State of Tennessee v. James K. Hudgins, E2015-01363-CCA-R3-CD

Hudgins shot the unarmed victim five times at the victim’s home, causing death.
Prior to the shooting, Hudgins, who had a daughter with Laura Swaggerty, believed the victim was molesting his daughter; this belief preceded the confrontation at Swaggerty’s grandmother’s home.
After an initial confrontation, Hudgins obtained a loaded handgun, was observed upset and speaking of harm, and later drove toward the victim’s residence with his son; he ultimately shot the victim and then disposed of the gun in a lake.
Hudgins called and threatened the victim; he later surrendered and turned himself in with help from friends and family.
The jury convicted Hudgins of first degree murder and of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony; the court vacated an underlying attempted murder conviction and sentenced Hudgins to life imprisonment.
On appeal, Hudgins challenged sufficiency of the evidence, admission of a jailhouse phone call, and admission of prior molestation allegations; the court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence for first degree murder	Hudgins contends intoxication negated premeditation.	Hudgins argues provocation/intent insufficient for premeditation.	Evidence supported premeditation; no relief.
Admission of jail phone call	Call was relevant to rebut concern for daughter and show premeditation.	Call was irrelevant and prejudicial.	Court did not abuse discretion; call admissible.
Prior allegations of molestation	Evidence supported defendant’s credibility issues; 404(b) relevance.	Unduly prejudicial; improper 404(b) use.	Waived; rebuttal impeachment proper; no abuse.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (sufficiency standard: rational trier could convict)
State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997) (premeditation factors; calm after killing)
State v. Adams, 405 S.W.3d 641 (Tenn. 2013) (premeditation and related considerations)
State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (sufficiency standard; circumstantial evidence framework)
State v. Vaughn, 279 S.W.3d 584 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008) (intoxication as potential negation of intent)
State v. James, 81 S.W.3d 751 (Tenn. 2002) (relevance; Rule 402/403 balancing)
State v. Evans, 838 S.W.2d 185 (Tenn. 1992) (presumption of admissibility; weight to evidence)
State v. Banks, 271 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2008) (abuse of discretion standard in evidentiary rulings)