State v. Hill

885 S.W.2d 357, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 73
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 8, 1994
StatusPublished
Cited by90 cases

This text of 885 S.W.2d 357 (State v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hill, 885 S.W.2d 357, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 73 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

JONES, Judge

The appellant, Timmy Lee Hill, was convicted of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, by a jury of his peers. The trial court found that the appellant was a multiple offender and imposed a Range II sentence of ten (10) years confinement in the Department of Correction.

Four issues are presented for review. The appellant contends that the evidence contained in the record is insufficient, as a matter of law, to support a finding by a rational trier of fact that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He also contends that the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions by (a) allowing the victim to remove his shirt so that the jurors could see the scars that the victim received at the hands of the appellant, (b) requiring him to fairly raise the issue of self-defense before permitting him to cross-examine the victim about prior convictions and prior bad acts, and (c) imposing the maximum sentence allowed by law.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed as modified.

During the afternoon of December 12, 1991, Larissa Hayward and Tiffany Bass went to the home of Donna Harden. Hayward confronted Delwin O’Neal and accused him of taking Troy Sales’ hat. She told O’Neal that “if the hat don’t come up.... we are going to get Scooby [Sales] and Troy [Sales] and then to see if we can get it back. If we do, there is going to be some trouble.” Hill, who was visiting Harden with his girlfriend, overheard the conversation.

The victim, Eric Johnson, went to the Sparrows, a night club, on the evening in question. Later, Troy Sales arrived at the club. Hayward and Bass also came to the club. It appears that Hayward told Troy Sales that O’Neal took his hat. The victim was unaware of this conversation.

Hill, O’Neal, Harden, and Gladys Allen, Hill’s girlfriend, walked to the 20 Grand Club. It is located a short distance from the Sparrows. Harden and Allen later went to the Sparrows. They had a conversation with Hayward and Bass. Hayward subsequently told Sales that O’Neal was at the 20 Grand Club. This information was related to Johnson.

Sales asked Johnson “to walk up the street with him” as he wanted to get his hat back. Sales and Johnson walked from the Sparrows toward the 20 Grand Club. When they reached the intersection of Morton and Quarry, O’Neal and Hill were sitting on the curb. Sales and O’Neal engaged in a heated dialogue about Sales’ hat. Johnson did not engage in the dialogue with O’Neal; nor did he engage in a dialogue with Hill — he simply stood there and listened. A crowd assembled and began urging the parties to fight. Hill approached Johnson, removed a straight razor from his pocket, and cut him in four separate places. When Johnson realized that he was bleeding, he ran towards a drainage ditch. Someone advised him to “watch out”. When Johnson turned he saw O’Neal over him with a butcher knife. Johnson ran along the drainage ditch. O’Neal pursued him. Eventually, Johnson reached Bass’s motor vehicle and drove himself to the hospital.

Hill contends that he acted in self-defense. According to his theory, a large group of individuals, members of a gang, approached them. Johnson attacked him with a knife. They wrestled. He took the knife away from Johnson; and he cut Johnson with that knife. He denied being armed with a straight razor.

I.

When an accused challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, this Court must review the record to determine if the evidence adduced at the trial is sufficient “to support the finding by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Tenn. R.App.P. 13(e). This rule is applicable to findings of guilt based upon direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, or a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence.

In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, this Court does not reweigh nor reevaluate the evidence. State v. Matthews, [360]*360805 S.W.2d 776, 779 (Tenn.Crim.App.1990). Nor may this Court substitute its inferences for those drawn by the trier of fact from circumstantial evidence. Liakas v. State, 199 Tenn. 298, 305, 286 S.W.2d 856, 859 (1956). To the contrary, this Court is required to afford the State of Tennessee the strongest legitimate view of the evidence contained in the record as well as all reasonable and legitimate inferences which may be drawn from the evidence. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn.1978).

Questions concerning the credibility of the witnesses, the weight and value to be given the evidence, as well as all factual issues raised by the evidence are resolved by the trier of fact, not this Court. Id. In State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474, 476 (Tenn.1973), our Supreme Court said: “A guilty verdict by the jury, approved by the trial judge, accredits the testimony of the witnesses for the State and resolves all conflicts in favor of the theory of the State.”

Since a verdict of guilt removes the presumption of innocence and replaces it with a presumption of guilt, the accused has the burden in this Court of illustrating why the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict returned by the trier of fact. State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 913, 914 (Tenn.1982). This Court will not disturb a verdict of guilt due to the sufficiency of the evidence unless the facts contained in the record and any inferences which may be drawn from the facts are insufficient, as a matter of law, for a rational trier of fact to find the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

The appellant has failed to illustrate why the evidence contained in the record is insufficient to support the verdict returned by the jury. Moreover, the facts contained in the record are sufficient to support a finding by a rational trier of fact that the appellant was guilty of aggravated assault beyond a reasonable doubt. Tenn.R.App.P. 13(e); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

The jury did not believe the testimony presented by the appellant that he cut the victim in self-defense. This was the prerogative of the jury as the trier of fact.

This issue is without merit.

II.

The indictment returned by the Bedford County Grand Jury alleged that Hill “unlawfully, feloniously, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly did cause bodily injury to Eric Johnson by the use of a deadly weapon, to wit: knife-” Thus, the state was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hill (a) assaulted Johnson within the meaning of Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-101 and (b) he either caused serious bodily injury to Johnson or displayed a deadly weapon during the assault. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-102(a)(1). It was stipulated that Johnson sustained “bodily injury” when Hill admittedly cut him. As previously stated, Hill admitted that he cut Johnson with a knife. Johnson testified that he was cut with a straight razor. Both the knife and straight razor are deadly weapons.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
885 S.W.2d 357, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hill-tenncrimapp-1994.