State of Tennessee v. Susan Jo Walls

OPINION

in which Jeffrey S. Bivins, C.J., Cornelia A, Clark, and Holly Kirby, JJ., joined. Sharon G. Lee, J., filed a separate concurring opinion.

We granted this appeal by the State of Tennessee to consider whether the trial court erred by allowing the jury in this case to deliberate late into the night and early morning on the last day of trial before convicting the defendant of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted the defendant relief on this issue, reasoning that absent a showing of unusual circumstances, late-night trial…