STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DEREK MORSE - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DEREK MORSE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 17, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Brennan M. Wingerter (on appeal), Assistant Public Defender-Appellate Division, Franklin, Tennessee; Daniel .J Ripper (at trial) and Christian Lanier (motion for new trial), Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Derek Morse.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Atorney General and Reporter; Katherine C. Redding, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Coty Wamp, District Attorney General; and Lance Pope and Cameron Wiliams, Assistant District Atorneys General, for the appelee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Defendant, Derek Morse, was convicted by a Hamilton County jury of three counts of premeditated first degree murder and one count of attempted premeditated first degree murder. Defendant was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment without parole for the first-degree murder convictions, and he was ordered to serve a concurrent sentence of fifteen years for the attempted first degree murder conviction. In this direct appeal, Defendant contends that: 1) the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions because the State failed to establish his identity as a shooter; 2) the trial court erred by allowing evidence of a prior bad act; 3) the State failed to establish a proper chain of custody for evidence of gunshot residue on Defendant's clothing; 4) the trial court should have granted a new trial based on newly discovered evidence; 5) the trial court should have granted a new trial based on proof that a State's witness gave false testimony that he did not receive favorable treatment from the State for his testimony against Defendant; 6) the State made improper comments during its opening statement and closing argument; and 7) the cumulative effect of these errors entitles Defendant to a new trial. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs and arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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