STATE OF TENNESSEE v. AMIR HASSAN SPEARS - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. AMIR HASSAN SPEARS

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Apr 21, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Joshua D. Hedrick (at motion for new trial and on appeal), and Forrest L. Wallace (at trial), Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Amir Hassan Spears.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin L. Barker, Assistant Attorney General; Charme P. Allen, District Attorney General; Hector I. Sanchez, G. Lawrence Dillon, and Jordan H. Murray, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): HIXSON

The Defendant, Amir Hassan Spears, appeals from his convictions for first degree felony murder, criminally negligent homicide, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated assault. On appeal, he presents three issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was insufficient to support the Defendant’s convictions for failure to establish identity; (2) whether the State committed a Brady violation when it failed to disclose, prior to the close of the State’s proof, the circumstances surrounding a victim’s identification of the Defendant; and (3) whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by (i) failing to take appropriate action when this issue came to light at trial, and (ii) failing to adequately challenge testimony that the Defendant had concealed a long rifle inside his pants. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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