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Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 18, 2023

This is a State appeal, filed by the State Attorney General and Reporter, from the entry of an order granting the petitioner’s, Courtney Anderson’s, motion to reopen his postconviction and amending/reducing his original sentence of 162 years, 11 months, and 29 days to a time served sentence of 25 years. The State appealed, arguing the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petitioner’s motion as it was barred by the one-year statute of limitations and the petitioner failed to prove the statute should be tolled. Additionally, the State submits that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to amend the petitioner’s sentence under the post-conviction statute and that the trial court’s actions amount to an improper commutation of the petitioner’s sentence. The petitioner contends that the State waived any challenge to the statute of limitations by failing to raise the issue below and that his claim meets the requirements of the statute and allows for the tolling of the statute, and therefore, the trial court properly granted the relief requested. Upon our thorough review of the applicable law and the briefs and arguments of both parties, we conclude that the instant petition is barred by the one-year statute of limitations and that the petitioner failed to establish and the trial court failed to find a proper basis for tolling the statute. Accordingly, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petitioner’s motion and amend the petitioner’s sentence. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the trial court, reinstate the petitioner’s original sentence, and remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 18, 2023

Defendant, Taylor Brent Farley, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted delivery of fentanyl, a Class C felony. Defendant sought judicial diversion, but the trial court denied diversion and imposed a six-year sentence on Community Corrections. On appeal, Defendant contends the trial court erred by denying judicial diversion. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Sterling Roberts appeals his conviction for federal crimes relating to the death of Robert “Bob” Caldwell. Mr. Caldwell was in a child-custody dispute with his ex-wife, Tawnney Caldwell, who was Roberts’ girlfriend. Roberts tried to kill, or at least seriously harm, Mr. Caldwell by luring him through false guise to a remote location. Mr. Caldwell managed to escape. Later, he wasn’t so fortunate. Mr. Caldwell was murdered after a family-counseling session.

Roberts argues, based on the Confrontation Clause, federal evidentiary rules, and the attorney-client privilege, that the district court improperly admitted evidence related to the earlier attack and other incriminating proof. He also raises two constitutional challenges to the interstate stalking statute under which he was convicted, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A, claiming that it exceeded congressional power under the Commerce Clause and that the counts of his conviction are multiplicitous. Because none of Roberts’ arguments have merit, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment of conviction.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

The Appellant, Mark L. Ward, was convicted by a Knox County jury of aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated burglary, and two counts of aggravated rape, for which he received an effective sentence of sixty-eight years in confinement. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the Appellant’s convictions. Upon our review, we affirm.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

The defendant, Will Vaughn, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury conviction of first-degree murder, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

The Defendant, Christopher Kirk Stack, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s probation revocation of the six-year sentence he received for his guilty-pleaded conviction for attempted aggravated sexual battery. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

In this State appeal, the State argues that the Grainger County Circuit Court exceeded its jurisdiction when it granted the defendant’s motion to be removed from the sex offender registry and vacated his conviction for violation of the sex offender registry requirements. We conclude that the defendant’s motion is substantively a petition for post-conviction relief but that because the petition was untimely and because due process tolling of the statute of limitations is not warranted, the trial court erred by granting post-conviction relief. We also conclude that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to order the defendant removed from the sex offender registry. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order and reinstate the defendant’s conviction for violation of the sex offender registry.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

Michael Notaro, Defendant, pled guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor with an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years for each conviction, to be served consecutively for a total effective sentence of 30 years at 100% in exchange for the State agreeing not to seek further prosecution for any other offenses under investigation. Defendant did not seek a direct appeal of his sentence. Instead, Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Rule 36.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure in which he argued that his sentence was illegal. The trial court dismissed the motion for failure to state a colorable claim. Defendant appeals. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

The Defendant, Gregory L. Nelson, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his eight-year sentence for unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by fully revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Oct 17, 2023

The defendant, Cedric D. Marshall, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order revoking his community corrections sentence and resentencing him to an effective sentence of seven years’ incarceration for his guilty-pleaded convictions of evading arrest, burglary, and theft of property. Because the defendant’s notice of appeal is untimely, we dismiss the appeal.


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