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Hunter v. State9/9/1999
The petitioner, James Phillip Hunter, appeals the order of the Davidson County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner is presently serving a life sentence as a result of his conviction for premeditated first degree murder in 1993. In 1997, the petitioner filed a post-conviction petition alleging, inter alia, ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The trial court found no merit to any of the petitioner's claims and accordingly denied the petition. On appeal, the petitioner claims that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. After a thorough review of the record before this Court, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
I.
A. Trial
In 1993, the petitioner was convicted after a jury trial for the premeditated murder of Dewey Slanton. His conviction was affirmed by this Court on appeal. State v. James Phillip Hunter, C.C.A. No. 01C01- 9404-CR-00154, Davidson County (Tenn. Crim. App. filed January 11, 1996, at Nashville), perm. to app. denied (Tenn. June 3, 1996). We recite the relevant facts as set out by this Court on direct appeal:
On January 8, 1993, Teresa Smoot was celebrating the birthday of her husband, Michael Smoot, at their residence. Ms. Smoot's brother, Ronald Fann, and the victim, Dewey Slanton, were present. Michael Smoot and the victim were drinking beer. The four watched television for a time before deciding to go to the Odyssey Club, where Ms. Smoot worked as a dancer. On their way, they stopped at a liquor store, where Ms. Smoot's husband and brother bought a "little bottle of something." The victim had also gone inside the store but did not purchase anything. The group continued their celebration at the club for a time, then took the victim home because he had to work the next day.
The other three decided to visit another club, the Brass Stables, but changed their minds on the way and drove towards the Smoot home. As they entered the alley leading to their driveway, Ms. Smoot saw the victim, who lived in the neighboring apartments, looking over his shoulder and motioning for her to stop. Ms. Smoot yelled, "Wait a minute," and was pulling into her driveway to park the car when she heard a gunshot. She then saw the defendant, who appeared to have something like the butt of a gun on his "back side," standing toward the front of her house. As she backed the car into the alley, she saw the victim clutch his stomach and chest and fall to the ground. Ms. Smoot ran to the victim, placed a pillow under his head and covered him with her coat and a blanket. Michael Smoot called 911; Ms. Smoot joined in the conversation, telling the dispatcher that the defendant had shot the victim. The defendant, who lived in the same apartment complex as the victim, went to his sister's house right after the shooting; he returned to his apartment a few minutes later.
Ms. Smoot, who conceded that the victim was a close friend, testified that he was not drunk. She stated that the victim had previously told her that he "had words" with the defendant over Debra Ryman, the victim's ex-girlfriend and a niece to the defendant.
Susan Franks, of the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Police Department, was the first officer to arrive at the scene of the shooting. The victim, wrapped in a blanket, appeared to be unconscious. Officer Franks learned that Smoot and Fann suspected the defendant as the assailant. When the ambulance arrived, she looked for evidence in the nearby apartment complex. A door to one of the apartments, that belonging to the victim, was open. The apartment was in disarray and there were two gunshot holes in the living room wall. As Officer Fran
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