STATE OF TENNESSEE v. VINCENT OLAJUAN MORRISON - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. VINCENT OLAJUAN MORRISON

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 27, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Dillon E. Zinser (at trial and on appeal); and Dave Williams (at trial), Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Vincent Olajuan Morrison.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Garrett D. Ward, Senior Assistant Attorney General (at oral argument) and Christian N. Clase, Assistant Attorney General; Charme P. Allen, District Attorney General; and Leland Price and Robert DeBusk, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): HIXSON

The Defendant, Vincent Olajuan Morrison, appeals his convictions for aggravated burglary, employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and especially aggravated robbery, for which he received an effective sentence of thirty years’ incarceration. On appeal, he argues that (1) the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred by admitting certain statements through the victim’s testimony, which violated the rule against hearsay and the Confrontation Clause; (3) the State’s cross-examination of a defense witness improperly shifted the burden of proof to the Defendant; (4) the trial court violated the “spirit” of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), by permitting the Defendant to be tried by an all-white jury; and (5) his sentence is excessive. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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