ANDREW HAYES v. STATE OF TENNESSEE - Articles

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ANDREW HAYES v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Nov 12, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Jason Gichner, Madison Lowery, Jennifer Burch, and Candi Henry, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Andrew Hayes.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Richard D. Douglas, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Steve Mulroy, District Attorney General; and Ronald L. Coleman, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): MCMULLEN

In 2010, a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Andrew Hayes, of first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment. After unsuccessfully pursuing a variety of post-conviction remedies in state and federal court, the Petitioner filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis, wherein he included nine pieces of “new” evidence and argued that he was entitled to equitable tolling of the one-year statute of limitations. He then filed an amended petition for writ of error coram nobis, wherein he included a tenth piece of “new” evidence as well as some allegedly exculpatory evidence and argued that the statute of limitations should be tolled because this newly discovered evidence met the standard in Clardy v. State, 691 S.W.3d 390 (Tenn. 2024). The coram nobis court summarily dismissed the coram nobis petition, holding that it was untimely because the Petitioner was not entitled to equitable tolling. The Petitioner now appeals, arguing that the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis was in error. After review, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court.

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