Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

John Franklin was found guilty of arson by jury, sentenced to eighteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, ordered to pay a $1,500 fine, make restitution to the dwelling house owners, and make restitution to the victim. The court ordered that the fine and restitutions be made in monthly installments of $150, with the first payment due ninety days following Franklin’s release from confinement. Franklin appealed, arguing two issues: (1) the trial court erred in assessing restitution; and (2) the trial court erred in admitting Franklin’s confession into evidence. Finding no merit in either issue, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court judgment. View "Franklin v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Michael Taylor was convicted in 2012 of possessing stolen property. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to ten years in prison. Taylor testified in his own defense at trial. During cross-examination, the State questioned Taylor extensively about his numerous past felony convictions without objection from defense counsel. After review of the trial court record, the Supreme Court concluded that defense counsel’s failure to object to the inquiry into Taylor’s prior convictions constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. The Court reversed Taylor’s conviction and remanded for a new trial. View "Taylor v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The City of Madison enacted an ordinance requiring landlords to obtain a license for each unit of rental property. The Rental Inspection and Property Licensing Act (RIPLA) conditioned the grant of a license on the landlord’s advance consent to property inspections. Kenneth Crook was convicted in municipal court of two counts of violating RIPLA by maintaining a rental unit without a rental license and sentenced to pay a fine of $300 on each count. After a bench trial, the County Court of Madison County affirmed. Crook then appealed to the Circuit Court of Madison County, which also affirmed. Crook then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court assigned his appeal to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed. At each level of review, Crook argued that RIPLA’s inspection provisions violated the ban on unreasonable searches imposed by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Court of Appeals held that RIPLA was not unconstitutional because it required the City to obtain a judicial warrant if the landlord or tenant withheld consent to an inspection. The Supreme Court granted Crook’s petition for certiorari and reversed: RIPLA’s inspection provisions were constitutionally defective because, although RIPLA had a warrant provision, that provision allowed a warrant to be obtained “by the terms of the Rental License, lease, or rental agreement,” which was a standard less than probable cause. The Court reversed the lower courts' judgments affirming Crook's convictions, and rendered a judgment of acquittal. View "Crook v. City of Madison" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Vance Drummer of two counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny in 2012. The trial court granted the State’s request for a flight instruction because Drummer, after absconding with the stolen goods, fled from police when they attempted to pull him over after he had run a stop sign in Mathiston. The trial court sentenced Drummer as an habitual offender pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 99-19-81. One of the felony convictions the State used to prove Drummer’s status as an habitual offender was the felony-fleeing conviction to which he pled guilty as a result of his flight from police in Mathiston. The Supreme Court found that the trial court erred when it sentenced Drummer as an habitual offender: "Drummer’s flight from police arose from the same nucleus of operative facts as the larcenies for which he was convicted and therefore should not have been used as a predicate felony pursuant to Section 99-19-81." Accordingly, Drummer’s sentence as an habitual offender was vacated, and ad the case remanded to the trial court for resentencing of Drummer as a nonhabitual offender. View "Drummer v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Richard Chapman was serving a life sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He never had a direct appeal (through no apparent fault of his own), and his trial record allegedly has been destroyed. While Chapman filed multiple motions for post-conviction relief (PCR), no appellate court has ever addressed the merits of his claims, despite potential violations of his constitutional rights. Under these peculiar circumstances, the Supreme Court found that, in the interests of justice, Chapman was entitled to an evidentiary hearing so that he and the State have an opportunity to reconstruct his trial record. View "Chapman v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

David and Kim Cox had two children of their marriage, D.C. and J.C. Cox was the stepfather of Kim's daughter, L.K., born in April 1998. The couple separated in 2009 after L.K. told Kim that Cox had raped her. Kim reported the crime to local law enforcement. In August 2009, Cox was arrested on charges of statutory rape, sexual battery, child abuse, possession of precursors, and possession of methamphetamine. During his nine months in jail prior to posting bond, Cox often would become enraged and would proclaim to his cellmates his hatred for Kim, blaming her for his incarceration. Cox professed to them that he would kill Kim once released. Because Kim feared Cox, she and the children moved in with her sister, Kristie Salmon. Cox was released on bond from the Pontotoc County Jail in April 2010. Cox found work as a commercial truck driver. On his way home one day in spring 2010, Cox purchased a .40 caliber hand gun and two extra magazines, borrowed a van from his sister and brother-in-law and went to Salmon's home. Cox shot his way into the home. Kim, L.K., D.C., J.C., and Salmon were at the home. J.C. and Salmon escaped and called for help. Kim, L.K., and D.C. were taken hostage by Cox for more than eight hours. During the ordeal, Cox shot Kim, and as she lay dying, sexually assaulted L.K. in her presence. The standoff ended when a SWAT team entered the home. Cox was taken into custody. L.K. and D.C. were removed from the scene, and Kim was found dead as a result of her abdominal gunshot wound. Cox was indicted in an eight-count indictment for capital murder, kidnapping (two counts), sexual battery (three counts), burglary, and firing into an occupied dwelling. Cox was declared competent to stand trial, and pleaded guilty to all charges, including capital murder. A jury returned a verdict of death, and the trial court entered a death sentence. Cox raised nine issues of error on appeal of that sentence to the Supreme Court. Finding none, the Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentence. View "Cox v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

After a federal court declared Mack Arthur King ineligible for the death penalty under "Atkins v. Virginia," the circuit court sentenced him to life without parole. King filed a motion objecting to being sentenced to life without parole, arguing that the only sentencing options available at the time he committed the crime were death and life. He argued that 1994 sentencing amendments which added life without parole as a sentencing option for capital murder could not properly be applied to him, because they would have violated the ex post facto clauses of the United States and Mississippi Constitutions. He also argued that his due-process rights would be violated if the circuit court applied Mississippi Code Section 99-19-107 to him. After review, the Supreme Court found that because Section 99-19-107 did not apply when an individual’s death sentence was rendered unconstitutional, King had to be resentenced to life, since death and life were the only two sentencing options available at the time he was convicted and originally sentenced. King’s sentence was vacated, and the case remanded for resentencing. View "King v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The Circuit Court of Copiah County convicted David Dickerson of capital murder, arson, and armed robbery. The jury sentenced him to death for the capital murder conviction; he was sentenced to twenty years for arson and forty years for armed robbery, to run consecutively. Dickerson appeals his convictions and death sentence. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Dickerson v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Andy Brown was indicted and convicted for murder in the stabbing death of Earlie Balford. On appeal, Brown argued: (1) he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) the trial court erred by excluding Brown’s jury instructions; (3) the trial court erred by denying Brown’s motion to quash his indictment; (4) the trial court erred by denying Brown’s motion for directed verdict; (5) the trial court erred by denying Brown’s motion for a new trial; and (6) the trial court erred by excluding evidence Brown sought to introduce from a psychiatric evaluation. Brown further argued that these errors resulted in cumulative error, denying Brown a fair trial in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed Brown’s conviction. View "Brown v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Patrick Fluker filed a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). A grand jury indicted Fluker for one count of armed robbery. As the result of plea bargaining, Fluker entered a guilty plea. The circuit court sentenced him to the maximum of fifteen years with three years to serve, twelve years suspended, and four years on post-release supervision. Fluker was incarcerated until placed on earned-release supervision. The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) officially released him from its custody on April 23, 2005. On May 5, 2005, Fluker was arrested and charged with armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a weapon. The circuit court found that he had violated the terms of his post-release supervision, revoked Fluker’s post-release supervision and imposed his suspended sentence, ordering him to serve twelve years. On motion for post-conviction relied, the circuit court found Fluker's motion to be procedurally barred as a successive pleading and dismissed it. Fluker appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the motion for PCR. The Supreme Court then granted Fluker’s petition for certiorari. After review, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Circuit Court, but clarified and corrected the analysis of the law provided by the Court of Appeals. View "Fluker v. Mississippi" on Justia Law