State of Tennessee v. Robert G. Thornton, Jr., M2015-01895-CCA-R3-CD

Victim (14) visited Defendant’s home multiple times in 2013; alcohol and pornography were present. On one occasion after drinking a rum/Mountain Dew mix, the victim was anally raped while a friend, J.D., was in the room. J.D. corroborated seeing Defendant penetrate the victim and told Defendant to stop.
The victim initially gave limited statements to police but later disclosed the rape to a school counselor; a recorded forensic interview was conducted and summarized for trial.
Defendant denied sexual contact, denied providing alcohol to minors, and testified the boys sometimes stayed overnight and that he was not present for all visits.
A jury convicted Defendant of two counts of rape; the trial court merged convictions and sentenced Defendant to 12 years at 100% in the Department of Correction.
On appeal Defendant challenged (1) denial of a juror-for-cause strike (Juror A disclosed childhood rape), (2) denial of a mistrial for an alleged comment that Defendant was "already in jail," (3) sufficiency of the evidence to prove penetration, and (4) excessiveness of the sentence.
The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, finding no reversible error on juror removal or mistrial, the evidence sufficient, and the within-range sentence proper.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Juror for-cause (Juror A disclosed childhood rape)	State: juror could be impartial after voir dire	Thornton: juror’s prior victimization created inherent bias requiring removal	Court: juror stated she could be impartial; no abuse; no prejudice shown
Mistrial for witness statement that Defendant was "already in jail"	State: statement inadvertent and curable by instruction	Thornton: statement referenced other arrests and prejudiced jury, requiring mistrial	Court: no manifest necessity for mistrial; defense did not request curative instruction at trial; denial affirmed
Sufficiency of evidence (penetration element)	State: victim and J.D. testimony established anal penetration and incapacitation by alcohol	Thornton: discrepancies in accounts and insufficient proof of actual penetration	Court: viewing evidence in light most favorable to State, jury reasonably found penetration beyond a reasonable doubt; conviction upheld
Sentence length (12 years at 100%)	State: within-range sentence justified by enhancement factors and defendant’s danger to community	Thornton: sentence excessive; eligible for probation	Court: trial court properly considered factors, applied enhancements, explained reasons; 12 years within range and presumptively reasonable; probation not available

Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717 (U.S. 1961) (juror exposure to publicity or preconceived impressions does not automatically disqualify if juror can be impartial)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (standard for sufficiency review: evidence must allow any rational trier of fact to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt)
Ross v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 81 (U.S. 1988) (failure to strike juror for cause warrants reversal only if defendant exhausted peremptory challenges and an incompetent juror was forced upon him)
State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d 682 (Tenn. 2012) (sentencing review: trial court’s within-range sentence is reviewed for abuse of discretion with a presumption of reasonableness)
State v. Howell, 868 S.W.2d 238 (Tenn. 1993) (jurors need not be totally ignorant of case facts; they may serve if they can set aside opinions and decide based on evidence)
State v. Caughron, 855 S.W.2d 526 (Tenn. 1993) (defendant bears burden to show juror bias or partiality)