Hamilton Herald Masthead

Editorial


Front Page - Friday, October 5, 2012

Tennessee Appellate Court Opinions




Quincy Londale Scott v. State of Tennessee.

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Hamilton County

Case Number: E2011-01534-CCA-MR3-PC

Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

Originating Judge: Don W. Poole

Date Filed: Monday, September 24, 2012

The Petitioner, Quincy Londale Scott, appeals as of right from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate the circumstances surrounding his confession to the police and failing to hire a “handwriting expert” to testify about the waiver of rights form signed by the Petitioner. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Mario Jones.

Case Number: E2011-00123-CCA-MR3-CD

Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall

Originating Judge: Judge Carroll L. Ross

Date Filed: Wednesday, September 26, 2012

A Hamilton County jury convicted Defendant, Mario Jones, of possession of more than 50 grams of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell, a Class A felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant to serve twenty years as a Range I standard offender. In his appeal, Defendant presents the following issues for review: (1) the stop of Defendant’s vehicle and the subsequent detention of Defendant violated his constitutional rights, and the trial court erred by denying Defendant’s motion tosuppress; (2) the evidence was insufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction; (3) the trial court improperly allowed Lieutenant Queen to testify concerning the calendar, notes, and pills found in Defendant’s vehicle; (4) the trialcourt erred in finding that chain of custody had been established; and (5) the trial court erred in rejecting Defendant’s proposed mitigating factor. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Rebecca Little v. City of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Appeal from the Chancery Court for Hamilton County

Case Number: E2011-027-24-COA-R3-CV

Authoring Judge: Judge John W. McClarty

Originating Judge: Chancellor W. Frank Brown, III

Date Filed: Tuesday, September 25, 2012

This action involves requests made by the appellant pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act, Tennessee Code Annotated sections 10-7-501, et seq. and 6-51-108(b), to the appellee city. After not receiving access to certain records to which she felt entitled, the appellant filed this petition. The trial court ruled that the city never refused to disclose the records but it just had not done much as of the time the petition was filed. However, because appellant did not prove that the city acted in bad faith as a result of its slowness in producing the public record requested the appellant was denied an award of attorney’s fees for the filing of the petition. We reverse the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Kailyn Loren McKeown.

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Hamilton County

Case Number: E2011-02209-CCA-R3-CD

Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.

Originating Judge: Judge Don W. Poole

Date Filed: Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The defendant, Kailyn Loren McKeown, entered a best interest plea to one count of driving under the influence (“DUI”), see T.C.A. § 55-10-401, and reserved a certified question of law concerning the propriety of her detention and arrest. Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b). Determining that the evidence preponderates against the trial court’s findings as they relate to the scope of the certified question of law, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and dismiss the charge.