Barry W. Ritchie v. Bruce Westbrooks, Warden.
Appeal from the Criminal Court for Morgan County
Case Number: E2012-00062-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge: Judge E. Eugene Eblen
Date Filed: Monday, Aug. 6, 2012
The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, in which he challenged his 1981 Hamilton County Criminal Court jury convictions of aggravated rape and aggravated robbery. In this appeal, he claims his aggravated rape conviction and accompanying sentence of life imprisonment are void because that offense was not actually classified as a Class X felony by the general assembly at the time of his crime. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.
Robert E. Bostick v. State of Tennessee.
Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Hamilton County
Case Number: E2011-01281-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge: Judge Rebecca J. Stern
Date Filed: Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012
Petitioner, Robert E. Bostick, was indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury for first degree murder, aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated burglary, Class E felony theft and Class E felony vandalism. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Petitioner pled guilty to second degree murder, a lesser included offense of first degree murder and received an agreed sentence of 20 years at 100 percent. All other charges were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement. Defendant timely filed a petition for post-conviction relief that was dismissed by the post-conviction court following an evidentiary hearing. Petitioner appeals, raising two issues: (1) The post-conviction court erred by ruling his guilty plea was intelligently and voluntarily entered, and (2) Petitioner should be allowed to obtain a “second opinion mental evaluation” in order to prove he was incapable of agreeing to a plea agreement voluntarily and intelligently. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.