Tag: unemployment

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of March 18, 2025

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down five opinions on Tuesday. There is something for everybody with a workers’ comp case, an unemployment case, a direct criminal appeal, a premises liability case, and a PCR case.

King v. State, 2023-CA-00770-COA (Civil – PCR)
Reversing the circuit court’s dismissal of the claimant’s motion for PCR wherein he claimed the circuit court improperly revoked probation and participation in drug court and imposed his original suspended sentence, holding that the claimant was statutorily barred from participating in drug court because he was charged with and pleaded guilty to a crime of violence, and since his probation was revoked only twice for violations of drug court conditions, the circuit court lacked authority to impose the full sentence, and remanding with instructions to reinstate the probation.
(5-2-3: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing; Emfinger concurred in result only without writing; Lawrence dissented, joined by Weddle and St. Pe’, joined in part by Emfinger)

Porter v. State, 2023-KA-00809-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of capital murder, holding that the trial court did not err in denying a motion to suppress the defendant’s (who was 17 at the time) statements to police, that the defendant had no viable Sixth Amendment claim based on the size and composition of the jury venire without proof that minorities were intentionally or systematically excluded because of their race, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting the defendant’s attorney’s opening statement, that the trial court did not err in limiting the defendant’s questioning of a witness for impeachment purposes, that the trial court did not err by excluding two character witnesses, that the trial court did not err by refusing the defendant’s lesser-included offense instruction of manslaughter because they had no foundation in the evidence and because a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty of capital murder, that the trial court did not err by not granting a mistrial for the State’s remarks during closing, and that the trial court did not err by not granting a mistrial when the jury sent out its first note because the defendant did not obtain a ruling and because the assignment was meritless, and that the cumulative error doctrine did not apply.
(8-2-0: Wilson and Westbrooks concurred in result only without separate written opinion)

Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi v. Mississippi Department of Employment Security, 2024-CC-00152-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming an award of unemployment benefits after MDES initially determined that the claimant voluntarily left his employment, holding that the Board of Review’s decision was supported by substantial evidence so the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in affirming it.
(9-1-0: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing)

Harris v. Casino Vicksburg, LLC, 2023-CA-00959-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of a casino in a premises liability case arising from a chair that slipped out from under the plaintiff, holding that the plaintiff failed to show the existence of a dangerous condition.
(7-3: Westbrooks dissented, joined by Carlton and McDonald)

Caffey v. Forrest Health, 2023-WC-01232-COA (Civil – Workers’ Comp)
Affirming the MWCC’s decision reversing the AJ’s finding that the claimant sustained a 50% loss of wage-earning capacity, holding that the though the MWCC erred in its Jordan analysis on whether employment was offered post-MMI the claimant nonetheless did not make a prima facie case under Jordan because he never reported back to work after MMI or under Thompson because there was no evidence the claimant independently searched for employment.
(8-1-1: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing; McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part without writing)

Other Orders

  • Ellzey v. State, 2022-KA-00797-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Allred v. Tishomingo County, Mississippi, 2023-CA-00569-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Old Hattiesburg High, L.P. v. Harris Construction Services, LLC, 2023-CA-00579-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Sullivant v. Freeland, 2023-CP-01393-COA (granting appelles’ motion for monetary sanctions)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of March 4, 2025

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down five opinions today. Three of the cases involved state boards and agencies: one unemployment case, one termination case, and one case where a petitioner sought to amend or append his birth certificate. There are also two direct criminal appeals.

Darden v. MDES, 2024-CC-00159-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming denial of unemployment benefits as untimely, holding that substantial record evidence supported the circuit court’s order affirming the agency’s decision.
(10-0)

Jack v. City of Meridian, 2023-CC-01339-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming employment termination, holding that the decision was not arbitrary and capricious and not in good faith, that the city provided substantial evidence that the plaintiff violated policies, and that the evidence did not show that the plaintiff was arbitrarily treated differently from two white male officers.
(9-1-0: Lawrence concurred in result only without writing)

Malone-Bey v. Mississippi State Board of Health, 2024-SA-00288-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming the chancery court’s decision denying a petition to amend birth certificate to designate the petitioner’s race as “white: Asiatic/Moor,” holding that the chancery court correctly ruled that it lacked the authority to amend a birth certificate to include additional categories of information and that neither the Board or the chancery court violated the petitioner’s constitutional or civil rights.
(10-0)

Terry v. State, 2023-KA-00979-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of kidnapping, holding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the kidnapping conviction, that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the victim’s testimony about the crimes of co-defendants, and that the defendant’s proposed simple assault instruction was properly rejected.
(10-0)

McNaughton v. State, 2023-KA-01099-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of second-degree murder after the defendant drove over his ex-girlfriend in a parking lost causing fatal injuries, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion admitting evidence of prior incidents of domestic abuse, that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction, and that the conviction was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(9-1-0: Wesbtrooks concurred in result only without writing)

Other Orders

  • In the Interest of A.R.H., a Minor: Malone v. Jackson County Dept. of Child Protective Services, 2023-CA-00420-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Arnold v. State, 2023-KA-00519-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Cauthen v. State, 2023-KA-00589-COA (denying rehearing)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of March 5, 2024

I’m back. Again. I would like to think I will go back and summarize the last few weeks that I have missed but that is probably water under the bridge at this point. Pressing forward, the Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down seven opinions today. These decisions cover custody, felonies, personal injury, unemployment, and zoning. Notably, two criminal convictions were reversed.

Patrick v. Patrick, 2021-CA-00891-COA (Civil – Custody)
Affirming the chancery court’s denial of the mother’s petition for contempt and modification and granting the father’s motion for modification, holding that the issue of custody was clearly before the chancellor who properly determined that there was a material change in circumstances that adversely affected the children, conducted a proper Albright analysis, and was within his discretion to order a change in legal and physical custody.
(8-1-1: McCarty concurred in part and in the result and McDonald concurred in part and dissented in part. Neither wrote.)

Allen v. State, 2022-KA-00419-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing convictions six counts of statutory rape, holding that the jury was not properly instructed as to the State’s burden of proof and remanding for a new trial.
(9-1-0: McDonald concurred in result only without writing.)

Practice Point: The erroneous instruction was submitted by the defense, but the Court noted that the “invited-error doctrine” did not apply where the jury was not properly instructed on the elements of the crime. Here is the Court’s summary of the issues with the jury instructions:

Fletcher v. State, 2022-KA-00868-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of capital murder and sentence as habitual offender, holding that the trial court did not err when it failed to suppress the defendant’s statement to law enforcement officials.
(10-0)

The Avion Group, Inc. v. The City of Oxford, 2023-CA-00169-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision denying an ordinance variance to repair a wall/fence that enclosed the petitioner’s property, holding that the petitioner did not waive its challenge to the city’s code interpretation but that the circuit court’s interpretation of the code provisions at issue were not erroneous.
(10-0)

Carter v. C&S Canopy, Inc., 2022-CA-00730-COA (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming summary judgment in favor of a driver and his employer in an auto-negligence case, holding that there was no evidence to support the plaintiff’s claim that the driver negligently continued to drive a “sluggish” truck on the interstate, that the defendants were negligent in their efforts to get the truck towed, that the location of reflective triangles was the proximate cause of the crash, that the defendant could have safely moved the disabled truck anywhere other than where he did, that the driver should have registered as a for-hire carrier, or that the employer negligently failed to train the driver.

Appellate Math Warning: None of us signed up for this.

Marshall v. State, 2022-KA-00541-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the circuit court erred in denying the defense’s peremptory strikes of three jurors, holding that the defense provided valid, race-neutral reasons for the strikes.
(10-0)

Cain v. M.D.E.S., 2023-CC-00188-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming denial of claim for unemployment benefits, holding that the circuit court properly dismissed the claimant’s appeal of denial as untimely.
(10-0)

Other Orders

Walker v. State, 2022-KA-00482-COA (denying rehearing)

Gregory Meridian Acquisition, LLC v. McFarland, 2022-CA-00580-COA (denying rehearing)

Fox v. Fox, 2022-CA-00918-COA (denying rehearing)

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Double Issue: Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of February 6, 2024 and February 13, 2024

[Edited to correct the year in the title. I am behind, but I am not a whole year behind.]

I was about snowed under last week so I am trying to catch up here a bit. The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down four opinions on February 6 and another nine on February 13.

February 6, 2024

Porter v. State, 2023-CP-00091-COA (Civil – Other)
Vacating the trial court’s denial of a request to be reclassified as a non-habitual offender, holding that the petitioner was not a habitual offender but that his claims were filed in the wrong county so the case was remanded with instructions for the trial court to transfer to the appropriate county.
(9-0: Smith did not participate)

Gilmore v. State, 2023-CP-00527-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR motion, holding that the trial court did not err in finding that the motion was time-barred and not subject to any of the exceptions.
(9-0: Emfinger did not participate)

Ellis v. Turner-Johnson Dodge, Inc., 2022-CA-01126-COA (Civil – Contract)
Affirming the county court’s order compelling arbitration, holding that there was a valid, binding arbitration agreement and that the dispute was within the scope of the agreement.
(7-2: Westbrooks and McDonald dissented; Smith did not participate)

Practice Point – Cite the record early and often in your briefs:

Moates v. State, 2022-KA-01062-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first degree murder, burglary of a dwelling under circumstances likely to terrorize, and simple domestic violence, holding that the trial court did not err in denying a motion to sever the first-degree murder charge, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of prior bad acts, that the evidence was sufficient to support the simple domestic violence conviction, and that retroactive misjoinder argument was moot.
(10-0)

Practice Point – This is a good reminder that “prejudice” is not the test under Rule 403.

Other Orders

Gilbert v. State, 2021-KA-01265-COA (denying rehearing)

Kilcrease v. City of Tupelo, 2022-KM-00194-COA (denying rehearing)

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February 13, 2024

Williams v. Bryant, 2022-CA-00630-COA (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision in a will contest, holding that the chancellor did not err in determining that there was a confidential relationship but that the evidence did not show abuse or suspicious circumstances or active involvement in procurement or execution of the will that would create a presumption of undue influence.
(9-1-0: McDonald concurred in part and in the result without separate written opinion)

Allen v. State, 2022-KA-00935-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of capital murder, holding that the trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on the defendant’s alternative defense theory of heat-of-passion manslaughter.
(10-0)

Netherland v. State, 2022-CP-01236-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the circuit court’s denial of a PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in finding that the petitioner’s Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were not violated when law enforcement recorded the petitioner selling drugs to an informant and that there was no merit to the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.
(10-0)

Brooks v. State, 2022-KA-01016-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary of a dwelling, simple assault domestic violence, and possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the conviction for possession of a firearm was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(8-2-0: Barnes and Westbrooks concurred in part and in the result without writing)

EEECHO Inc. v. Mississippi Dept. Env’t Quality Permit Bd, 2022-SA-01068-COA (Civil – State Boards and Agencies)
Affirming the chancery court’s decision affirming MDEQ’s Permit Board’s decision to issue water quality certifications, holding that the Permit Board did not err by not making factual findings regarding the possible storage of explosive ammunition, that the Permit Board’s failure to issue a revise public notice was not arbitrary or capricious, that the Permit Board’s decision that the subject property was preferable to the alternative project sites, and that the Permit Board’s failure to conduct an environmental justice review.
(8-2: McDonald dissented, joined by Westbrooks; Westbrooks dissented without writing)

Smith v. Smith, 2022-CA-00183-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the chancery court’s child custody and division or martial estate decisions, holding that the chancellor did not err or abuse his discretion in awarding custody to the father or in his visitation ruling, but that the chancellor erred by classifying one of the father’s businesses as separate property.
(10-0)

Wade v. State, 2022-CA-00370-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming the trial court’s denial of a PCR motion, holding that the trial court’s decision that the plea was voluntary and intelligent notwithstanding the petitioner’s low intellectual ability, that there was no merit to the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, and that Miller did not apply because the felony convictions did not mandate life imprisonment.
(6-4-0: Emfinger concurred in part and in the result without writing; Carlton, Westbrooks, and McDonald concurred in result only without writing)

Hunter v. State, 2022-CP-01269-COA (Civil – PCR)
Affirming denial of PCR motion, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying the motion as untimely.
(10-0)

Clarksdale Pub. Utilities Comm’ v. Miss. Dept. of Emp’t Sec., 2022-CC-01085-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision affirming MDES Review Board’s decision approving unemployment benefits, holding that MDES was not collaterally estopped from making the benefits decision as a result of MDEC and CPOC having different standards and definitions of misconduct, that the ALJ did not err in refusing the admit 900 pages of exhibits that the employer offered for lack of foundation, and that there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the ALJ’s findings.
(3-2-3: Westbrooks and McCarty concurred in part and in the result without writing; Wilson concurred in the result only without writing; Greenlee concurred in part and dissented in part without writing; Carlton concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Greenlee and Lawrence; Barnesn did not participate)

Other Orders

Bradshaw v. Bradshaw, 2017-CT-01731-COA (granting motion to seal file on appeal)

Odom v. State, 2021-KA-00676-COA (denying rehearing)

Harrison v. Harrison, 2022-CA-00274-COA (denying rehearing)

Litton v. Litton, 2022-CA-00712-COA (denying rehearing)

Johnson v. Drake, 2022-CA-00818-COA (denying rehearing)

Forrest v. State, 2022-KA-00844-COA (granting pro se letter motion to recall mandate)

Patel v. State, 2022-CA-00985-COA (denying rehearing)

Fox v. State, 2022-KA-00988-COA (granting motion to expedite mandate)

Harvey v. State, 2023-CT-00157-COA (recalling mandate sua sponte)

Clark v. State, 2023-TS-01116-COA (granting motion to proceed out of time)

Odom v. State, 2023-TS-01165-COA (granting public defender’s motion withdraw, to substitute counsel, and respond to order to show cause)

Winn Dixie Stores v. Little, 2023-WC-01177-COA (granting motion to dismiss appeal as interlocutory)

Holifiend v. State, 2023-TS-01320-COA (granting motion to proceed out of time)

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