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.

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of May 28, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions today. All are criminal law or criminal law adjacent, however there is one case discussing the form of the jury’s verdict that is more broadly applicable.

McDonald v. State, 2022-KA-01073-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(8-2-0: Westbrooks and McDonald concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Wilson v. State, 2023-CA-00070-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of motion for PCR, holding that the motion was untimely and that the petitioner failed to establish an exception to the time bar.
(9-1-0: McDonald concurred in result only without writing)

Lathan v. State, 2022-KA-00927-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming a juvenile’s conviction of second-degree murder and 40-year sentence, holding that the court did not err by accepting a verdict form that did not conform to the instructions but that nonetheless conveyed the jury’s intent in a reasonably clear manner and did not err in sentencing the juvenile because neither Jones nor Miller applied.
(10-0)

NOTE – Here is the Court’s explanation of the verdict form:

The Court also noted that the defendant did not object and that the jury was polled and that all agreed with the verdict.

PRACTICE POINT – This decision is worth reading for its succinct discussion on the form of the verdict issue. It packs a lot into two pages and may come in handy for your next big verdict form dispute.

Haley v. Brewer, 2023-SA-00571-COA (Civil – State Boards and Agencies)
Affirming the trial court’s denial of an inmate’s suit protesting a facility transfer, holding that the inmate had no protected liberty interest in his housing assignment within MDOC.
(10-0)

Spralls v. State, 2023-KA-00347-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of an automobile, holding that a review of counsel’s Lindsey brief and an independent review of the record that there was no reversible error.
(10-0)

Turnage v. State, 2023-KA-00432-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of a controlled substance, holding that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s motion to suppress because there was substantial evidence that the police had probable cause to search his vehicle under the plain view exception or in finding the automobile exception allowed for a complete search of his truck.
(8-2-0: McDonald concurred in part and in the result without writing; Westbrooks concurred in result only without writing)

Other Orders

  • Hunter v. State, 2022-CP-01269-COA (dismissing untimely pro se motion for rehearing)
  • Gleason v. State, 2023-CP-00357-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Anderson v. Grabmiller, 2023-CA-00593-COA (dismissing appellee’s motion to strike appellant’s reply brief as moot after appellee’s notice of withdrawal and denying appellant’s motion for attorney’s fees and expenses)
  • Wilson v. State, 2023-CP-01050-COA (denying State’s motion to dsimiss and denying pro se appellant’s motion to preclude the State from filing a responsive brief)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 23, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today. There is one direct criminal appeal, one § 1983 case, and one case about huntin’ dogs.

Pittman v. State, 2023-KA-00367-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of a dwelling, passing on the issue of whether evidence of prior bad acts were improperly admitted and holding that if there was any error it would be harmless.
(9-0)

Clay v. Tunica County, Mississippi, 2022-CA-01106-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming summary judgment in a § 1983 action on qualified immunity grounds, holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish deliberate indifference and that local governments cannot be held vicariously liable based on employer-employee relationships.
(9-0)

Allen v. Dickerson, 2023-CA-00067-SCT (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming the chancellor’s rulings in a case pitting the right to quite enjoyment of property against the right to hunt and harvest wildlife, holding that the trial court’s finding that repeated intrusion of deer hunting dogs onto neighboring property constituted private nuisance and warranted an injunction.
(5-1*-3: Maxwell specially concurred, joined by Coleman, Beam, Chamberlin and Griffis; Ishee dissented, joined by Randolph and Kitchens)

Practice Point – Maxwell’s special concurrence received four other votes, giving it precedential value. The special concurrence agreed with the majority’s ruling but emphasized that the decision is not a blanket and should not be read to besmirch lawful dog hunting.

Note – The dissent waded into the regulatory morass of what you can hunt when.

My Parting Thought – Mind your dogs.

Other Orders

  • Goldbolt v. State, 2020-DP-00440-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Durr v. State, 2021-CT-01109-SCT (dismissing cert sua sponte)
  • Gilmer v. State, 2022-CT-00257-SCT (denying cert)
  • Premier Radiology, P.A. v. Davis, 2022-IA-00916-SCT (dismissing interlocutory appeal)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of May 21, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down a bounty of twelve opinions yesterday. I noticed a stray opinion from Thursday, May 9 so that is also summarized below. With a total of thirteen opinions, there is a lot of ground covered.

Martin v. State, 2023-KA-00044-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault and armed robbery after a trial in absentia, holding that the verdicts were not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(10-0)

Tilley v. Gibbs, 2022-CA-01150-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming judgment awarding physical custody of a child to the father, holding that the chancellor did not err in his Albright analysis and that substantial, credible evidence supported the custody determination.
(10-0)

Hamer v. State, 023-CP-00701-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of relief and dismissal of PCR motion without an evidentiary hearing, holding that the PCR motion lacked sufficient support to warrant a evidentiary hearing.
(8-2-0: Westbrooks and McDonald concurred in result only without writing)

McVay v. State, 2022-KA-00523-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of four counts of capital murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the trial court did not commit plain error in admitting evidence of prior bad acts during cross-examination of the defendant and holding that the defendant’s trial counsel was not constitutionally ineffective for failing to object.
(7-2-0: Wilson and Westbrooks concurred in result only without separate written opinion; Carlton did not participate)

Jackson v. State, 2022-KA-01143-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder and burglary and sentence to life without eligibility for early release, probation, or parole, holding that the indictment was not fatally defective; that there was no plain error in denying a motion to suppress the defendant’s statements to law enforcement where the defendant made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of Miranda; that the trial court did not err in refusing the defendant’s proposed insanity defense and imperfect self-defense instructions; and that the verdicts were not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(8-2-0: Wilson and McCarty concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion.)

Practice Point – This is a handy citation to tuck away for one of those “I know its true by I can’t find a case that says so” situations:

Thompson v. State, 2023-CP-00218-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming dismissal of the petitioner’s fourth and fifth PCR motions, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding them time-barred.
(10-0)

Smith v. West, 2023-CA-00297-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming dismissal for failure to prosecute a personal injury case, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion after granting several continuances over nearly ten years since the action was commenced.
(10-0)

Signaigo v. Grinstead, 2022-CA-01212-COA (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s rulings in an adverse possession action, affirming the finding that the plaintiff could not prove the ownership element but reversing the finding that title was vested in the defendant as a matter of law because that issue was beyond the scope of the motion for summary judgment.
(8-2-0: Wilson and Westbrooks concurred in result only without writing)

McKenzie v. McKenzie, 2022-CA-01175-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming the chancellor’s findings in a divorce proceeding, holding that the chancellor did not err in the equitable division of marital property, in determining the amount of child support, in determining the amount of alimony, or in denying the mother’s request for attorney’s fees.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Carr v. State, 2022-KA-00491-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the State did not commit prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments such that the court was required to intervene on its own initiative.
(10-0)

Pickens v. State, 2022-KA-00822-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of meth while in possession of a firearm, holding that after reviewing counsel’s Lindsey brief and independently reviewing the record that there were no errors warranting reversal.
(10-0)

Hearn v. State, 2023-CP-00275-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming dismissal of PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding the motion time-barred and that no statutory exceptions applied.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

From May 9, 2024

Daniels v. State, 2022-KA-00705-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming in part and reversing in part after the the defendant was convicted of one count of manslaughter as a lesser-included offense of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling, holding that indictment’s error as to the count for murder was harmless so the conviction of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter was affirmed but holding that the indictment was legally insufficient as to aggravated assault counts and that the error was compounded by repetition in jury instructions and the State’s closing arguments.
4-1*-5: Westbrooks specially concurred, joined by McDonald, Lawrence and Smith (each of whom also joined the lead opinion); Emfinger concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Barnes, Carlton, Wilson, and McCarty.)

Other Orders

  • Arnold v. State, 2021-KA-01426-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Rutland v. Regions Bank, 2022-CA-00720-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Malone v. State, 2022-CP-00958-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Boyett v. Cain, 2022-CP-00978-COA (denying rehearing)
  • EEECHO Inc. v. Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board, 2022-SA-01068-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Boyette v. State, 2022-CP-01239-COA (denying rehearing)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 16, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court did not hand down any opinions today. There are a handful of orders including a bar discipline order.

Other Orders

  • Harrison v. Harrison, 2022-CT-00274-SCT (denying cert)
  • Tommy Brooks Oil Company v. Wilburn, 2022-CA-00551-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • The Mississippi Bar v. McLeod, 2022-BD-00626-SCT (denying motion for leave to attend public reprimand remotely)
  • Johnson v. Drake, 2022-CT-00818-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of May 14, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down five opinions this week. There is a domestic/separate maintenance decision, a third-party assault tort case, a direct appeal of a felony conviction, and two PCR cases.

Hasley v. Hasley, 2022-CA-00908-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s decision in a separate maintenance action, holding that there was no abuse of discretion in denying the husband’s motion to dismiss the complaint but that the chancellor erred by converting the temporary orders of spousal support to a final order.
(10-0)

White v. State, 2023-CP-00200-COA (Civil – PCR)
Reversing the circuit court’s revocation of release, holding that because the circuit judge had been the assistant DA who had prosecuted the petitioner the judge was disqualified from presiding over the revocation hearing and that this error was not harmless.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Mack v. Merimac Apartments, 2022-CA-00897-COA (Civil – Torts)
Affirming summary judgment in a third-party assault case against an apartment complex, holding that evidence of some crime occurring on and near the subject property was sufficient summary judgment evidence on the element of proximate cause.
(6-3-1: Barnes and Wilson concurred in part and in the judgment without writing; Westbrooks concurred in the result only without writing; McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part without writing)

Galarza v. State, 022-KA-01066-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in admitting character evidence of the defendant’s prior convictions for manslaughter.
(7-3-0: Wilson and Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; McCarty concurred in the result only without separate written opinion.)

Smith v. State, 023-CP-00538-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the circuit court’s denial of a PCR motion, holding that the petitioner’s claims were procedurally barred and that there was no merit to the petitioner’s arguments that he was entitled to a bifurcated hearing at sentencing and that there was insufficient proof of his prior convictions to warrant his sentencing as a habitual offender.
(10-0)

Other Orders

  • Kuebler v. State, 2020-KA-00027-COA (remanding sua sponte for correction of the record)
  • Okorie v. National Association Wells Fargo Bank, 2022-CP-00043-COA (denying appellant’s pro se “motion to reopen case based on fraudulent settlement agreement”)
  • Moore v. State, 2022-KA-00327-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Edwards v. State, 2022-KA-00719-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Smith v. State, 2022-KA-00852-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Saddler v. State, 2024-TS-00099-COA (sua sponte allowing appeal to proceed)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 9, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. There is an decision about whether a subdivision’s roads are public or private, a Miller PCR case, a decisions about the applicability of McArn exceptions to at-will employment, and a felony case analyzing three jury instructions.

Newton County, Mississippi v. Deerfield Estates Subdivision Property Owners Association, LLC, 2022-CA-01227-SCT
(Civil – Real Property)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision in a case about whether the main roads in a subdivision are private or public roads, holding that the chancery court did not err in finding that the roads were accepted by the county via express common law dedication where the boards accepted the roads in its minutes, the rights of way over the roads, no tax had been levied on the rights of way, and the public had unrestricted access to the roads.
(9-0)

McDowell v. State, 2021-CT-01381-SCT (Civil – PCR)
Reversing sentence of life without parole after a resentencing trial pursuant to Miller, holding that the trial court’s unopposed grant of a jury trial under Miss Code. Ann. § 99-19-101(3) (Rev. 2020) made that section applicable to the entirety of the proceedings and therefore the trial court erred by conducting a Miller analysis and sentencing the defendant to life without parole.
(5-2-2: Maxwell concurred in part and in the result, joined by Randolph and Chamberlin; Beam dissented, joined by Griffis, and joined in part by Randolph and Maxwell.)

Brandi’s Hope Community Services, LLC v. Walters, 2022-CT-00188-SCT (Civil – Torts/Other)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the Court of Appeals and circuit court’s decisions after a wrongful termination verdict in the plaintiff’s favor, holding that the public policy exceptions to at-will employment established in McArn v. Allied Bruce-Terminix Co., Inc., do not conflict with the reporting protections in section 43-47-37(5)(b) of the Vulnerable Persons Act and that the plaintiff was qualified to bring wrongful termination claims.
(9-0)

Saxton v. State, 2023-KA-00226-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault, holding that the trial court erred in granting an unopposed instruction that contained an “incomplete” statement of Mississippi’s self-defense law but that the error did not result in a miscarriage of justice in light of other instructions given, that the trial court did not in in granting a definitional instruction on “imminent danger,” and that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s self-defense instruction as repetitive.
(5-4: Maxwell specially concurred, joined by Kitchens, Coleman, and Chamberlin; Kitchens concurred in part and in the result, joined by King and Ishee, and joined in part by Coleman.)

Other Orders

  • Fortenberry v. State, 2017-M-01026 (granting application for leave to file PCR petition)
  • Walter v. State, 2021-M-01125 (denying an application for leave to proceed in the trial court, and finding the filing frivolous and warning that future frivolous filings could be met with sanctions)
  • Patel v. State, 2022-CT-00985-SCT (denying cert)
  • Harris v. State, 2022-KA-01195-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Kelly v. State, 2023-M-00482 (denying application for leave to file PCR petition)
  • Deutchman v. The Mississippi Bar, 2024-BD-00009-SCT (granting leave to resign in good standing from the practicing of law in Mississippi)

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A couple of pictures from my trip to circuit court in Warren County yesterday:

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of May 7, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down ten opinions today. They started out with a run of short and sweet 10-0 opinions and then things got more interesting. There are two split opinions on the admission of confessions, a construction contract/negligence case, a divorce decision, several more direct criminal appeals, and a couple of PCR opinions.

Johnson v. State, 2022-KA-01127-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of sexual battery, holding that after a review of counsel’s Lindsey Brief and the record that there was no reversible error.
(10-0)

Carter v. State, 2023-KA-00052-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of second-degree murder, holding that the trial court did not err in refusing the defendant’s accident instruction and that the castle-doctrine’s presumption of fear was procedurally barred and that the evidence was sufficient to show that the defendant did not act in self defense.
(10-0)

Reed v. State, 2023-KA-00248-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of hydrocodone/acetaminophen, holding that after a review of counsel’s Lindsey Brief and the record that there was no reversible error.
(10-0)

Dobbins v. State, 2023-CA-00562-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming summary dismissal of PCR petition, holding that the petition was statutorily barred.
(10-0)

Mac Long Homes, LLC v. Olvera Construction, LLC, 2022-CA-00938-COA (Civil – Contract)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the circuit court’s dismissal of of a contractor’s claims against a subcontractor after the contractor lost an arbitration proceeding against the homeowner, holding that the breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation claims were time-barred, that the common-law indemnity claim was not yet ripe so dismissal without prejudice was proper, that the negligence claim was not time-barred, and that the circuit court did not err in denying the plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint.
(8-2-0: Westbrooks specially concurred, joined by McDonald and McCarty; Wilson concurred in the result only without separate written opinion)

NOTE – The common-law indemnity holding here is interesting. I have been in and around the argument that crossclaims of common-law indemnity against codefendants are not proper for lack of ripeness. I expect that this opinion will be cited frequently in the future.

Hollon v. State, 2023-CP-00202-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR petition, holding that the guilty plea was voluntary and not coerced, that trial counsel was not ineffective, and that the petitioner was not otherwise entitled to relief.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Winstead, v. State, 2022-KA-01235-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, holding that the trial court erred in admitting the defendant’s confession because it was obtained in violation of Edwards v. Arizona but that the error was harmless in light of the overwhelming weight of evidence of guilt, and holding that the trial court did not err by admitting a bloodstain card.
(6-4: Carlton concurred in part and in the result without writing; Greenlee and Smith concurred in part and dissented in part without writing; Lawrence concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Carlton, Greenlee, and Smith.)

NOTE – The partial dissent took issue with the majority’s holding that the confession should have been excluded. Here is the majority’s summary of its holding on that issue:

Smith v. State, 2023-KA-00185-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of sexual battery of a minor, holding that the circuit court did not err in admitting the defendant’s confession or by holding the trial in absentia.
(4-2-4: Wilson and Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; McCarty dissented, joined by Westbrooks and McDonald, and joined in part by Barnes and Emfinger)

Weatherly v. Weatherly, 2022-CA-00804-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming the chancellor’s rulings in a divorce proceeding, holding that the chancellor did not err in awarding sole physical custody to the mother, in awarding child support to the mother to the father despite the mother’s significantly higher income, in the valuation and distribution of marital property, in awarding the father alimony, or in denying the father’s request for attorney’s fees.
(3-2-4: McDonald and McCarty concurred in part and in the result without writing; Barnes, Westbrooks, and Emfinger concurred in part and dissented in part without writing; Wilson concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Barnes, Westbrooks, and Emfinger, and joined in part by McDonald and McCarty; Smith did not participate)

City of Verona v. Moffett, 2022-WC-01050-COA (Civil – Workers’ Comp)
Affirming the MWCC’s finding that a former police officer sustained an 80% loss of wage-earning capacity, holding that there was substantial, credible evidence supporting the Commission’s decision that was based on evidence of physical injuries and PTSD resulting from a physical assault while the claimant was responding to a domestic violence call.
(6-1-3: McCarty concurred in part and in the result without writing; Wilson dissented, joined by Smith and Emfinger.)

Other Orders

  • Silver Dollar Sales, Inc. v. Battah, 2022-CA-00476-COA (rehearing denied)
  • Fluker v. State, 2022-KA-00692-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Quinn v. State, 2022-KA-00962-COA (denying rehearing)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 2, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions yesterday. One is a temporary custody case that the Court took up on interlocutory appeal and the other is the conclusion of a major school-funding case.

Hinds v. Caldwell, 2023-IA-00813-SCT consolidated with 2023-IA-00839-SCT (Civil – Custody)
Reversing the chancellor’s temporary order granting durable legal and physical custody of a foster child and dismissing CPS, holding that the chancellor erred by divesting CPS of custody and dismissing CPS without a hearing.
(9-0)

Midsouth Ass’n of Independent Schools v. Parents for Public Schools, 2022-SA-01129-SCT (Civil – Unconstitutional Statute)
Vacating the chancellor’s decision that two statutes creating and funding a grant program for schools, holding that the petitioner organization failed to demonstrate an adverse impact sufficient to grant associational standing or prove that it had taxpayer standing.
(7-2: King dissented, joined by Kitchens)

Other Orders

  • Washington v. State, 2021-CT-01384-SCT (denying cert)
  • Stratton v. McKey, 2023-CP-00451-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Farr v. The Mississippi Bar, 2023-BD-01391-SCT (granting leave to resign in good standing from the practice of law)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of April 30, 2024

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions on Tuesday. I had court in Union County that took me out of the office most of the day Tuesday. I then spent Wednesday making up for being out of the office on Tuesday, as one does. (Obligatory courthouse picture, infra.)

Taylor v. Johnson, 2022-CA-00734-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming grant of summary judgment in a car wreck negligence case, holding that there was no competent summary judgment evidence that the defendant proximately caused the collision, and then affirming summary judgment on the direct-negligence and punitive damages claims as moot.
(8-1-1: McDonald concurred in result only without writing; Westbrooks dissented without writing)

Whiddon v. State, 2022-KA-00616-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and fleeing a law enforcement officer, holding that the trial court did not err in denying motions to dismiss for lack of speedy trial, that the circuit court abused its discretion in excluding videotaped witness statements but that the error was harmless, that the court did not commit reversible error in commenting in front of the jury that a witness was “an excellent investigator,” that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict, and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-3-0: McDonald and Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; Wilson concurred in the result only without writing)

Turner v. Turner, 2023-CA-00216-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Reversing dismissal of complaint for divorce, holding that the chancellor erred by considering matters outside of the pleadings when ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) without converting it into a motion for summary judgment and providing necessary notice.
(10-0)

Suarez v. State, 2023-KA-00526-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of an occupied dwelling under circumstances likely to terrorize the occupant, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court did not err in refusing the defendant’s lesser-included-offense jury instruction.
(7-3-0: Wilson, McDonald, and McCarty concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Harris v. State, 2023-CP-00227-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR motion following probation revocation, holding that the trial court’s failure to inquire about the petitioner’s ability to pay his fees and assessments was harmless error at most.
(10-0)

Crawford v. East Miss. State Hospital, Inc., 2022-CA-00753-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming judgment in favor of a hospital in a wrongful death lawsuit after bench trial, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that the plaintiff did not prove the proximate cause element or in denying the plaintiff’s claim for the decedent’s “lifetime damages” because the estate was initially a party before being removed as a party via amendment to the complaint.
(6-2: McCarty concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Westbrooks; McDonald and Smith did not participate)

Other Orders

  • Mississippi Dept. of Rehab. Servs v. Butler, 2022-CA-00176-COA (rehearing denied)
  • Harris v. Ratcliff, 2022-CA-00596-COA (rehearing denied)
  • Simmons v. State, 2022-KA-01260-COA (rehearing denied)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 25, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court served up some orders, but no opinions this week.

Other Orders

  • Morton v. State, 2018-M-00541 (denying Application for Leave to Proceed in the Trial Court, finding the filing frivolous, and warning that future frivolous filings could result in sanctions)
  • Parks v. State, 2018-M-00739 (denying Application for Leave to Proceed in the Trial Court, finding the filing frivolous, and warning that future frivolous filings could result in sanctions)
  • Litton v. Litton, 2022-CT-00712-SCT (denying cert)
  • Bumpous v. Tishomingo County School District, 2022-CT-01010-SCT (denying cert)
  • Gibson v. McNatt, 2023-CA-00007-SCT (denying cert)
  • Smith v. The Mississippi Bar, 2023-BD-01321-SCT (granting leave to resign from the practice of law in good standing)

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