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IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
April 12, 2005 Session

JESSICA RENEE RICHARDS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Cumberland County
No. 6692 Lillie Ann Sells, Judge

No. E2004-02326-CCA-R3-PC
AND


JENNIFER LYNNE HORINE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Cumberland County
No. 6947 Lillie Ann Sells, Judge

No. E2004-02327-CCA-R3-PC - Filed September 2, 2005
In this consolidated appeal, the petitioners challenge the denial of post-conviction relief, contending that their respective trial counsel were ineffective in failing to advise them of authority that indicated that their conduct fell outside the scope of the statute.  On appeal, the State concedes that the petitioners received ineffective assistance of counsel. Following thorough review, we agree. Therefore, we reverse the denial of post-conviction relief, set aside the judgments, and remand the matter to the trial court.  

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Reversed and
Remanded

JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which THOM AS T. WOODALL and ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, JJ., joined.
Randall Boston, Crossville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Jessica Renee Richards and Jennifer Lynne Horine.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Kathy D. Aslinger, Assistant Attorney General; William Edward Gibson, District Attorney General; and Kevin Poore, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION
Facts and Procedural History
This appeal consolidates two unrelated, but factually similar, cases in which the petitioners challenge the denial of post-conviction relief.  Petitioners Jessica Richards and Jennifer Horine, were each indicted on two counts of aggravated child abuse (a Class A felony), stemming from their infant children

Download richardsjOPN.pdf

Tennessee Law