A Rutherford County jury convicted the Defendant, Luis Mendoza-Sanchez, of multiple offenses against two victims, a child and her mother, including aggravated assault of the mother, rape of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual assault of the child. He was additionally convicted of violating the Child Protection Act. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to fifty-nine years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to sever the trials for charges against the victim and her mother; (2) the trial court erred when it allowed the State to ask leading questions of their own witness; (3) the trial court erred when it limited the Defendant’s cross-examination of an expert about the victim’s sexual orientation; and (4) the cumulative effect of these errors entitled him to a new trial. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The Petitioner, Jacquet Moore, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his conviction of aggravated rape and resulting sentence of sixty years to be served at one hundred percent. On appeal, the Petitioner claims, and the State concedes, that the post-conviction court erred by denying his amended petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing on his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based on our review, we conclude that the post-conviction court properly denied relief as to one of the Petitioner’s grounds for relief but that the case must be remanded for an evidentiary hearing on his remaining grounds. Therefore, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded to the post-conviction court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Jimmie Martin, of second degree murder of Martha J. Bownes, and the trial court sentenced him to serve twenty years. On appeal, this court affirmed the judgment. State v. Martin, No. W2013-00889-CCA-R3-CD, 2014 WL 2566490, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 5, 2014), no perm. app. filed. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney had a conflict of interest at the time he represented the Petitioner and because Counsel failed to call an eye witness, Christopher Martin, to testify at his trial. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

The Defendant, Charles Jordan, II, pled guilty in the Dyer County Circuit Court to possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony crime of violence and possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he was to receive an effective ten-year sentence with the trial court to determine the manner of service. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered that he serve the sentence in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the trial court erred by denying his request for alternative sentencing. Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

This post-divorce appeal arises from competing petitions to modify a parenting plan and a petition for criminal contempt. At the time of the divorce, Brandy Leigh Frame Taylor2 (“Mother”) and Joseph Daniel Taylor (“Father”) adopted a parenting plan naming Mother the primary residential parent of the parties’ minor child and awarding Father visitation. The child was four years old at the time of the divorce. Five years later, the then nine-year-old child purportedly began refusing to visit Father. Thereafter, Mother petitioned the trial court to modify the parenting plan to, inter alia, stop all visitation with Father. Father filed a counter-petition to modify the parenting plan to, inter alia, name him the primary residential parent. Father also filed a contempt petition alleging, in relevant part, that Mother intentionally and repeatedly obstructed his visitation and coached the child to refuse to visit Father. After a two-day hearing in which the trial court found Father was a credible witness and Mother was not credible, the court determined that a material change in circumstances had occurred due to Mother’s severe alienation of the child from Father and that a drastic modification of the parenting plan was in the child’s best interest. The court’s modifications of the parenting plan included designating Father as the primary residential parent with sole decision-making authority, reducing Mother’s parenting time to what Father had been awarded in the previous order, and restricting Mother to supervised visitation pending a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 35 psychological evaluation. In a separate order, the court found Mother guilty of seventy-one counts of criminal contempt for willfully violating the parties’ visitation schedule and sentenced Mother to serve concurrent ten-day terms in jail for six of the seventy-one acts of contempt but suspended the sixty-day sentence except for the service of three weekends on the condition that Mother strictly adhere to the court’s orders going forward. Mother appeals the modification of the parenting plan and the trial court’s seventy-one criminal contempt findings. Both parties challenge the sentence imposed for Mother’s criminal contempt. We affirm. Father also requests his attorney’s fees on appeal. We find Father’s request to be well taken and remand for a determination of Father’s reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees incurred in this appeal.

March 17, 2025 - March 21, 2025.

The TBA Board of Governors has filled several key positions that had been vacant after the filing period closed. Cookeville attorney Henry "Hank" D. Fincher was named 4th District governor. Knoxville lawyer Kelly Street with McAfee Armistead & Davis was appointed the East Tennessee grand division governor. And Alexandra "Alix" Rogers with Belmont University College of Law in Nashville was selected as Tennessee's young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. The TBA is still seeking to fill vacancies in its House of Delegates for Districts 9, 14, 15, 24, 26, 28 and 31. Interested candidates are encouraged to visit the TBA’s election page for additional information and contact BarED@tnbar.org to be considered for any of the openings.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on March 25 about business tax deductions. The session will focus on the Tennessee business tax statutes and regulations that allow taxpayers to make various deductions that ultimately reduce their tax liability. Register for the webinar or see all upcoming educational events.

The 2025 Elder Law Basics program, designed for attorneys new to the practice or seeking to refresh their knowledge, will be held virtually on tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CDT. The program will cover key aspects of elder law, offering insights from seasoned practitioners to help attendees stay informed about developments in the field. Speakers include Josh Bey with Takacs-McGinnis Elder Care Law, Amy Bryant with the Tennessee Office of Conservatorship Management, Drew Clements and Bryson Eubanks with Clements & Eubanks, Barbara McGinnis with Johnson McGinnis Elder Care Law & Estate Planning, Barbara Moss with Elder Law of Nashville and Pamela Wright with The Wright Law Firm. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) will host a free webinar on March 25 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. "Disaster Legal Services: What Attorneys Should Know" aims to equip attorneys with the necessary knowledge to assist clients affected by disasters. Registration is available online.