JOHN TODD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE - Articles

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JOHN TODD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jun 24, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Lance Chism, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, John Todd.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Garrett Ward, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Steve Mulroy, District Attorney General; and Robert Gowen and Melanie Headley, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): SWORD

The Petitioner, John Todd, filed an untimely petition for post-conviction relief claiming he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that due process required the tolling of the statute of limitations because of his alleged mental incompetence. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition, concluding the Petitioner had failed to present a prima facie case of mental incompetence to warrant an evidentiary hearing on the issue of due process tolling. The Petitioner appeals, claiming the post-conviction court erred in summarily dismissing the petition without an evidentiary hearing on the tolling issue because he presented a prima facie case of his mental incompetence. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of whether the Petitioner is entitled to a tolling of the statute of limitations.

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