Tennessee appeals court hears challenge to trial court—s sua sponte new-trial order in Presley homicide case

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals (Eastern Section) heard oral argument on an appeal of a trial court—s sua sponte grant of a new trial to James Elvis Presley, a defendant convicted of second-degree murder. Appellate counsel for the State, Will Lundy, urged the court to reverse the trial court and reinstate Presley—s convictions, saying the trial court applied an incorrect legal standard when it granted a new trial after receiving post-trial testimony from Dr. William Oliver, who performed the autopsy.

Lundy summarized the trial record, noting the victim was found dead on a couch with extensive facial and head injuries and that blood was found under the brim of the defendant—s cap. He told the panel that the trial court expressly "refused to find that the new evidence here was likely to change the outcome of the trial," and argued that, because the court did not make the requisite finding, "the trial court abused its discretion when it granted the defendant a new trial." (Will Lundy).

Appellate counsel for Presley, William Gill, acknowledged the trial court has authority under Rule 33 to grant a new trial sua sponte but contended the record contains a legal basis for the order. Gill said the newly produced testimony of Dr. Oliver, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, was not merely…