JASON COLLINS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE - Articles

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JASON COLLINS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 3, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Mitchell A. Raines, Assistant Public Defender—Appellate Division (on appeal); Jeremy Epperson, District Public Defender (at hearing), for the appellant, Jason Collins.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; G. Kirby May, Assistant Attorney General; Jody S. Pickens, District Attorney General; and Matt Floyd, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): WILSON

Petitioner, Jason Collins, was convicted of one count of possession of .5 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, one count of possession of .5 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The trial court merged the two methamphetamine convictions and sentenced Petitioner to serve a total effective sentence of twenty years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days in confinement. This court affirmed Petitioner’s convictions and sentences on direct appeal. Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, and the post-conviction court denied the petition after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to file a motion for new trial, in failing to seek suppression of drugs and other evidence seized from his home, and in failing to conduct a “complete and accurate” investigation of a defense witness. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post- conviction court.

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