Justia Mississippi Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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

Thomas Blanton petitioned the Mississippi Supreme Court to invalidate rate increases approved by the Public Service Commission for Mississippi Power Company (“MPC”). After review of the controlling law and statutes, the Constitutions of the United States and Mississippi, and a comprehensive review of the Commission proceedings, the Supreme Court concluded that Commission failed to comply with the language of the Base Load Act, inter alia, and exceeded its authority granted by the Act. The increased rates were achieved by including "mirror CWIP" in the rate base and rates. The increased rates for 186,000 South Mississippi ratepayers failed to comport with the Act or, otherwise, with Mississippi law. Accordingly, the order granting rate increases was reversed, and the matter remanded to the Commission for further proceedings. View "Mississippi Power Company, Inc. v. Mississippi Public Service Comm'n" 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

Appellant Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (“the State”) had a search warrant signed and executed at the home of Bobby Ray Canada and Beverly Turman. Section one of the warrant, where the location for the search to be executed, was left completely blank. The State collected, among other things, $293,720 from the home, and the State then filed a civil forfeiture action. Canada and Turman filed a summary judgment motion, arguing that the search warrant was blank and void, and therefore, the search violated their Fourth Amendment Rights. The trial judge granted the summary judgment motion. The State appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Mississippi, Ex Rel. Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics v. Canada" on Justia Law

Phillip and Paige Faucheux were a military couple who moved frequently during the early years of their marriage. In early 2002, Phillip got a job as a pilot with FedEx in Memphis, so the couple moved to Southaven, Mississippi (a suburb of Memphis just south of the Tennessee border). Phillip also served as a naval reserve pilot, often training at the Naval Air Station in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Because of his frequent trips to Louisiana, he kept a Louisiana-registered pick-up truck parked at the New Orleans airport. On a trip to Louisiana during Carnival Season in January 2004, that Phillip met and began an extramarital affair with Francesca Munne Nordness. In June 2004, Paige discovered the affair. Eventually the couple reconciled their marriage, yet Phillip secretly continued his relationship with Francesca in New Orleans. In October 2004, Francesca moved from New Orleans to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Phillip stopped seeing her. But several months later in early 2005, Phillip hopped a FedEx flight to North Carolina and showed up unannounced at the hospital where Francesca worked, professing his love for her and begging her to see him again. From 2005 to 2009, Francesca and Phillip continued to rendezvous at locations across the country, including Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, and Colorado (but never Mississippi). And although the two exchanged e-mails, phone calls, and text messages, Francesca never knowingly communicated with Phillip while he was in Mississippi. Phillip also sent Francesca several FedEx packages during this time, but according to Phillip’s uncontroverted testimony, he always used a Memphis return address. Phillip’s continued infidelity proved too much for Paige and, in August 2010, she was granted an irreconcilable-differences divorce from Phillip. Following the couple’s divorce, Paige (now a resident of Texas) sued Francesca in Mississippi for alienation of affections, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and punitive damages. Francesca immediately challenged the suit by moving the court to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction over her. Francesca ultimately lost at the trial court level, and she appealed. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed, finding she did not have enough minimum contacts with Mississippi for a Mississippi court to have jurisdiction over her. View "Nordness v. Faucheux" on Justia Law

Charles Burleson II appealed his conviction and sentence for capital murder (with the underlying felony of robbery). Finding that the trial court erred in amending Burleson’s indictment to charge him as a violent habitual offender and in denying Burleson’s proffered circumstantial-evidence instruction, the Supreme Court reversed Burleson’s conviction and sentence and remanded this case for a new trial. View "Burleson v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

James and Melanie Hanlin were divorced in 2007 and entered a property settlement agreement, a term of which required that James maintain military healthcare coverage “allowable by statute” for Melanie. After the divorce, Melanie incurred significant medical expenses, which James’s insurer initially paid. In 2009, however, Melanie learned that she had not been covered. She was sued for her unpaid medical bills. In response to a contempt petition filed by James in 2012, which later was withdrawn, Melanie filed a counter petition against James, arguing that he had failed to maintain coverage in accordance with the terms of the property settlement agreement. The chancellor found that each party was obligated to pay half of Melanie’s medical expenses. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Finding that James was not in breach of the plain provisions of the property settlement agreement, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate and chancery courts and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Hanlin v. Hanlin" on Justia Law

The Commission on Judicial Performance filed a formal complaint against Rickey W. Thompson, Justice Court Judge, District 4, Lee County, charging him with judicial misconduct constituting violations of Canons 1, 2A, 2B, 3B(1), 3B(2), 3B(4), 3B(8), 3C(1), and 3C(2) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and constituting willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brought the judicial office into disrepute in violation of Section 177A of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, as amended. "We are concerned, and take into consideration, that Judge Thompson has not taken responsibility for his actions, and the likelihood of those actions being repeated in the future is great. Judge Thompson’s willful disregard for his past discipline 'illustrates the magnitude of the [offenses] and indifference to litigants and [the Commission and the Supreme] Court in continuing to engage in [misconduct].'" The Supreme Court agreed with the Commission's recommendation and ordered that Judge Thompson: (1) be removed from office; and (2) be assessed fines and costs of the proceedings. View "Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance v. Thompson" on Justia Law

More than three years after learning his insurance policy had expired and his agent had not procured a replacement, Joe Tally sued his insurance agent, Ronald McMorris, claiming he “breached a standard of care recognized in the State of Mississippi to the insured for not notifying [him] of the cancellation of [his insurance] policy.” Because Tally failed to bring his claims within the three-year statute of limitations, his claims were time-barred. The Supreme Court therefore reversed the circuit court’s denial of McMorris’s motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment in his favor. View "McMorris v. Tally" on Justia Law

The City of Richland began enforcing a zoning ordinance that regulated nonconforming uses, and as a result, prohibited Cleveland MHC, LLC from replacing mobile homes that were removed from its property. The circuit court upheld the City’s decision, and Cleveland MHC appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed. The City petitioned for certiorari review. The Supreme Court found that the City’s interpretation of the nonconforming use ordinance in its July 2011 resolution was both arbitrary and capricious and violated Cleveland MHC’s constitutional right to enjoy its property. The Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals. The circuit court's decision was reversed and remanded. View "Cleveland MHC, LLC v. City of Richland" on Justia Law