Tennessee Supreme Court Decisions 2016

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for, inter alia, two counts of first degree premeditated murder. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized from his residence, ruling that the Exclusionary Rule Reform…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of stalking. The conviction was based, in part, on Defendant’s act of posting disparaging signs about the victim on the victim’s private property and on the property of the victim's employer, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s husband collapsed and died after participating in an exercise class at a fitness facility owned and operated by Church. Plaintiff filed a wrongful death action against Church alleging that Church negligently…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of multiple counts of first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, and facilitation of aggravated rape. The Court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of facilitation of possession with intent to deliver 0.5 grams or more of cocaine, an offense proscribed by Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-417. Because the jury found that the facilitation occurred within…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of nine counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, thirteen counts of observation without consent, and other offenses arising from his hidden-camera…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and other crimes arising from a single-vehicle accident that killed two occupants of the vehicle. Defendant filed a motion to suppress any evidence derived from…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant drove a car he had rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car (Enterprise) into Plaintiff’s knee. At the time of the incident, Plaintiff was insured under a policy issued by IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of carjacking and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed on appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: A five-count indictment charged Defendant with several felonies and with employment a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. A jury found Defendant guilty on all counts. Defendant appealed, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of four counts of rape of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of aggravated sexual battery as a lesser-included offense of rape of a child. On appeal, the Court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, William Arnold was convicted in a criminal trial of one count of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of rape of a child for his rape and molestation of John Doe N. In 2011, the child’s mother, Ms. Bowen,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Landlord entered into a written agreement for the lease of commercial real estate to Tenant. In 2009, Landlord filed a complaint against Tenant and Richard Johnson alleging that Tenant breached the lease and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for assault. The district attorney general denied Defendant’s application for pretrial diversion, and the trial court refused to overturn the decision. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for two counts of statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Defendant applied for pretrial diversion three times, and the district attorney general’s office…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the standard for determining whether a shareholder’s claim is a direct claim or a derivative claim. This case arose from a dispute among siblings who were shareholders in a closely-held family…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Petitioner later filed this petition for writ of error coram nobis, claiming that he was entitled to a new trial on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of felony murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping. Defendant was sentenced to death on each conviction. The Court of Criminal…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault committed by violating a protective order, and evading arrest. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court’s failure to compel the State to elect an…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first offense driving under the influence. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress on the grounds that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After its closure, a landfill continued to discharge contaminants into a creek that ran into a lake on adjoining property. After several failed remedial measures, ACC, LLC (ACC), the landfill owner, and the Tennessee…

Justia Opinion Summary: American Heritage Apartments, Inc., a customer of the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (County Authority), filed suit both individually and as a class representative asserting that the County…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Petitioner was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Petitioner subsequently pursued collateral review without success. In 1990, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Four university football players were indicted for criminal charges arising out of the alleged rape of a university student. Petitioners, a group of media organizations and a citizens group, made a Public Records Act…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of one count of aggravated burglary and multiple counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated robbery. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an action against Defendant within the extended statute of limitations set by a tolling agreement. Plaintiff voluntarily nonsuited the action and refiled it within one year but after the extended statute…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was stopped after a police officer observed him cross the double yellow center lane lines with the two left wheels of his car. Defendant was subsequently charged with driving under the influence. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was stopped after a police officer observed Defendant cross once and touch twice the fog line marking the outer right lane boundary on an interstate highway. Defendant was subsequently charged with alternative…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of facilitation of first degree murder and one count of facilitation of aggravated robbery. The court of criminal appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a second jury trial, Defendant was convicted of thirty-seven counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of facilitation of first degree murder and one count of facilitation of aggravated robbery. The court of criminal appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed,…