Vaughn v. State

Citation202 S.W.3d 106
PartiesJames A. VAUGHN v. STATE of Tennessee. Rearno Vaughn v. State of Tennessee.
Decision Date15 September 2006
CourtSupreme Court of Tennessee

Cynthia Hall Templeton, Gallatin, Tennessee, for the appellant, James A. Vaughn.

Brian Dunigan, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Rearno Vaughn.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; David H. Findley, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

WILLIAM M. BARKER, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JANICE M. HOLDER, and CORNELIA A. CLARK, JJ., joined.

We granted permission to appeal these post-conviction cases and then consolidated them to determine a question common to both: were the petitioners denied effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to object to an erroneous jury instruction regarding the release eligibility for a person convicted of first degree murder when there had been a recent change in the law. Both petitioners also raise additional arguments regarding whether their trial counsel were ineffective in other respects. The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the decision of the post-conviction court, holding that the petitioners were not denied their right to effective assistance of counsel. We reverse the Court of Criminal Appeals in part, holding that the petitioners were denied their right to effective assistance of counsel based on counsel's failure to object to erroneous jury instructions regarding release eligibility. We affirm the Court of Criminal Appeals on all other issues, holding that neither trial counsel was ineffective in any other aspect of their representation. Therefore, we reverse both petitioners' convictions for first degree murder and remand for new trials on that charge alone. We affirm all remaining convictions.

I. Factual and Procedural Background Original Criminal Trials1

The petitioners, James Vaughn ("J. Vaughn") and Rearno Vaughn ("R. Vaughn"), were tried and convicted of crimes arising out of the same incident that took place in the early morning hours of July 2, 1995.2 At that time, a group of friends had gathered outside a restaurant known as "Wing-Its," located in Gallatin, Tennessee. Parked in a gravel lot across the street was a trailer portion of a tractor trailer. Suddenly, two men came around the side of the trailer, and one said "What's up now, mother ____." Both men had guns and a flurry of gunfire ensued. The crowd scattered, with several people fleeing into the restaurant and others running down the street.

Four of those present were injured: Ardell Williams suffered five gunshot wounds to his left thigh and left ankle; Chris Williams suffered one gunshot wound to the buttocks; Tallis Bonds was shot once in the back of his right thigh and once in the foot; and Tyrone Smith was shot once in the left upper abdomen and was also shot in his left thigh. Mr. Smith died four days after the incident as a result of his wounds. With respect to Mr. Ardell Williams' injuries, testing on his clothes revealed that two of his gunshot wounds resulted from contact shots, meaning the muzzle was either touching the garment or less than three inches away.

The observations of what transpired differed among the various witnesses. Two men identified only J. Vaughn as the shooter, one identified only R. Vaughn, while two others identified both men.

After the shootings, a large scale search was conducted for both J. Vaughn and R. Vaughn. Police received information that both J. Vaughn and R. Vaughn were in Sheffield, Alabama, staying with relatives. When officers observed one of the suspects driving away from that residence, they decided to stop the vehicle and arrest the suspect. The driver of the car was R. Vaughn, who initially ran from the officers but was quickly apprehended.

Officers then obtained a warrant to search the Alabama residence for J. Vaughn. During this time, R. Vaughn was pleading with officers to allow him to talk J. Vaughn into coming out of the house. The search of the living space of the home revealed nothing. However, two handguns were discovered in the attic, which was accessible through the top of a closet. One was a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, and the other was a Smith and Wesson .38 model 10 revolver with the serial number filed off of it. None of the occupants of the home claimed ownership of these guns. Ballistics testing revealed that the seized .357 Magnum had been used in the shootings.

J. Vaughn was finally apprehended as the result of a routine traffic stop on September 14, 1995, outside Cincinnati, Ohio.

At both trials, the juries were instructed as to the range of sentences and release eligibility for each of the indicted offenses and the lesser-included offenses. The trial court stated that if the jury found the defendant guilty of first degree murder, the trial court would impose a sentence of life in prison, which required the prisoner to serve a minimum of twenty-five years before becoming eligible for parole. However, at the time of trial, the applicable statute provided that a person convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison must serve at least fifty-one years before becoming eligible for parole. No objection was made at either trial to the erroneous jury instruction.

On May 31, 1996, the jury convicted J. Vaughn of the first degree premeditated murder of Tyrone Smith, the attempted first degree murder of Ardell Williams, the attempted second degree murder of Tallis Bonds, the attempted second degree murder of Chris Williams, and felony reckless endangerment.3 He automatically received a life sentence for the first degree murder conviction. At a subsequent sentencing hearing, J. Vaughn received sentences of twenty-two years for the attempted first degree murder, twelve years on each count of attempted second degree murder, and two years for the reckless endangerment conviction. Those sentences were ordered to be served concurrently to one another, but consecutive to the life sentence, for an effective sentence of life plus twenty-two years. The convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal.

On August 28, 1996, the jury convicted R. Vaughn of the first degree murder of Tyrone Smith, the attempted first degree murder of Ardell Williams, the attempted first degree murder of Keith Goodrich, the attempted second degree murder of Chris Williams, the attempted second degree murder of Tallis Bonds, and one count of reckless endangerment. The trial court sentenced R. Vaughn to life imprisonment for the first degree murder, thirty-five years for each count of attempted first degree murder, eighteen years for each count of attempted second degree murder, and four years for reckless endangerment. The attempted murder and reckless endangerment sentences were ordered to run concurrent with each other but consecutive to the first degree murder sentence, resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus thirty-five years. These convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal.

Post-Conviction Proceedings

On February 1, 1999, J. Vaughn filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, which was later amended by appointed counsel. The amended petition alleged, in pertinent part, that J. Vaughn's trial counsel was ineffective by: (1) failing to object to the trial court's instruction to the jury that deliberation was an element of first degree murder; (2) failing to object to the trial court's instruction on the definition of "knowingly"; (3) failing to object to or appeal the trial court's instruction to the jury about the minimum release eligibility date for the first degree murder offense; and (4) failing to view the area of the house where the gun was found by police, failing to interview witnesses regarding this evidence, and then failing to file a motion to suppress the admission of the guns into evidence. Further, J. Vaughn asserted that his trial counsel's ineffectiveness prejudiced him.

Likewise, on February 1, 1999, R. Vaughn filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, which was later amended by appointed counsel. His amended petition alleged, in pertinent part, that R. Vaughn's trial counsel was ineffective by: (1) failing to object to the trial court's instruction to the jury regarding the definition of the mens rea "knowingly"; (2) failing to object to or appeal the trial court's instruction to the jury about the minimum release eligibility date for the first degree murder offense; and (3) failing to adequately prepare for trial, investigate the case, or communicate with R. Vaughn. Further, R. Vaughn asserted that his trial counsel's ineffectiveness prejudiced him.

The post-conviction court held one hearing on both J. Vaughn's and R. Vaughn's petitions for post-conviction relief.

At that hearing, attorney Walter Stubbs ("Stubbs") testified about his trial court representation of J. Vaughn against the multiple charges arising out of the July 2, 1995 shooting incident. Stubbs' theory of the case was that J. Vaughn did not commit any of these crimes, and he attempted to prove that J. Vaughn was never in Alabama where the murder weapon was found. The fact that J. Vaughn was not in Alabama, and therefore not connected to the gun, was central to his defense.

Stubbs testified that throughout preparation for the trial, J. Vaughn consistently maintained that he was never in Alabama. However, Stubbs advised J. Vaughn that there were three people who would link J. Vaughn to Alabama. He asked J. Vaughn if there were any witnesses who would testify on his behalf. Specifically, Stubbs asked J. Vaughn if any of his relatives in Alabama would testify that he was not there. J. Vaughn told him that he did not want any of his Alabama relatives involved in this case and that he did not want Stubbs to contact them about testifying.

Stubbs...

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