Tag: Burglary

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of March 28, 2024

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today: one certificate of need matter and two direct criminal appeals. It was a big day, however, for “Other Orders” as the Supreme Court adopted revisions to the Uniform Chancery Rules, approved local rules for a circuit court district, and issued decisions in two bar disciplinary matters.

Wakefield v. State, 2021-CT-00187-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming convictions of accessory after the fact to car theft, kidnapping, and murder, holding that under the unit of prosecution test the State may charge multiple violations of section 97-1-5 for each felony committed.
(6-3: Kitchens concurred in part and dissented in part joined by King and Ishee)

Owen v. State, 2021-CT-00887-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of a business, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial based on the evidence presented.
(6-3: Griffis dissented, joined by Kitchens and King)

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Flowood, LLC v. Mississippi Methodist Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., 2023-SA-00370-SCT (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Vacating the chancery court’s judgment that reversed MSDH’s decision in a certificate of need application matter approving two providers, holding that the chancery court erred in determining that MDHS failed to consider a contemporaneous CON application from another entity for the same category of services and that MDHS did not err in its decision that the contemporaneous CON application was not relevant or in denying to reopen the closed hearing on the contemporaneous CON application.
(7-2: Randolph concurred in part and dissented in part; Griffis dissented.)

Other Orders

In Re: Uniform Chancery Court Rules, 89-R-99006-SCT (adopting revisions to the Uniform Chancery Rules)

In Re: Local Rules, 89-R-99015-SCT (approving local rules for the Fifteenth Circuit Court District)

The Mississippi Bar v. Mayers, 2021-BD-00268-SCT (ordering a lawyer permanently disbarred)

Bennett v. The Mississippi Bar, 2023-BR-00410-SCT (denying motion for reinstatement to the practice of law)

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation v. Holloway, 2023-IA-01256 (granting petition for interlocutory appeal and stay)

Hand Down Page

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of April 4, 2023

I am playing catch-up because my paying work had me preoccupied last week. The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down seven opinions last Tuesday. There were a couple of direct criminal appeals, an alimony case, an appeal of a $2.8M auto liability verdict, a couple of PCR cases, and an appeal of an MDOC issue.

Gillenwater v. Redmond, 2021-CA-01378-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming modification of alimony, holding that chancellor did not abuse her discretion by reducing (but not terminating) the alimony obligation based on the ex-wife’s cohabitation and mutual support.
(8-1-0: Westbrooks concurred in the result only without separate written opinion; Judge Lawrence did not participate.)

Tubwell v. State, 2022-KM-00342-COA (Criminal- Misdemeanor)
Affirming conviction of violating the child-restraint laws, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction where there were two adults and three children in a single-cab pickup and one child was sitting in the driver’s lap.
(8-2-0: McDonald concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion; Westbrooks concurred in the result only without separate written opinion.)

Winters v. State, 2022-CP-00435-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming dismissal of PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that the motion was time-barred, successive, and without merit.
(10-0)

Williamson v. State, 2021-KA-00830-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of a dwelling, burglary of a shed, and trafficking stolen firearms, holding that the evidence was sufficient and that the verdict was not against the weight of it and that there was no error admitting evidence of other crimes, in denying a motion to suppress evidence obtained in a search of the defendant’s home, in denying a motion for continuance, or in not halting trial during a power outage.
(10-0)

Everett v. State, 2021-CP-01385-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the denial of a PCR motion, holding that the illegal sentence claim was time-barred and without merit and that the claim regarding earned-discharged credits was properly dismissed because that claim should have been filed in the venue where the plaintiff is housed.
(8-1-0: No separate opinions – Westbrooks concurred in result only and Smith did not participate)

Robinson v. MDOC, 2022-CP-00018-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming denial of petition for judicial review after the petitioner was denied a request to participate in the Meritorious Earned TIME Incentive Program, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that the court lacked personal jurisdiction because MDOC had not been given notice of the appeal and that the petitioner failed to exhaust his administrative remedies.
(8-2-0: No separate opinions – McCarty concurred in part and in the result and McDonald concurred in result only.)

Kirk v. Newton, 2021-CA-00684-COA (Civil – Tort)
Affirming a nearly $2.8 million verdict in an auto liability case, holding that the question of who caused the accident was a fact issue for the jury, that there was no evidence of bias, passion, or prejudice to show that the award should be reduced or set aside, and that there was no error in using national average for wage calculation that was lower than the plaintiff’s actual wages where the jury heard both sides from experts and weighed their credibility.
(8-1-1: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion; Greenlee dissented.)

NOTE – I do not think this case represents the departure from Rebelwood that I thought it would when I was first reading it. My take is that the fact that the national average figure used by the plaintiff was less than the actual wage-earning history was critical to this decision.

Other Orders

$41,080 v. State, 2021-CA-00692-COA (denying rehearing)

Durant Healthcare, LLC v. Garrette, 2021-CA-00823-COA (denying rehearing)

Owens v. State, 2021-KA-000887-COA (denying rehearing)

The Banking Group, Inc. v. Southern Bancorp Bank, 2021-CA-01077-COA (denying rehearing)

Hand Down List