “Motion for Second Chance,” which the trial court considered as a Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 35 motion. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the court erred in denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

SUTTON, Circuit Judge. Americans take college sports seriously, sometimes too seriously. John Higgins refereed an Elite Eight game of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 2017. The close contest between the Kentucky Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels ended when the Tar Heels scored with less than a second on the clock. Kentucky’s coach was not happy and thought the referees, John Higgins in particular, had done his team no favors. The Kentucky faithful, the fans that is, were even less happy. Before long, Higgins’ roofing business suffered losses of its own, after he became the target of an online campaign orchestrated by Kentucky fans who pinned the loss on Higgins. Higgins returned the favor by suing Kentucky Sports Radio and some of its contributors for his business losses, alleging that their post-game coverage of him and his roofing business incited the harassment. But the First Amendment safeguards the radio station’s right to comment on Higgins’ performance and the fans’ reaction to it and that is so even if the station and its hosts might have exercised their First Amendment rights more responsibly. We affirm the district court’s dismissal of his claims.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

COLE, Chief Judge. J.H., a 14-year-old boy and pretrial detainee, was placed in segregated housing in Williamson County’s juvenile detention facility after three other juveniles alleged that he threatened to assault them. J.H. alleges that his placement in segregated housing from November 17 to December 19, 2013, amounted to unconstitutional punishment through the means of solitary confinement. He also alleges that a Williamson County detention monitor, Juan Cruz, sexually assaulted him during this period; that this assault was a direct result of Williamson County’s failure to train Cruz; and that during his placement in segregated housing, detention facility officials failed to provide adequate medical care. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Williamson County and officials Steve McMahan and Betsy Adgent. We affirm.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Michael Fisher began working on Defendant Nissan North America’s factory floor in 2003. Approximately 12 years later, Fisher went on extended leave for severe kidney disease and, ultimately, a kidney transplant. When he returned to work, he was still recovering from the transplant, and his attendance suffered. Fisher proposed several different accommodations, some of which were not provided. When he received a final written warning about his attendance, he left work and did not return. Fisher filed suit, centrally claiming that Nissan failed to accommodate his disability and to engage in the interactive process, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA or the Act), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. The district court granted summary judgment to Nissan. Because material factual disputes remain on some of Fisher’s claims, we AFFIRM in part and REVERSE in part.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Ronald Taylor, of first-degree premeditated murder, and the trial court imposed the statutorily required life imprisonment sentence. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the: (1) denial of his motion to suppress; (2) sufficiency of the evidence; (3) omission of a jury instruction; and (4) admission of an officer’s testimony regarding a video prior to admission of the video into evidence. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

This is the third occasion Petitioner, Matthew B. Foley, appeals from a denial of his petition for post-conviction relief raising the same primary lament – he does not belong on the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry. He is seeking relief from his 2002 guilty- pleaded conviction for facilitation of especially aggravated kidnapping, an offense which, at the time of his plea agreement, was not listed as an offense requiring sexual offender registration. Petitioner, who was a sixteen year-old minor at the time of his guilty plea, continues to allege that the statute of limitations for post-conviction relief should be tolled on due process grounds and that the State breached a material element of his plea agreement by requiring him to register as a sex offender. The post-conviction court summarily denied relief based on the expiration of the statute of limitations. In the first appeal, this Court concluded that the statute of limitations should be tolled based on due process grounds, and we remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing. Matthew B. Foley v. State, No. M2015-00311-CCA-R3-PC, 2016 WL 245857, at *8 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 20, 2016), no perm. app. filed (“Foley I”). On remand, the post-conviction court held a hearing and found the statute of limitations should not be tolled. In the second appeal, this Court found that the statute of limitations issue had been conclusively decided in Foley I and remanded the case to the post-conviction court for an evidentiary hearing on the merits. Matthew B. Foley v. State, No. M2016-02456-CCA-R3-PC, 2017 WL 5054571, at *3 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 1, 2017) no perm. app. filed (“Foley II”). On remand for the second time, the post-conviction court denied the petition, finding that Petitioner failed to diligently pursue his rights and, therefore, that the statute of limitations should not be tolled. The post-conviction court also found that Petitioner failed to show the State violated a material element of his plea agreement and failed to show the State violated his due process rights. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court, grant post-conviction relief and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

The pro se Petitioner, Tamir Clark, appeals the circuit court’s dismissal of his motion to withdraw his 2012 guilty pleas. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court summarily dismissing the motion.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

This case involves an appeal to the Bradley County Chancery Court (“trial court”) of an administrative decision by the Building Board of Adjustment and Appeals for the City of Cleveland (“the Board”) to uphold the City of Cleveland’s chief building official’s decision to condemn and order the demolition of a commercial building. Upon a notice of condemnation issued by the chief building official based on the allegedly dilapidated and unsafe condition of the building, the building’s owner appealed to the Board. Following a hearing, the Board upheld the condemnation and demolition order. The owner then filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the trial court, requesting, inter alia, that the demolition order be vacated. Following a hearing, the trial court found that the Board’s decision had been supported by substantial and material evidence and accordingly upheld the Board’s affirmance of the condemnation and demolition order. The owner filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment, which the trial court denied. The owner timely appealed to this Court. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 27, 2020

Ex-Husband appeals from a qualified domestic relations order (“QDRO”), which was entered several years after the final decree of divorce. Ex-Husband complains that the QDRO grants his ex-wife benefits that she was not entitled to under the final decree of divorce. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.


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