Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of September 1, 2026

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down five opinions yesterday. There was a real property case challenging a setback variance, two direct criminal appeals (one a reversal), and two PCR cases (one that split the court 5-5).

Brinkley v. State, 2025-KA-00242-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, and attempted first-degree murder, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction of armed robbery and that the conviction of attempted first-degree murder was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(10-0: Weddle for the Court)

Vaughn v. Jackson County, Mississippi, 2025-CA-00759-COA (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming the Circuit Court’s decision that affirmed the county board of supervisors’ decision that affirmed the county planning commission’s decision granting a two-foot variance that was applied for after the defendants discovered a newly built structure was two feet too close to the property line, holding that there was substantial evidence to support the decision granting the setback variance.
(10-0: McCarty for the Court)

Malone v. State, 2025-CP-00834-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the trial court’s decision denying a PCR motion for relief from being re-incarcerated for his original conviction of homicide after violating the terms of parole.
(10-0: McCarty for the Court)

Coltrain v. State, 2025-CA-00470-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision denying a PCR motion, holding that there was no merit to the claim that the sentence was unlawfully imposed.
(5-5: Weddle for the court; McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part without writing; Wilson dissented, joined by Carlton, Westbrooks, and McCarty, and joined in part by McDonald)

Richardson v. State, 2025-KA-00537-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing convictions of manslaughter and aggravated assault, holding that trial counsel’s decision to effectively hide from the defendant his suspension from the practice of law in all cases except the defendant’s constituted a violation of the Sixth Amendment.
(6-4: Lassitter St. Pe’ for the court; Wilson dissented without writing; McCarty dissented, joined by Emfinger and Weddle and joined in part by Wilson)

Other Orders

Gates v. State, 2024-CP-00074-CAA (denying rehearing)
Butler v. State, 2024-KA-00747-CAA (denying rehearing)
Singleton v. State, 2024-KA-01095-COA (denying rehearing)
Thomas v. State, 2024-KA-01400-COA (denying rehearing)

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Author: Madison Taylor

Shareholder at Wilkins Patterson in Mississippi handling appeals as well as all stages of liability and workers' compensation matters. Admitted to the bar in Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina. View all posts by Madison Taylor

About

Mississippi Appeals Blog is written by Madison Taylor. I primarily post summaries of decisions from the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Mississippi Court of Appeals and some content on appellate and trial practice in Mississippi and legal miscellany. I am not affiliated with any court.

I am a shareholder at Wilkins Patterson where I have a litigation and workers’ comp practice and lead the firm’s appellate practice. I am licensed in Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina and admitted to the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Circuits.

If I can assist you on an appeal or other legal matter please reach out. You can find my contact information on my firm page.

Some Representative Appeals I have handled:

Estate of Pace: Pace v. Phillips, No. 2025-CA-00223-COA (Miss. Ct. App. July 28, 2026). I represented the appellant and obtained a reversal of the chancellor’s decision canceling a probated claim.
Smith v. Dennis Wright & Son Plumbing, No. 2025-WC-00046-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2026). I represented the appellee and secured the affirmance of a decision of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Unruh v. Johnson, 404 So. 3d 1166 (Miss. 2025). I represented the appellant on interlocutory appeal and won reversal and rendered judgment.
Am. Comp. Ins. Co. v. Ruiz, 389 So. 3d 1060 (Miss. 2024). I represented the potential statutory-employer in a declaratory action filed by a subcontractor’s carrier who sought to void workers’ compensation coverage ab initio after a catastrophic injury. We won summary judgment in federal district court based on a novel theory that the common law remedy of voiding a policy ab initio for material misrepresentation was not available to workers’ compensation policies in Mississippi. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit certified that legal question to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered briefing and then held that our theory was correct. The Fifth Circuit took that holding and affirmed the district court’s judgment in our favor.
Joe McGee Constr. Co. v. Brown-Bowens, 368 So. 3d 1277 (Miss. 2023). I represented a road construction contractor in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a one-car accident on a closed road. We persuaded the Mississippi Supreme Court to grant an interlocutory appeal and then to reverse the denial of summary judgment for our client.
Haynes v. Beckward, 358 So. 3d 1080 (Miss. Ct. App. 2023). After a jury verdict in the plaintiff’s favor in an auto-negligence action, I handled the appeal and won a remittitur based on insufficient expert testimony.
Estate of Ellis v. MMC Materials, Inc., 311 So. 3d 691 (Miss. Ct. App. 2021). I represented the defendant company in a personal injury case. We won summary judgment at the trial court and then secured that victory with an affirmance on appeal.

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