Tag: Probable Cause

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 September 7, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions today. One is a panic-inducing civil procedure case and the other is a direct criminal appeal.

Thomas v. Bolivar County, Mississippi, 2022-CA-00445-SCT (Civil – Other)
Reversing the trial court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings in an MTCA case where the complaint was delivered to the circuit clerk on the last day of the limitations period but it was not entered into MEC until the following day (after the deadline), holding (1) when the MTCA statute of limitations falls on a Sunday, Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-67 authorizes an extension to the following Monday; (2) delivery of the complaint, civil cover sheet, and filing fee constituted “filing” the complaint; and (3) the delay in having a summons issued did not delay the commencement date of the action.
(9-0)

PRACTICE POINT – The underlying facts of this case are nightmare fuel for civil litigators. As if the background facts weren’t enough, this part the opinion also caught my attention:

McCollum v. State, 2021-KA-01276-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of grand larceny, holding that the investigator had presented sufficient probable cause to the magistrate to justify a search warrant, that there was no hearsay admitted that would warrant reversal, and there was no error in denying a mistrial based on the presence of witness during the testimony of a State’s witness because the trial court excused the witness who violated the sequestration rule.
(7-2: King dissented, joined by Kitchens)

Other Orders

Crump v. State, 2018-M-00410 (denying application to proceed in the trial court and restricting the petitioner from filing further applications for PCR in forma pauperis)

Garcia v. State, 2021-CA-01214-SCT (denying rehearing)

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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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