Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

After being convicted by jury for statutory rape and resisting arrest, defendant Toney Jennings was sentenced to fifteen years: ten years to serve and five years suspended. Jennings received six months for resisting arrest. Jennings appealed the statutory-rape conviction. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The issue before the Supreme Court in this matter centered on whether the trial court erred in admitting Jennings’s arguably involuntary statement to police into evidence. After review, the Court concluded the State clearly failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jennings’s waiver and statement were voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, given the many problems surrounding the waiver and the "dearth" of evidence supporting its voluntariness. The Court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial and a new and reliable suppression hearing in which a specific determination regarding voluntariness could be made, and a record adequately developed. View "Jennings v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Michael Ambrose was indicted for capital murder while in the commission of a robbery in Harrison County, Mississippi. After trial, the jury acquitted Ambrose of capital murder but found him guilty of deliberate design murder. The trial court sentenced Ambrose to life imprisonment. Ambrose appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed Ambrose’s conviction and sentence, finding that the evidence was sufficient to support a murder verdict and the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. View "Ambrose v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

The State indicted John Bartholomew Lowe on five counts of exploitation of a child, alleging that he had downloaded sexually explicit images and videos of children from the internet to his personal computer. The State had no direct evidence that Lowe had downloaded the images; its case depended on the opinions of its expert witness. On appeal of his eventual conviction, Lowe contended that several others had access to his computer, and that someone else had downloaded the material. He requested funds to hire an expert to help prepare his case to refute the State’s expert. The trial court denied Lowe’s request. The Supreme Court concluded that denial deprived Lowe of the opportunity to prepare an adequate defense. Therefore the Supreme Court reversed his conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. View "Lowe v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Jason Hall was indicted and tried on an indictment for burglary of a building. After both sides rested, the State requested and was granted a jury instruction for accessory after the fact to burglary (in addition to the burglary instruction). The jury acquitted Hall of burglary but convicted him of accessory after the fact to burglary. Because Hall was convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted, nor did he waive indictment, the Supreme Court reversed the conviction and vacate Hall's sentence. View "Hall v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Jessica Norton Jordan appealed a declaratory ruling that she was not entitled to a share of her adoptive father’s estate under Mississippi’s pretermitted heir statute. A certified copy of the trial court’s docket indicated that Jordan was still involved in the probate matter. Further, the declaratory judgment did not contain a Rule 54(b) certification or equivalent language. Because the order denying pretermitted heir status was not a final, appealable judgment, the appeal was dismissed. View "Jordan v. Booth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court found that Chancellor D. Neil Harris abused his contempt powers, failed to recuse himself from contempt proceedings, and prevented those he charged with contempt from presenting any defense. This matter stemmed from Judge Harris' presiding over a 2010 case in which the State hired private process servers to pursue child-support and paternity proceedings. The Judge obtained information that suggested some of the parties had not been properly served with process, and that returns on the summonses were falsified. The Judge instituted contempt proceedings against five process services, the owner of the service company, and two notaries public. The Supreme Court found that appropriate sanctions were: a public reprimand, a $2,500 fine, and a $200 assessment of costs. View "Mississippi Comm'n on Judicial Perf. v. Harris" on Justia Law

The Securities and Charities Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State Office brought charges against Marshall Wolfe and Jack Harrington for securities violations pertaining to their operation of SteadiVest, LLC. The Secretary of State found that Wolfe and Harrington had violated Mississippi securities laws, and fines were levied against them. Wolfe and Harrington appealed, and the Chancery Court affirmed. Wolfe and Harrington then appealed to the Supreme Court. After review of the Circuit and Chancery Court records, the Supreme Court found that the chancellor did not err in affirming the Secretary of State's finding that Wolfe and Harrington had violated Mississippi Code Section 75-71-501. The Secretary of State's decision was supported by substantial evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, did not go beyond the Secretary of State's power, and did not violate Wolfe's or Harrington's statutory or constitutional rights. However, the Court found the method used to assess penalties against Wolfe and Harrington was improper, and reversed on that issue. View "Harrington v. Ofc. of Mississippi Sec'y of State" on Justia Law

Regina Dees was convicted of arson and insurance fraud. For arson, the circuit court sentenced Dees to ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with two years to serve and eight years suspended, with three years on post-release supervision. For insurance fraud, the court sentenced Dees to two years to run concurrently with the arson sentence. Dees appealed the convictions and sentences, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting both convictions. Because the evidence sufficiently supported the convictions, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Dees v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Lee Darrell Nix appealed a Court of Appeals judgment affirming the Circuit Court’s denial of his motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). Nix was convicted of touching a child for lustful purposes and kidnapping. His conviction was unanimously affirmed by the Supreme Court on direct appeal. On PCR, Nix argued that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt an essential element of the crime. The Supreme Court concluded that Nix failed to carry his burden showing he was entitled to relief. As such, the trial court did not err in denying his petition. View "Nix v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Two vehicles struck multi-ton counterweights owned by Mitchell Crane Services, Inc., which were on a traveled portion of a highway. The accident occurred in 1999, at night. The occupants of the two vehicles sued Mitchell Crane. During the liability phase of a bifurcated trial, the jury found that a thief was seventy-five percent responsible, and Mitchell Crane was twenty-five percent responsible for any damages. The trial court denied Mitchell Crane’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). At the conclusion of the damages trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Patricia Page and the other plaintiffs. Mitchell Crane renewed its motion for JNOV, which was denied. Mitchell Crane appealed, and Page cross-appealed. Given a jury finding that a thief stole the truck, the trial court erred by not applying our controlling law and granting Mitchell Crane’s original motion for JNOV. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment. View "Mitchell Crane Services, Inc. v. Page" on Justia Law