Category: Supreme Court

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of July 27, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions in direct criminal appeals today. One involved the adequacy of the indictment and sentencing as a habitual offender. The other raised issues of weight and sufficiency of evidence, the trial court’s failure to rule on an objection during trial, closing argument, and the racial composition of the jury. One ended in a reversal and the other an affirmance.

Young v. State, 2021-KA-00940-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing sentence as a habitual offender, holding that the indictment failed to comply with Rule 14.1(b)(1) but defendant waived the issue of defective indictment by failing to object to it in the trial court but also holding that the evidence was insufficient to support the habitual offender sentence and remanding for resentencing.
(9-0)

Redd v. State, 2022-KA-00175-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault causing bodily injury, holding that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and not against the overwhelming weight of it, that the defendant waived his objection to testimony by failing to request corrective action from the trial court, that the State was entitled to draw inferences from facts in the record during closing, and that the issue of the racial composition of the jury was procedurally barred and without merit because the defendant did not object to the racial composition and the record was silent about the composition.
(9-0)

Other Orders

In Re: Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure, 89-R-99027-SCT (amending Miss. R. App. P.)

Parker v. Ross, 2020-CT-01055-SCT (denying motion for costs)

Yarborough v. Singing River Health Systems, 2021-CT-00668-SCT (denying cert)

The Banking Group, Inc. v. Southern Bancorp Bank, 2021-CT-01077-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of June 29, 2023 (catch-up post)

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions on June 29. The first was an estate case addressing claims of undue influence. The other was a personal injury case on interlocutory appeal of the denial of an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of whether an employer’s CGL policy provided coverage for an employee’s motor vehicle accident using company equipment.

Estate of Biddle v. Biddle, 2021-CP-00513-SCT (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancellor’s decisions in an estate matter, holding that venue and jurisdiction were waived by the testator’s sons because those issues were raised for the first time in response to their stepmother’s motion for summary judgment and that the evidence did not create a genuine issue of material fact concerning the existence of “suspicious circumstances” rising to the level of undue influence of the wife over her husband.
(9-0)

Penn-Star Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 2022-IA-00106-SCT (Civil- Personal Injury)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a motor vehicle negligence action, holding that there was no coverage under the company’s CGL policy where an employee of a welding company was involved in a collision while operating a forklift owned by the company to tow his personal truck to the company’s premises to self-perform repairs because the collision did not “arise out of or relate to” the welding operations.
(9-0)

Other Orders

Watts v. Watts, 2021-CT-00321-SCT (denying cert)

$41,000 v. State, 2021-CT-00692-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of July 6, 2023 (catch-up post)

On Thursday, July 6, the Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions. Two are direct criminal appeals and one is an civil appeal addressing the statutes of limitations for MTCA claims and state constitutional claims.

Stewart v. State, 2022-KA-00479-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of meth, holding that the defendant waived his Fourth Amendment and Miranda rights arguments by not raising them at trial court, and then waived plain error arguments on appeal by not raising them until the reply brief after the State asserted waiver, and further that the “sparse record” did not show plain error.
(9-0)

Moton v. Clarksdale, 2022-CA-00216-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Denying rehearing but withdrawing the original opinions and substituting another holding that the trial court correctly found that a city commissioner’s tort law claims stemming from his arrest were barred by the MTCA’s statute of limitations and that the claims arising under the Mississippi Constitution were barred by the general statute of limitations.
(9-0)

Mitchell v. State, 2021-KA-00589-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of second-degree murder, holding that there was insufficient evidence in the record to find that a due process violation occurred when the trial court denied the defendant’s request for the production of an autopsy report and then denied a request to conduct an autopsy.
(9-0)

Other Orders

Barber v. State, 2022-KA-00291-SCT (per curiam affimance)

Lofton v. Lofton, 2021-CT-00035-SCT (denying cert)

Clark v. Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC, 2021-CT-00173-SCT (denying motion to strike cert petition, granting motion to suspend the rules, accepting the filing of a cert petition, and denying cert)

Griffin v. State, 2023-M-00262 (denying mandamus)

Carr v. State, 2023-DR-00503-SCT (remanding PCR issues to circuit court)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of June 8, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. Three are direct appeals of criminal convictions and one is an election contest. One of the criminal appeals is an appeal of a capital murder conviction. The election contest decision settles who will appear on the Mississippi Democratic Primary’s ballot in the upcoming gubernatorial race.

Clanton v. State, 2021-KA-01159-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of meth found subsequent to a traffic stop, holding that the trial court erred in admitting photos of money seized from the defendant but the error was harmless; that the trial court did not err in allowing testimony and photos about marijuana found in the defendant’s vehicle, in allowing the officer to testimony that he thought the pills were ecstasy, or in overruling the defendant’s objection to alleged misstatement of the evidence during closing; and that the verdict was supported by evidence and not against the overwhelming weight of it.
(9-0)

Harvey v. State, 2022-KA-00660-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated domestic violence, holding that the trial court did not err by prohibiting the defendant from eliciting impeachment testimony from a witness about specific instances of conduct by the victim and that the wording of a limiting jury instruction regarding prior bad acts was not error.
(9-0)

Chisholm v. State, 2021-KA-01254-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of capital murder, holding that the trial court was within its discretion to admit the firearm and the restraining order over objection, to admit evidence of prior bad acts, and to deny a motion for mistrial after striking the defense’s psychology expert, that the trial court did not err in denying a heat-of-passion instruction, that the defendant failed to prove a Brady violation with respect to his cell phone records and the contents of his journal and laptop; that the indictment was not defective or constructively amended as the defendant argued based on alleged lack of specificity as to burglary; and that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and not against the overwhelming weight of it.
(9-0)

The Mississippi State Democratic Party v. Hickingbottom, 2023-EC-00611-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Reversing the circuit court’s order to place a gubernatorial primary candidate on the ballot, holding that the would-be candidate failed to timely file his petition for review of his disqualification by the Party.
(8-0: Griffis did not participate.)

NOTE – The Supreme Court shut this one down procedurally in light of the upcoming election:

Other Orders

In Re: Rules of Discipline for the Mississippi Bar, 89-R-99010-SCT (appointing Hon. Eleanor J. (Faye) Peterson, Circuit Judge, as a member of the Complaint Tribunal)

Rules for Court Reporters, 89-R-99021-SCT (amending Rule I.(U) of the Rules and Regulations Governing Certified Court Reporters)

Davis v. State, 2021-CT-00759 (denying cert)

Durant Healthcare, LLC v. Garrette, 2021-CT-00823-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of June 1, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down seven opinions today, and covered a lot of territory in doing so. There is a breach of contract/attorney’s fees case, a fraudulent joinder venue case, a youth court venue case, a money dispute between a school board and school district, a direct criminal appeal, a death penalty PCR case, and an election contest. [There was a lot to get through today and I got a late start. I am sure there is a typo or two below that I will get around to catching and correcting.]

Healy v. AT&T Services, Inc., 2021-CP-01411-SCT (Civil – Other)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancellor’s decision in a breach of contract claim filed by a lawyer/law firm due to reassignment of a 1-800 number, holding that the chancellor did not err in awarding nominal damages of $500 where there was inadequate proof of actual damages but reversing the chancellor’s exclusion of attorney’s fees in the award of sanctions for discovery violations and remanded for determination of the appropriate amount.
(9-0)

Practice Point – Footnote 3 of this opinion is a cautionary tale for those submitted evidence in the record at the trial court level and those reviewing the clerk’s record during the appeal:

The plaintiff in this case was seeking lost profits, but was only awarded nominal damages because there was insufficient evidence to show decreased earnings. To support the damages claim on appeal, the plaintiff submitted the plaintiff’s trial testimony, the firm’s QuickBooks reports for 2017-2018, and the plaintiff’s 2019 tax return. I don’t know if the QuickBooks reports would have moved the needle in this case, but that’s a question one generally does not want lingering after an appeal.

Another Practice Point – This opinion has a thorough discussion of the law on the measure of damages for breach of contract and lost profits claims. It is worth bookmarking for that purpose.

Doe v. Adams County Dept. of Child Protection Services, 2022-CA-00240-SCT (Civil – Other)
Affirming youth court’s denial of motion to transfer venue in an action to terminate parental rights for lack of jurisdiction and motion for recusal, holding that venue was proper because both the natural mother and the child resided in the venue county and that the trial court did not commit a manifest abuse of discretion in denying a motion for recusal.
(9-0)

Alpha Management Corp. v. Harris, 2022-IA-00354-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
consolidated with
Community Park Apartments, Inc. v. Harris, 2022-IA-0355-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of motions to transfer venue, holding that the defendant that purportedly established venue in Hinds County was not a material and proper party and setting aside a default judgment against the fraudulently-joined defendant.
(7-1-1: Coleman concurred in part, joined in part by Griffis; Griffis concurred in part and dissented in part, joined in part by Coleman.)

NOTE – When discussing its decision to set aside the default judgment against the fraudulently-joined defendant, the Supreme Court had this to say:

Board of Supervisors of Lowndes County v. Lowndes County School District, 2021-CA-00999-SCT (Civil – Other)
Reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the school district in a dispute over the board’s decision to exclude more than $3M from the district’s requested ad valorem tax effort, holding that the district’s exclusive remedy was section 11-51-75 which required an appeal of the board’s decision to be filed in the circuit court within 10 days and that the district failed to do so.
(7-2-0: King concurred in the result only, joined by Kitchens.)

Welch v. State, 2022-KA-00457-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of statutory rape, holding that trial counsel’s decision not to collect and test defendant’s relatives’ DNA was reasonable trial strategy and not deficient performance and did not cause prejudice.
(9-0)

Garcia v. State, 2021-CA-01214-SCT (Civil – Death Penalty – Post Conviction)
Affirming denial of PCR motion to set aside a plea of guilty to capital murder and sentence to death, holding that the trial court did not fail to address the petitioner’s expert testimony and did not err by continuing to rely on the petitioner’s own competency expert or in ruling the petitioner was competent to plead guilty, that trial counsel was not constitutionally ineffective for not calling attention to a potential autism diagnosis or in preparing the petitioner to plead guilty, and the petitioner was not deprived of expert assistance under Ake.
(9-0)

Barton v. Adams-Williams, 2023-EC-00586-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming denial of petition to disqualify a candidate for county prosecutor, holding that the trial court applied the proper standard in analyzing the candidate’s residency and did not manifestly err in its factual findings.
(9-0)

Other Orders

In Re: Advisory Committee on Rules, 89-R-99016-SCT (appointing Nicholas K. Thompson as member of Supreme Court of Mississippi Advisory Committee on Rules)

Rules for Court Reporters, 89-R-99021-SCT (appointing Theresa Lumley and Hon. David B. Strong, Huey Bang, and Jerry D. Sharp as members of the Board of Certified Court Reporters)

Lowe v. State, 2019-CT-01621-SCT (dismissing cert petition)

Powers v. State,  2017-DR-00696-SCT (denying motion to stay, granting in part a motion to compel disclosure, and granting leave to file reply)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 25, 2023

It was a slow day at the Mississippi Supreme Court for the hand-down department. The Court handed down just one opinion in a DOR case about unpaid sales tax and denied cert in two other cases.

Saltwater Sportsman Outfitters, LLC v. Mississippi Dept. of Revenue, 2021-SA-00881-SCT (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of MDOR in a dispute over unpaid sales taxes, holding that the company’s failure to keep records rendered MDOR’s assessment presumptively correct and that the company could not overcome that presumption.
(9-0)

Blount v. State, 2021-CT-00204-SCT (denying cert)

Moss v. Moss, 2021-CT-00452-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 18, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. Three are direct criminal appeals and one is an interlocutory appeal of a tort suit that a litigant filed against counsel for the opposing party. One of the criminal cases was taken up so the Supreme Court could address for the first time the issue of whether the crime of attempted murder requires an “overt act” under the amended 97-1-7. The Supreme Court also granted cert in a child custody modification case.

Anderson v. State, 2022-KA-00530-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder and life sentence, holding that the trial court did not err in refusing a heat-of-passion instruction or in allowing the defendant’s confession to be presented to the jury, and that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and not against the overwhelming weight of it.
(9-0)

Beale v. State, 2020-CT-00614-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of attempted murder on cert, holding that the indictment correctly stated the necessary elements of the crime and that two jury instructions did not constructively amend the indictment.
(6-3: King dissented, joined by Kitchens and Coleman.)

NOTE – The Mississippi Supreme Court granted cert to address for the first time the issue of whether the crime of attempted murder requires an “overt act” under the amended Miss. Code Ann. § 97-1-7:

Henley, Lotterhos & Henley, PLLC v. Bryant, 2021-IA-00994-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the circuit court’s denial of a law firm’s motion to dismiss/summary judgment in a lawsuit asserting a slew of intentional torts stemming from the handing of a subrogation claim, holding that attorneys do not owe duties to adverse parties that can give rise to tort liability and remanding for litigation of the claims against the insurance company.
(5-2-1: Randolph and Griffis concurred in result only without separate written opinion; King dissented; Kitchens did not participate.)

Spiers v. State, 2022-KA-00038-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of a dwelling and attempted sexual battery, holding that the defendant waived the issue of whether the trial court erred by granting a jury instruction requiring the defendant to prove consent by clear and convincing evidence and that the plain error doctrine did not apply, that the defendant failed to establish a case of ineffective assistance as to the instruction, and that the trial court did not commit plain error with regard to alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing.
(5-1-3: Maxwell concurred in part and in result without separate written opinion; King dissented, joined by Kitchens and Coleman)

Other Orders

Price v. State, 2019-CT–01890-SCT (denying cert)

Blagodirova v. Schrock, 2020-CT-01162-SCT (granting cert) (You can read my summary of the 4-2-4 COA decision by clicking here.)

Davis v. Davis, 2020-CA-01304-SCT (denying rehearing)

Bowman v. State, 2020-CT-01371-COA (denying cert)

Tennesen v. City of Hattiesburg, 2021-CT-00137-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 11, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four decisions today. One is an interlocutory appeal of a discovery order in a personal injury case and one is a direct criminal appeal. The other two are election contest cases, one regarding the race for public service commissioner and other a state representative race.

Mississippi Baptist Health Systems, Inc. v. Johnson, 2022-IA-00158-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Reversing the trial court’s order compelling the defendant hospital to produce two incident reports over a claim of privilege, holding that the trial court erred in ordering production without conducting in camera review and remanding for that purpose.
(9-0)

Norwood v. State, 2021-KA-00903-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated domestic violence, holding that there was no reasonable probability that, but for defense counsel’s failure to present evidence of the victim’s purported drug use while cross-examining her, the trial result would have been different.
(9-0)

Gunasekara v. Barton, 2023-EC-00377-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming the trial court’s decision in an election contest, holding that the trial court did not manifestly err by holding that the plaintiff failed to meet the five-year residency requirements for the office of Public Service Commissioner.
(6-0: Coleman, Maxwell, and Chamberlin did not participate.)

NOTE – The Court declined to address the plaintiff’s claim that the five-year citizenship requirement violated the 14th Amendment, noting that the Attorney General should be given the opportunity to argue the question of constitutionality.

Jones v. Yates, 2023-EC-00395-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming the trial court’s finding in an election contest, holding that the trial court erred in determining that the would-be candidate for state representative satisfied the two-year residency requirement but affirmed because the trial court reached the correct outcome for other reasons.
(9-0)

Other Orders

Short v. State, 2021-CT-00499-SCT (dismissing pro se cert petition)

Davis v. State, 2021-CT-00593-SCT (denying cert)

Meek v. Cheyenne Steel, Inc., 2021-CT-01219-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 4, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today. One involves where an employee of a police department was entitled to a probable cause hearing, another is a trusts decision on cert that turned on the validity of statute of limitations arguments made for the first time on appeal, and the third is an intentional tort/First Amendment case stemming from a case that was the subject of a popular podcast. The Supreme Court also granted cert in one case.

Wallace v. State, 2022-CA-00119-SCT (Civil – Other)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision denying a probable cause hearing after a police department employee was charged with simple assault of a minor, holding that a law enforcement officer who is not certified under section 45-6-11(3)(a) is not entitled to a probable cause hearing under section 99-3-28(1)(a)(i) and that the defendant was not entitled to a probable cause hearing because he was not within the scope of section 45-6-3(c).
(9-0)

Parker v. Ross, 2020-CT-01055-SCT (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the Court of Appeals in a trusts case, holding (1) the trial court did not err by granting a motion to dismissed based on the three-year statute of limitations and that the Court of Appeals erred by reversing that decision based on the ten-year statute of limitations that was raised for the first time on appeal and (2) that the trial court did err in finding that the statute of limitations was not tolled due to disability, affirming the Court of Appeals’ reversal based on sufficiency of evidence of disability.
(8-0: Kitchens did not participate.)

Wagner v. Andreacchio, 2021-IA-01199-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, invasion of privacy, and civil conspiracy stemming from the defendant’s publication of portions of an investigative file related to the plaintiffs’ son’s death, holding that the defendant’s publication of public records is constitutionally-protected speech.
(8-1: Griffis dissented)

NOTE – This is the case stems from the death of Christian Andreacchio that was the subject of the first season of the Culpable podcast.

Other Orders

In Re: State Intervention Courts Advisory Committee, 89-R-99039-SCT (appointing or reappointing E. Gregory Snowden, Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as Chair of the State Intervention Courts Advisory Committee and the following as members through December 31, 2023: Judge Michael M. Taylor, Judge Winston L. Kidd, Judge Robert Helfrich, Judge Charles E. Webster, Judge Kathy King Jackson, Melody Madaris, Representative Angela Cockerham, Mark Smith, Judge Randi P. Mueller, and Nathan Blevins)

Dampier v. State, 2021-CT-00280-SCT (granting cert)

Scruggs v. Farmland Mutual Insurance Company, 2021-CA-00877-SCT (denying rehearing)

Jarvis v. State, 2021-CT-00930-SCT (denying cert)

Wallace v. State, 2021-CT-01149-SCT (denying cert)

Keys v. Rehabilitation, Inc., 2021-CT-01338-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 27, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions today. Both decisions are 6-3 reversals. One is an appeal of a summary judgment ruling in a slip-and-fall case and the other is an appeal of a zoning decision.

Thomas v. Boyd Biloxi, LLC, 2021-CT-00265-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Reversing the COA’s decision affirming summary judgment in favor of a resort in a slip-and-fall on a pool deck case, holding that two prior falls and evidence that water pooled in the area where the plaintiff fell was sufficient evidence of breach and that there was evidence that a breach of duty proximately caused the fall.
(6-3: Griffis dissented, joined by Coleman and Ishee.)

City of Ocean Springs v. Illanne, 2021-CA-01100-SCT (Civil – State Boards and Agencies)
Reversing the circuit court’s reversal of a City’s zoning decisions, holding that remand was necessary for a hearing to determine whether a zoning applicant was a “petitioner” under Section 11-51-75 such that the failure to name him and give him notice deprived the circuit court of jurisdiction.
(6-3: Coleman dissented, joined by Randolph and Griffis)

Other Order

La Casa I, LLC v. Gottfried, 2021-CT-00347-SCT (denying cert)

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