The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions on Thursday, January 18. Of the four, there were three direct criminal appeals and the fourth was an appeal in a money dispute between a county and a school district.
Douglas v. State, 2022-KA-00859-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of sale of cocaine and life sentence as habitual offender, holding that the defendant waived defective indictment argument by failing to object in the trial court, that the argument that his indictment was improper because his name was incorrect was barred and without merit, that the defendant was not denied the right to represent himself because he never asked to, that the judge did not err by not recusing sua sponte, that witness credibility was for the jury to determine, that the defendant’s Fourth Amendment arguments were barred and without merit, that there was no merit to the defendant’s chain-of-custody argument, that there was no merit to the defendant’s Brady claim, that the defendant’s arguments about the amount of the controlled substance were without merit, that the defendant’s Confrontation Clause argument was barred and without merit, that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, that the defendant’s argument that his right to a public trial was not violated where the jury deliberated and returned a verdict after business hours, and that the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim was without merit.
(9-0)
Davis v. State, 2022-KA-00696-SCT, consolidated with Jackson v. State, 2022-KA-00731-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming convictions of two counts of first-degree murder but vacating a portion of the sentences, holding that the firearm-enhancement portion of the sentences was prohibited because a greater minimum sentence (life sentence) was otherwise provided for, but holding that under the plain error doctrine there was no evidence the defendants did not receive a fair trial by an impartial jury where the Batson challenge procedure was not followed to determine if the race-neutral reason was pretextual, that the verdict supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, that the trial court did not err in denying one defendant’s motion to server, and the cumulative errors doctrine did not require reversal.
(6-3: Kitchens dissented, joined by King and Ishee; King dissented, joined by Kitchens and Ishee)
Clarke County, Mississippi v. Quitman School District, 2022-CA-00471-SCT (Civil – Other)
Reversing on direct appeal and on cross appeal in a case about whether a school district was entitled to funds recovered by a county from the bankruptcy proceedings of a delinquent taxpayer, holding that the statutory scheme for funding public schools does not entitle school districts to receive delinquent taxes recovered years later in bankruptcy proceedings that are outside of the statutory scheme so the chancellor erred in awarding the school district a portion of the funds.
(9-0)
Stewart v. State, 2022-KA-00107-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of sexual battery, holding that in the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic the trial court was within its discretion to have the defendant attend a pretrial, tender-years hearing virtually; that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence; that issues related to jury instructions were barred for failure to object and there was no plain error; and that the trial court did not err in sustaining the State’s objection to certain lines of questions while defense counsel was cross-examining witnesses.
(6-3: Kitchens concurred in result only, joined by King and Ishee)
Other Orders
In Re: State Intervention Courts Advisory Committee, 89-R-99039-SCT (approving the designation of Katharine Surkin, Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, of Justice Robert P. Chamberlin as Chair of the State Intervention Courts Advisory Committee and the following as members through December 31, 2024: Judge Michael M. Taylor, Judge Winston L. Kidd, Judge Robert Helfrich, Judge Charles E. Webster, Judge Kathy King Jackson, Judge Randi P. Mueller, Representative Angela Cockerham, Nathan Blevins Deputy Commissioner of Community Corrections, MDOC, Mark Smith, Executive Director, State Veterans Affairs Board, Andrea Sanders, Commissioner, Miss. Department of Child Protection Services, and Consuelo Walley, Coordinator, Jones County Drug Ct, 18th Judicial Circuit, and further designating the following alternate members who may attend and vote in the absence of an appointed committee member: Judge Mary “Betsy” Cotton, Judge Mike Dickinson, and Judge Walt Brown.
Cochran v. State, 2014-M-00090 (denying “Request for Post-Conviction Forensic, DNA, and Handwriting Testing,” finding that the filing was frivolous, and warning that future frivolous filings may be sanctioned)
Trest v. State, 2021-CT-00968-SCT (denying cert)
Jackson Pub. Sch. Dist. v. Jackson Federation of Teachers and PSRPS, 2022-CA-00464-SCT (denying cert)
Brent v. MDHS, 2022-CT-00529-SCT (granting cert)
In Re: Administrative Orders of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, 2024-AD-00001-SCT (directing the disbursement of $215,281.86 in civil legal assistance funds among the MS Center for Legal Services, MS Volunteer Lawyers Project, and North MS Rural Legal Services.
Mississippi Appeals Blog 