State of Tennessee v. Alonzo Christopher Downey, M2017-00304-CCA-R3-CD

Victim Elishia Cheathem and defendant Alonzo Downey were dating and living together; incident alleged to have occurred Aug. 15, 2014.
After an argument about Downey being late and allegedly cheating, Cheathem hid Downey’s phone.
Cheathem testified Downey grabbed both her arms, lifted/jerked her from the couch, and she fell to the floor, suffering pain and bruises.
Cheathem called 911 two days later; officers observed and photographed bruises and prepared a domestic violence report; an arrest warrant issued.
Downey testified the events occurred earlier (not on Aug. 15), denied assaulting Cheathem as described, and said any contact was pulling her away from a door; trial court credited victim’s testimony.
Bench trial conviction for domestic assault; Downey sentenced to 11 months, 29 days probation and appealed on sufficiency grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to support domestic assault conviction	State: Evidence (victim’s testimony, 911 call, photos of bruises, officer report) permits a rational factfinder to find assault beyond a reasonable doubt	Downey: Victim’s timeline inconsistent; contact was minimal or earlier; bruises preexisted or resulted from different incident; credibility challenges	Affirmed — when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, evidence was sufficient to support conviction

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Goodwin, 143 S.W.3d 771 (Tenn. 2004) (appellate standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (same standard applies to circumstantial evidence)
State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997) (credibility and weight of evidence are for the trier of fact)
State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474 (Tenn. 1973) (verdict accredits State witnesses)