Court Hears Appeal in State v. Derek Morse Over Witness ID and 404(b) Evidence

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals (Eastern Section) heard the second day of oral argument in State of Tennessee v. Derek Morse, a criminal appeal centering on whether the evidence was legally sufficient to prove Morse was one of the shooters in a 2014 attack and whether the trial court erred by admitting prior-act testimony under Rule 404(b) of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence.

Brennan Wingerter, appellate counsel with the Public Defender’s Appellate Division for the appellant Derek Morse, told the three-judge panel that “the cumulative error argument ... may be the strongest point” of Morse’s appeal and that the identification testimony and a 404(b) ruling were the primary bases for relief. Wingerter argued the only eyewitness who placed Morse at the shooting, Matthew Callan, changed his account after hearing community rumors and police references, and that physical evidence the state characterized as corroborative—gunshot residue on clothing—did not establish that Morse fired a weapon at the scene.

Wingerter outlined facts the defense says undermine the identification: the April 9, 2014 shooting occurred outside a trailer owned by Jacob (Jake) Lang in the Lookout Valley area near Chattanooga; four people were outside the…