State of Tennessee, Appellee v. Donald Terry Moore, Appellant

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court granted this appeal to clarify the application of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 14(b)(1), which governs severance of criminal offenses. The Court held that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to sever the August 1993 child rape count from the November 1993 counts, because the perpetrator's identity was never at issue, making the August offense relevant only to show propensity in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b), and because the offenses' markedly different methods did not constitute a distinctive-design or signature-crime common scheme or plan. Nonetheless, the Court affirmed the conviction because the error was harmless under the non-constitutional standard: the jury acquitted Moore of two of the three child rape counts, and the evidence supporting the remaining forced-fellatio count was more than sufficient. Consistent with its companion opinion in State v. Shirley, filed simultaneously, the Court confirmed that denial of a Rule 14(b)(1) severance motion is reviewed for abuse of discretion.