Sallie v. Mississippi

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Craig Sallie was charged with one count of aggravated assault for shooting Gregory Johnson in the back and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. A jury found Sallie guilty of both counts, and the circuit court sentenced him to twenty years and ten years, respectively, with sentences to run concurrently in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). The circuit court also sentenced Sallie to an additional ten years pursuant to the firearm-enhancement statute under Mississippi Code Section 97-37-37 (Rev. 2014), with that sentence to run consecutively to the other sentences, for a total sentence of thirty years in the MDOC. The Court of Appeals affirmed. On writ of certiorari, a majority of the Mississippi Supreme Court found “Sallie was not given adequate pretrial notice that an enhanced punishment would be sought until after his conviction,” which violated his right to due process. The majority affirmed Sallie’s convictions for aggravated assault and felon in possession of a firearm but vacated Sallie’s sentence and remanded the case to the circuit court for resentencing. On remand, the circuit court restructured Sallie’s remaining sentences to run consecutively instead of concurrently, resulting in a thirty-year sentence without the enhanced penalty portion prescribed by Section 97-37-37. Finding no error, the Court of Appeals affirmed. Sallie petitions the Mississippi Supreme Court again, for review of whether the trial court’s decision to change the sentences to run [consecutively] on Count I and Count II was error because the Court of Appeals affirmed those convictions and sentences and the Mississippi Supreme Court remanded only the sentence pursuant to [Section 97-37-37]. Following the Supreme Court’s order of remand for resentencing, the circuit judge stated for the record that when he imposed Sallie’s original sentence, he thought Sallie “was going to have another 10-year sentence that would [run] consecutively” to the two sentences running concurrently, effectively giving Sallie a thirty-year sentence in the custody of the MDOC. The circuit judge then restructured Sallie’s sentence to implement his original intention. As the Court of Appeals held, the circuit court had authority to do so, and therefore, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Sallie v. Mississippi" on Justia Law