BERNARD WOODARD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE - Articles

All Content

BERNARD WOODARD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Sep 18, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: J. Liddell Kirk, Madisonville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bernard Woodard.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Katie Neff, Assistant Attorney General; Bryant C. Dunaway, District Attorney General; and Mark E. Gore Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): WEDEMEYER

The Petitioner, Bernard Woodard, was convicted of burglary, theft of property valued at $2500 or more, and felony evading arrest. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner, as a career offender, to an effective eighteen-year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, this court affirmed the judgments. State v. Woodard, No. M2020- 01538-CCA-R3-CD, 2021 WL 5467384, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 23, 2021), no perm. app. filed. The Petitioner filed a post-conviction petition alleging, among other claims, that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition for failure to state a colorable claim. On appeal, this court reversed and concluded that the petition raised colorable claims and remanded the case for further proceedings. Woodard v. State, No. M2022-00162-CCA-R3-PC, 2022 WL 4932885, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Oct. 4, 2022), no perm. app. filed. On remand, the post- conviction court held a hearing and later issued an order denying relief. The Petitioner appeals, maintaining that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Attachments: