Criminal Appeal Brief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Authorities
3. Statement of the Issues
4. Statement of the Case
5. Statement of Facts
6. Standard of Review
7. Argument
8. Conclusion
9. Certificate of Compliance
10. Certificate of Service

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT [JACKSON / KNOXVILLE / NASHVILLE]

BRIEF OF THE APPELLANT

Attorney for Appellant:

[________________________________]
[________________________________] (BPR No. [________________________________])
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Tennessee [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

1. Whether the trial court erred in [________________________________].

2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for [________________________________].

3. Whether the sentence imposed was excessive or contrary to the purposes and principles of the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act.

4. [________________________________]

II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On or about [__/__/____], a ☐ Presentment / ☐ Indictment was returned in the Criminal Court / Circuit Court, [________________________________] County, charging Appellant with:

[Summarize pretrial proceedings, motions, and rulings.]

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the case proceeded to ☐ jury trial / ☐ bench trial / ☐ Appellant entered a plea of ☐ guilty / ☐ best interest (Alford) plea.

On [__/__/____], the jury returned a verdict of:

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Appellant to:

[________________________________]

(T.E. vol. [____], p. [____]; Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____]. (T.E. vol. [____], p. [____].)

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. State's Proof

[________________________________]

(Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

B. Appellant's Proof

[________________________________]

(Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

C. Rebuttal (if any)

[________________________________]

(Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

D. Sentencing Hearing

[________________________________]

(Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Issue 1: [________________________________]

☐ De novo review with no presumption of correctness applies to questions of law. (State v. Odom, 928 S.W.2d 18 (Tenn. 1996).)

☐ Abuse of discretion applies to discretionary rulings, including evidentiary determinations. (State v. Banks, 564 S.W.3d 820 (Tenn. 2018).)

☐ Sufficiency of the evidence — the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State, and the conviction will be affirmed if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. (Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979); State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997).)

☐ De novo with presumption of correctness applies to sentencing decisions. The appellate court presumes the trial court's sentencing determination is correct and reviews for abuse of discretion with a presumption of reasonableness. (State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d 682 (Tenn. 2012).)

☐ Plain error applies under Tenn. R. App. P. 36(b) when the issue was not preserved. The error must be clear and unequivocal, the error affected a substantial right, and consideration is necessary to do substantial justice. (State v. Adkisson, 899 S.W.2d 626 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1994).)

Issue 2: [________________________________]

V. ARGUMENT

A. [ISSUE ONE HEADING IN CAPS]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(T.E. vol. [____], p. [____]; Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice / Harmless Error

☐ Under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967), the constitutional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because [________________________________].

☐ Under Tenn. R. App. P. 36(b), the non-constitutional error more probably than not affected the judgment or would result in prejudice to the judicial process because [________________________________].

[________________________________]

B. [ISSUE TWO HEADING IN CAPS]

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(T.E. vol. [____], p. [____]; Tr. vol. [____], p. [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice / Harmless Error

[________________________________]

C. [SENTENCING ISSUE — IF APPLICABLE]

[________________________________]

D. [ADDITIONAL ISSUES AS NEEDED]

[________________________________]

VI. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse and remand for a new trial.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to Tenn. R. App. P. 27(d), I certify that this brief complies with the word limitation and contains [________________________________] words, as determined by [________________________________] word-processing program. This brief does not exceed the 15,000-word limit for principal briefs.

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], certify that on [__/__/____], I served the foregoing Brief of the Appellant on the following parties by the method indicated:

☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Electronic service via the Tennessee appellate court electronic filing system
☐ Hand delivery

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR TENNESSEE

1. Court of Criminal Appeals: Criminal appeals from trial courts go to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, which sits in three divisions — Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville. (Tenn. Const. Art. V, § 1.)

2. Word Limit: Principal briefs limited to 15,000 words; reply briefs 5,000 words; amicus briefs 7,500 words. Must include a word-count certificate. (Tenn. R. App. P. 27(d).)

3. E-Filing Format: Line spacing 1.5, margins 1 inch, Century family font, 14-point for text and footnotes. (Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 46.)

4. Notice of Appeal: Must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment from which the appeal is taken. (Tenn. R. App. P. 4(a).)

5. Sentencing Review: Tennessee applies the Bise standard — sentences within the applicable range are reviewed for abuse of discretion with a presumption of reasonableness. (State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d 682 (Tenn. 2012).)

6. Plain Error: Under Tenn. R. App. P. 36(b), unpreserved errors may be reviewed when necessary to do substantial justice. Five factors apply under Adkisson: (1) the record clearly establishes the error; (2) a clear and unequivocal rule of law was breached; (3) a substantial right was adversely affected; (4) the error was not waived; (5) consideration is necessary for substantial justice.

7. Permission to Appeal to Supreme Court: After Court of Criminal Appeals ruling, a party may seek permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court under Tenn. R. App. P. 11.

8. Sections Excluded from Word Count: Title/cover page, Table of Contents, Table of Authorities, Certificate of Compliance, Attorney Signature Block, and Certificate of Service.