Willie Lewis v. State of Tennessee

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJuly 12, 2019
DocketW2018-01016-CCA-R3-PC
StatusPublished

This text of Willie Lewis v. State of Tennessee (Willie Lewis v. State of Tennessee) 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
Willie Lewis v. State of Tennessee, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

07/12/2019 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON Assigned on Briefs March 5, 2019

WILLIE LEWIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County No. 08-05976 James M. Lammey, Judge ___________________________________

No. W2018-01016-CCA-R3-PC ___________________________________

A Shelby County jury convicted Willie Lewis, Petitioner, of second degree murder. Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief and argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief, and Petitioner appealed. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that the post-conviction court made insufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law for this court to review its decision. Additionally, Petitioner argues that trial counsel’s representation during the sentencing phase was deficient for failing to ensure that Petitioner participated in the preparation of the presentence report. Petitioner contends that he was prejudiced by this deficiency because trial counsel did not present any mitigating circumstances to the trial court and Petitioner received the maximum sentence within the applicable range. After a thorough review of the facts and applicable case law, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed

ROBERT L. HOLLOWAY, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ALAN E. GLENN and ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., JJ., joined.

Robert Golder, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Willie Lewis.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Jonathan H. Wardle, Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Leslie Byrd, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. OPINION

Factual and Procedural Background

Jury trial and direct appeal

On appeal from Petitioner’s jury trial, this court summarized the evidence introduced at trial and affirmed Petitioner’s convictions. State v. Willie Lewis, No. W2010-02517-CCA-R3-CD, 2012 WL 4459809, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 27, 2012), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Feb. 12, 2013). Petitioner shot the victim, Jerry Williams, after an altercation in May 2008. Id. Petitioner had given Charles Valentine marijuana in exchange for a DVD player and a handgun. Id. The next day, Petitioner asked Mr. Valentine to return the marijuana because the DVD player and handgun did not work. Id. Mr. Valentine told Petitioner that he would pay Petitioner the next day, and Petitioner said, “If I don’t get my money, something bad is going to happen—one of us going to leave on a stretcher—somebody is gonna [sic] run in the house—shoot the kids.” Id. Petitioner gave Mr. Valentine until 9:00 p.m. to obtain the money for the marijuana and left Mr. Valentine’s apartment. Id. Mr. Valentine went to his uncle, the victim, to ask for money to pay Petitioner. Id. The victim got into Mr. Valentine’s vehicle with Mr. Valentine, and they returned to Mr. Valentine’s apartment; unbeknownst to Mr. Valentine, the victim was armed. Id.

When Mr. Valentine and the victim arrived at Mr. Valentine’s apartment, Petitioner was sitting at the top of the stairs that led to Mr. Valentine’s apartment; Petitioner was loading or cleaning a gun. Id. at *1-2. Petitioner had a gun in his hand and asked Mr. Valentine if he “went and got backup . . . ?” Id. at *1. After Mr. Valentine and the victim entered the apartment, the victim showed Mr. Valentine that he was armed. Id. Petitioner knocked on the apartment door and asked if Mr. Valentine had his money. Id. Petitioner stated, “If I don’t get my money, one of us gonna [sic] be leavin’ on a stretcher tonight. It ain’t gonna [sic] be me gonna [sic] need one, bro.” Id. Mr. Valentine informed Petitioner that he did not have the money, and they argued. Id. Petitioner slapped Mr. Valentine, and the victim pushed Petitioner into the hallway where Petitioner argued with the victim. Id.

The victim reentered the apartment, and Petitioner followed him with his gun drawn. Id. The victim ran towards the back door of the apartment while drawing his gun. Id. “[J]ust before the shooting, [Petitioner] was in the hall and said, ‘[A]nybody don’t want to get shot, get up out the hallway.’” Id. at *2. Mr. Valentine heard a shot come from the front door. Id. at *1. The victim opened the back door of the apartment, and Mr. Valentine heard him fire his gun; in total, Mr. Valentine heard three shots. Id. Mr. Valentine went to a neighbor’s apartment and asked the neighbor to call the police -2- because “someone was trying to shoot him and the victim.” Id. at *2. The victim died from a gunshot wound at the apartment. Id. The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy of the victim determined that the victim’s blood alcohol content was .181; the medical examiner “agreed that alcohol could cause a person to become aggressive and angry but said a person’s reaction to alcohol depended on the person’s tolerance to alcohol.” Id. at *4.

After the offense, Petitioner surrendered to police and gave several statements that alleged that the victim was the initial aggressor and that Petitioner feared for his safety during the altercation. Id. at *3-6. The jury convicted Petitioner of second degree murder. Id. at *8. On appeal, this court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Id. at *16.

Post-conviction proceedings

Petitioner filed a timely pro se post-conviction petition on January 28, 2014, and argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel from trial counsel, who also represented Petitioner on appeal. More specifically, Petitioner argued that trial counsel’s representation was deficient by failing to: (1) assert a Batson challenge during voir dire; (2) assert a “Momon Violation”; (3) assert an actual innocence defense; (4) investigate the case, specifically the victim’s family and Jennifer L. Hoff; (5) challenge inconsistencies in Mr. Valentine’s testimony; (6) argue that the jury should find Petitioner guilty of the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter; (7) challenge Petitioner’s illegal sentence; and (8) argue on appeal that the evidence was insufficient at trial. After appointing counsel to represent Petitioner, the post-conviction court held a hearing on the petition.

At the post-conviction hearing, trial counsel testified that he had practiced criminal defense law for eighteen years. Trial counsel stated that his “biggest concern” about Petitioner’s case was the fact that Petitioner followed the victim into the house and, according to the State, chased the victim through the house. Trial counsel explained that the theory of the case was that Petitioner acted in self-defense by shooting the victim. Thus, trial counsel hoped that the jury would acquit Petitioner under the theory of self- defense or find Petitioner guilty of reckless homicide. Trial counsel could not recall specific details about the investigation of Petitioner’s case, but he stated that, generally, the trial court appoints a private investigator who interviews witnesses, reviews the crime scene, investigates criminal records, and then shares that information with trial counsel. Trial counsel explained that, in his law office, the discovery coordinator makes copies of discovery and sends a copy to the client.

-3- Trial counsel recalled that the victim had a tattoo that said “killer.” Trial counsel sought to introduce evidence of the victim’s tattoo because the defense theory was that the victim was the initial aggressor and a tattoo of “killer” gave the impression that the victim was a violent person. Trial counsel wanted to show that Petitioner’s fear of the victim was reasonable because the victim had a prior history of violent acts.

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Bluebook (online)
Willie Lewis v. State of Tennessee, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willie-lewis-v-state-of-tennessee-tenncrimapp-2019.