Order Cases Online
The files located in the Tennessee Supreme Court Cases represent an especially valuable resource for historical and genealogical research at the Tennessee State Library and Archives [TSLA].
Use quotes for an exact search. ex. "J. W."
View Entry | Year | Case Name | County | Cause/Crime | Case Description | Division | Location | # Pages | Order |
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View Entry | 1933 | Arthur Workman v. State | Knox | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of shooting and murdering Riley McWhorter. Testimony suggests that the plaintiff was carrying on a romantic relationship with Frances McWhorter, the wife of the deceased. Plaintiff lived at 2007 Luther Street in Knoxville. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1520 | 152 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Bill Hayle v. State | Hamilton | Murder |
Bill Hayle is accused of killing eighteen year old Charlie Stewart, shooting him with a single barrel shotgun. Hayle testified that Stewart was a young bootlegger with a temper who employed foul language. The night of the shooting he was verbally ass- faulting Hayle and his wife, while brandishing a knife. Witnesses testified that Hayle suffers mental illness caused by pelagra. |
East | Range: 10 Section: G Shelf: Box Number: 1505 | 220 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | C. W. Yeary v. State | Hancock | Murder |
C. W. Yeary was accused of shooting an killing Obie Herrell. Herrell and friends came to Yeary's store at night and were causing trouble including verbally abusing Yeary and his wife. Yeary sentenced to 20 years for second degree murder. Appeals made, and governor petitioned for a pardon. 2 folders. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1527 | 283 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Charley Wright v. State | Campbell | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of murdering Sophia Hatmaker, wife of John Higgins (it appears they were separated). Plaintiff in error and Sophia Hatmaker were involved in a romantic relationship, but, according to Sophia's mother, Sophia had recently ended the relationship. Case file notes plaintiff in error is the brother of Dewey Wright and son of Henry Wright. |
East | Range: 10 Section: F Shelf: Box Number: 1457 | 106 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Frank Reece v. State | Claiborne | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of murdering Robert Hall with a gun. According to testimony, Reece was angry with Hall for interfering in his relationship with a woman named Virgie, the sister of Hall's wife. Plaintiff in error is the second cousin of Hall's wife. |
East | Range: 10 Section: G Shelf: Box Number: 1489 | 220 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | George D. Hooks v. State | Knox | Murder |
Plaintiff is accused of murdering Mack Hardin with a gun. The victim drove a truck for the Standard Oil Company and was staying at the Stratford Hotel in Knoxville. It appears that Hooks shot Hardin after he found him in his home with his wife. Hardin was around 20 years old at the time of his death. Two folders. Additional materials located in ET 1520. |
East | Range: 10 Section: E Shelf: Box Number: 1444 | 560 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | George Crabtree v. State | Campbell | Murder |
For shooting & killing his brother, Noah Crabtree. According to George, Noah was going to be indicted in Scott County for stealing a hog & wanted George to lie for him under oath & threatened to kill him if he didn't. George claimed shooting was in self- defense when Noah showed up at his house brandishing a pistol. Noah was also "living as man and wife" with his niece Bertha Crabtree (daughter of George's & Noah's brother Bill). |
East | Range: 10 Section: F Shelf: Box Number: 1459 | 44 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Gerald Park v. State | Hawkins | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of murdering Will Frye. Frye and Park are described as enemies and were not on speaking terms for several years prior to the murder. A week prior to the murder, a sheriff's deputy attempted to arrest Park for carrying a pistol but he evaded arrest and fled to Piney Mountain. Fry was accompanying the sheriff to capture Park when he was killed. Also see box 1503. |
East | Range: 10 Section: G Shelf: Box Number: 1486 | 196 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Jim Allen v. State | Knox | Murder |
Plaintiff in error was accused of murdering Roy Painter with a gun on Easter night in March of 1932. Case file notes that the victim was engaged in the cigar and tobacco business at his storefront at 213 Gay Street and that he lived on the corner of Woodbine and Chestnut in Park City, Tennessee. Plaintiff in error was an employee of Luke Painter, the brother of the victim. Two folders. |
East | Range: 10 Section: E Shelf: Box Number: 1444 | 338 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | John Jones, et al. v. State | Cocke | Murder |
Other plaintiffs: Ray Jones; Clifford Jones. For shooting & killing John Lee Brooks. |
East | Range: 10 Section: F Shelf: Box Number: 1458 | 80 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | James Swann (col.) v. State | Jefferson | Murder |
Incomplete case file. Technical record only. Plaintiff in error was convicted of murdering of Abbie Rainwater by strangulation and sentenced to death by electric chair. |
East | Range: 10 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 1544 | 20 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Louis Fain, alias v. State | Knox | Murder |
Louis Fain was accused of raping, robbing, and murdering Miss Carrie Allen. Because of her popularity in the area, Fain's attorney requested a change of venue. Selecting an impartial, uninvested jury would be difficult. Testimonies include those robbed by Fain that night. Fain swapped jewelry for liquor. He admitted to witness that he cut Allen's throat so she could not identify him. 4 folders. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1538 | 752 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Lee Taylor v. State | Roane | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of murdering Jess Moore with a shotgun in his home. It is alleged that Moore owed money to the plaintiff for whiskey. Brothers Paul and Alma Jones, sons of Wiley Jones, were also in the home when the murder occurred. It is alleged that the brothers were enticed by the defense to testify that the shooting was in self-defense. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1530 | 153 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Mrs. Clora Smith, et al. v. Mrs. Zilpha Moss, et al. | Chester | Conspiracy to Commit Murder |
Add pltfs: Virgie Cherry, Margret Jordan. Add. dfnts: Vassie Meadows, Elmer Meadows, Lilburn Moss, and First State Bank. Pltfs. were daughters of W. H. Moss and Zilpha Moss, add dfnts. (sans Elmer)children of the same couple. The pltfs. accused the dfnts. of conspiring to kill and rid themselves of the body of W. H. Moss in an attempt to claim his estate and holdings. Moss' body was found shortly after it had been dumped in a river, but the dfnts. did not issue a missing person's report. |
West | Range: 76 Section: A Shelf: Box Number: 2163 | 118 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Albert Moore and Harrison Yon | Lauderdale | Murder, 1st degree |
Dfnts. were accused of the first-degree murder of Mrs. Mary Moore, mother of dfnt Moore. Dfnts. were accused of attacking Mrs. Moore, then burning her house down around her. Two other bodies were found with Mrs. Moore, identified as two of her other children: Frances (a girl about 16 years old) and R. J. (a boy about 13). The fire occurred Jan. 1, 1932. Testimony vividly describes state of bodies after being pulled from fire. |
West | Range: 77 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 2122 | 135 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Pauline Morris | Hamilton | Murder |
Defendant charged with murder, this is a motion for a new trial. Defendant killed an intoxicated man who attacked her. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1526 | 10 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Charley Aytes | Cumberland | Murder |
Additional Defendants: Roland Aytes; Clarence McCoy. Defendants assaulted Vernon Potter in Dec. 1932. Potter died 22 Dec. 1932, living long enough to identify Charley Aytes as one of his attackers. The attack may have stemmed from an argument earlier that month over the shooting of a deer. 2 Folders |
East | Range: 10 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 1546 | 504 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Hubert Brock | McMinn | Murder |
Hubert Brock was tried for the murder of Johnie Russell. Brock shot Russell with a pistol. The altercation occurred after a frog hunting trip attended by two cars full of young men. It seems stolen whiskey precipitated the attack. Housed in 2 folders. |
East | Range: 10 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 1559 | 198 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Carl Thomas Johnson, alias Carl Thomas Taylor | Lauderdale | Murder, 1st degree |
Dfnt. was accused of the murder in the first degree one Rozelle Mitchell. This case was heard along with the cause of State v. Wilbur Hubbard, col. for the malicious shooting of Mattie Lee Johnson, wife of dfnt., as "the indictments growing out of trans actions taking place at the same time and being inseparably interwoven." Shooting occurred on June 11, 1932 at John & Mandy Edwards' café/dance hall in Halls. Dfnt. shot Mitchell, Mattie was over the body of Mitchell when Hubbard shot her in the back. |
West | Range: 77 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 2122 | 103 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Ira Morgan | Henry | Murder, 2nd degree |
Though not listed on the cover, Sid Curd and John Curd were initially charged with Morgan for murdering R. R. Reynolds in the 2nd degree. Dfnts. called Reynolds from his porch to their car, got him on the running board, and took off recklessly. Hitting a fence and ditch after a sharp turn, dfnts. dropped a limp Reynolds from the car. |
West | Range: 77 Section: J Shelf: Box Number: 2120 | 162 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Hurstle Lewallen | Scott | Murder | East | Range: 8 Section: B Shelf: Box Number: 810 | 161 | Order A Copy | |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Furman Shelton, Williard Riddle, et. Al | Greene | Murder, Attempted |
Dave Shelton and Viceroy Shelton are later named as additional defendants. All defendants were accused of beating (with the intent to kill) Robert McAfee with clubs, knives, rocks, and other sharp implements. |
East | Range: 10 Section: F Shelf: Box Number: 1469 | 36 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Harrison Hensley | Greene | Murder |
Hensley is accused of maliciously murdering Worley Cutshall. Cutshall was arrested for setting a fire to clear brush that got out of control. Hensley was a Deputy Sherriff, & with the assistance of Crawford Hensley & Willie Fann, took Cutshall into custody, telling him not to run, that he would be shot. He ran, Hensley shot him in the back. He died a few hours later. Hensley was charged with premeditated 1st degree murder. Verdict filed in error, changed to voluntary manslaughter. |
East | Range: 10 Section: G Shelf: Box Number: 1506 | 52 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | State v. Gertrude Jackson | Hamilton | Murder |
Defendant accused of stabbing and killing a man. |
East | Range: 10 Section: G Shelf: Box Number: 1502 | 142 | Order A Copy |
View Entry | 1933 | Wardell Collins v. State | Hancock | Murder |
Plaintiff in error is accused of murdering Mathes Goins. Goins was married and had one baby and lived with his father, Tennessee Goins. Goins was killed at the Vardy Church house which was being used as a community school for adults in the evening. Pla. in error states that Goins was causing a disturbance at the church and when confronted, attacked him. Goins' wife is now a patient in an insane asylum near Knoxville due to mental illness caused by Pellagra. See also box 1360. |
East | Range: 10 Section: H Shelf: Box Number: 1543 | 120 | Order A Copy |