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State v. Inlow11/17/2000
On December 18, 1998, a Williamson County Jury convicted Michael Inlow, the defendant and appellant, of attempting to commit second-degree murder. Following a sentencing hearing, the court sentenced the defendant to serve twelve (12) years incarceration. On appeal, the defendant claims (1) that the evidence was insufficient to convict him; (2) that the trial court should have declared a mistrial after a witness referred to the defendant's prior criminal history; (3) that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to consider hearsay testimony; (4) that the trial court improperly instructed the jury regarding self-defense; and (5) that his sentence was excessive. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court is Affirmed.
Jerry L. Smith, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which David H. Welles, J., and L. T. Lafferty, Sr.J., joined.
OPINION
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A feud began between the defendant and Mr. McDougal, two Brentwood High School students, that lasted several weeks. During that time, Colin Bain, an acquaintance of the two men, asked the defendant about the feud, and the defendant replied "[McDougal is] dead." Several days later, the defendant and Mr. McDougal almost fought in the Brentwood High School parking lot, but a school official intervened before the confrontation escalated. Following that incident, the defendant told an acquaintance, Jimmy Sullivan, "I've got something for [McDougal]. You'll see." The day after that statement, the defendant and the victim saw each other in the Brentwood High School parking lot. Although Mr. McDougal initially had a metal bar in his hands, he discarded it as a crowd gathered around the pair. The defendant and Mr. McDougal began to fight. During the fight, the defendant pulled a knife from his jacket and stabbed Mr. McDougal once in the groin area and once in the abdomen.
Mr. McDougal screamed, and onlookers pulled the defendant away from Mr. McDougal. The defendant picked up the knife and left the scene, but turned himself in to police later. Mr. McDougal was treated for extensive injuries at a local hospital. He is permanently disabled.
The state charged the defendant with attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault. Before trial, the defendant made a motion in limine to preclude any mention of any other charges pending against the defendant, and the court granted the motion. However, when Mr. Bain testified, he mentioned that the defendant also faced "another charge." The defendant immediately moved for a mistrial, but the court denied the defendant's motion. Mr. Bain then told the jury, over objection, about the statement that the defendant made to Jimmy Sullivan. Jimmy Sullivan had already testified about the statement.
After the trial, the defendant moved the court to instruct the jury that they must consider whether the State had negated self defense beyond a reasonable doubt before they considered the defendant's guilt. Instead, the trial court instructed the jury on self-defense according to the pattern instruction. The jury convicted the defendant of attempted second-degree murder, a lesser included offense of attempted first-degree murder. The court sentenced the defendant to (12) years incarceration.
SUFFICIENCY
The defendant first challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. Specifically, the defendant argues that no evidence was introduced at trial showing that he intended to kill the victim. When an appeal challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the standard of review is whether, after viewing th
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