Joseph Ruble Griffin

The case involved Willie Lee White, who was indicted for capital murder as an habitual offender after a robbery at Poo-Nannie's Cafe in Grenada County, Mississippi, during which Annie Dale Lewis was shot and later died. White was convicted by a jury on the guilt phase and sentenced to death after the jury found that aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating ones. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence, holding that the evidence, including identifications and items recovered during arrest, was sufficient to support guilt under the state's felony murder statute without requiring proof of intent to kill, and that sentencing procedures complied with applicable standards.

criminal lawprocedure

This case concerned the rights of parties under the Uniform Commercial Code after a company endorsed a promissory note and a bank later assigned its rights following payment. Comfort Engineering endorsed a note for Fashions by Wisz, Inc., while Hollis Kinsey provided a personal guaranty; after Wisz defaulted, Comfort paid the bank and received an assignment of rights, then obtained a judgment against Kinsey as guarantor. Kinsey later sued Comfort, arguing he was entitled to contribution as a co-surety rather than full liability. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the trial court's summary judgment for Kinsey, holding that Comfort, as holder after assignment, could enforce the guaranty against Kinsey under Miss. Code Ann. § 75-3-416(1) and that Kinsey had waived any contribution defense by failing to raise it in the prior action. The core reasoning rested on the distinction between an accommodation endorser who becomes a holder and a guarantor bound to pay without resort to other parties, combined with principles of claim preclusion.

business & regulatoryprocedure

This case involved Frank Cabello, Sr.'s motion for post-conviction relief under Mississippi law after his conviction and death sentence for the 1982 murder and robbery of Vernon Gurley were affirmed on direct appeal. The Mississippi Supreme Court denied the motion, which raised over twenty-five claims including ineffective assistance of counsel during the guilt phase, conflicts of interest, and various constitutional errors. The court reasoned that many issues were waived for failure to raise them at trial or on direct appeal, that res judicata barred relitigation of previously decided matters, and that the ineffective assistance claims failed to satisfy the two-prong Strickland test requiring deficient performance and resulting prejudice. It emphasized that post-conviction review is limited and not a substitute for direct appeal.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved Ed Hood, a Copiah County supervisor, and several others who were convicted of conspiracy to commit voter fraud by the illegal use of absentee ballots in a Democratic primary election. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the convictions, ruling that the indictment must be quashed because the grand jury was subjected to improper outside influences, including testimony from private attorneys representing a losing candidate in related federal litigation and their presentation of a federal district court opinion criticizing the election. The court held that the grand jury room must remain closed to all unauthorized persons to protect the integrity of the process, relying on longstanding precedent against any external presence during deliberations. The opinion also addressed the separate error of a grand juror later serving on the petit jury but found the grand jury issue dispositive.

criminal lawelectionsprocedure

This case concerned the interpretation of a mineral reservation clause in a 1940 warranty deed conveying land in Mississippi. The plaintiffs, heirs of the grantors, sought a declaratory judgment that they owned an additional one-half mineral interest that had been reserved by the Federal Land Bank but later reverted, while the defendants, heirs of the grantee, claimed it. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the chancellor's ruling in favor of the defendants, holding that the deed's language and the parties' long-standing conduct indicated the grantors had only reserved three-eighths of the minerals, with the reversion going to the grantee to fulfill the warranty of title.

property

The case involved Edgar Monroe's conviction in Hinds County Circuit Court for robbery as a lesser-included offense of armed robbery, along with his sentencing as a recidivist under Mississippi law to 15 years without parole. Monroe appealed, arguing that the trial court should have instructed the jury on assault as a lesser-included offense, that the prosecution's cross-examination of his accomplice improperly commented on his right to remain silent, and that the evidence of his prior convictions was insufficient or improperly admitted at the sentencing hearing. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding that assault was not a proper lesser-included offense in this context, that the cross-examination did not implicate Monroe's constitutional rights, and that the prior conviction records were adequately authenticated by certification and seal under established evidentiary standards. The court rejected all assigned errors after reviewing the trial record and applicable Mississippi evidence rules.

criminal lawprocedure

In Hickson v. State, Denver Ray Hickson was retried and convicted in Wayne County Circuit Court for the 1982 murder of Susan Carole Johnson Culliver, receiving a life sentence without parole as a habitual offender. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction on appeal, finding no reversible error in five assigned issues. The court held that the sheriff's limited role in seating the venire did not require his disqualification as a witness, the State had no duty to call a codefendant as its witness, prior inconsistent statements were properly admitted for impeachment, the State established surprise to justify cross-examining its own witness, and the search warrants were supported by probable cause under the totality of circumstances.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved Harrison Johnson, Jr., Gregory Tubby, and Arlene Johnson Tubby, who were indicted for the 1984 murder of their stepfather Edward John after a family fight escalated outside a trailer. Following a mistrial, a jury convicted Johnson and Tubby of aggravated assault and Arlene of simple assault; the two male defendants appealed their ten-year sentences. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding there was no reversible error in the trial court's rulings on youth court certification for the minor defendant, instructions on lesser-included offenses, admission of confessions, denial of severance, jury challenges, self-defense evidence, or the lack of an interpreter. The court reasoned that the evidence of the altercation, including eyewitness testimony and the defendants' statements, was properly submitted to the jury, which rejected self-defense and found the assaults supported by the record.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved the estate of Jimmy Morris suing prime contractor W.E. Blain & Sons and subcontractor Traffic Control Products for wrongful death after Morris was struck and killed by a car while working on a highway project for his employer, a different subcontractor. The trial court granted summary judgment to both defendants under the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers' Compensation Act. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the prime contractor based on precedent extending immunity to such contractors but reversed as to the fellow subcontractor, ruling that the Act's immunity did not apply because that subcontractor had no obligation to provide workers' compensation coverage for the decedent.

labor & employmenttorts & liability

The case involved Turner Monts, who was injured while leading cable-laying crews for Champion Cable Construction Company in Florida under an oral agreement that included payment per foot of cable laid and provision of workers' compensation coverage. The Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission denied benefits, ruling Monts was a subcontractor rather than an employee, but the circuit court reversed and awarded benefits based on employee status. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the award of compensation, holding that Champion was estopped from denying coverage due to its agreement to insure Monts and his crew and the liberal construction of the Workers' Compensation Act. The court remanded the matter to the Commission for further proceedings on the benefits calculation.

labor & employment

William P. Whitley was convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court on two counts of manslaughter by culpable negligence after driving intoxicated the wrong way on U.S. Highway 90, causing a head-on collision that killed two people. He received concurrent 20-year sentences and appealed, claiming errors in admitting his blood alcohol test results (.29 BAC), certain rebuttal testimony, and an excessive sentence. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding that overwhelming evidence of guilt rendered any evidentiary issues harmless and that the sentences fell within statutory limits and trial court discretion. The court noted probable cause supported the blood test and rejected claims of medical privilege violations or cruel and unusual punishment.

criminal lawprocedure

The case concerned a will contest filed by Mary Belle Davis's great-niece and great-nephew, who alleged mental incompetence and undue influence in the execution of her 1969 will and later codicils. The Chancery Court of Kemper County dismissed the action under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) as barred by the two-year statute of limitations in Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the chancery clerk's admission of the will to probate in vacation was statutorily authorized, the subsequent chancellor's ratification order rendered it valid and final, and the contestants had received notice of the estate proceedings but waited too long to sue.

family lawproperty

The case involved Larry DeWayne Harper's conviction in Clay County Circuit Court for selling less than one ounce of marijuana, for which he received a three-year sentence as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code § 99-19-81. Harper appealed on multiple grounds, including the use of peremptory challenges by the prosecutor to exclude all black venire members, resulting in an all-white jury for the black defendant. The Mississippi Supreme Court found the other assigned errors without merit but addressed the jury selection claim under Batson v. Kentucky, noting that although the trial occurred before Batson, the case was not yet final and the issue had been preserved by timely motions. Relying on Griffith v. Kentucky for retroactive application and Williams v. State, the court reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Harper could make a prima facie showing of racial discrimination and, if so, whether the prosecutor could offer racially neutral explanations for the strikes.

criminal lawcivil rights

Stella Terrell sued Dr. Earnest Rankin for medical malpractice, alleging that his failure to diagnose and treat her pregnancy caused the stillbirth of her viable fetus and personal injuries to her. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant on both the wrongful death and personal injury claims. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed and remanded, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying Terrell's motion for a continuance under Rule 56(f) to obtain an expert affidavit after she encountered delays in retrieving medical records from prior counsel. The court noted that the affidavit from Dr. Lester created genuine issues of material fact regarding the standard of care and that precedent allowed a wrongful death action for a viable fetus under Mississippi's statute.

torts & liabilityprocedurehealthcare

The case involved David Michael McFee's conviction for rape in the Circuit Court of Jones County, Mississippi, where he received a life sentence based on forensic evidence including pubic hair matching the victim's sample, signs of forcible intercourse from the autopsy, and his own statement placing him at the scene. McFee appealed, arguing that the prosecution violated double jeopardy principles and a prior plea bargain from a related capital murder charge (reduced to murder) arising from the same incident. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the prior indictment concerned burglary rather than rape and that the plea agreement did not bar subsequent rape charges, as supported by the record and precedent. The court also addressed evidentiary issues but found no reversible error in the majority opinion.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved J.B. Van Slyke, Jr., who filed suit in the Chancery Court of Forrest County against the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, alleging denial of public records under the Mississippi Public Records Act and challenging the constitutionality of the Board's composition under separation of powers principles in the state constitution. While Van Slyke had a related public records action pending in Hinds County, he sought declaratory and injunctive relief regarding the Board's authority in Forrest County. The Supreme Court of Mississippi granted rehearing and held that venue was improper in Forrest County, determining that under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-13, suits under the Public Records Act must be brought in the chancery court of the county where the public body is located, and thus the motion to change venue should have been sustained.

procedure

The case involved a personal injury lawsuit brought by Robert McRee against Detroit Marine Engineering (DME) after he was injured in a boating accident caused by the failure of a steering mechanism sold by DME. A jury awarded McRee one million dollars in damages based on claims of negligent design and strict products liability. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the verdict, finding sufficient evidence of a fatigue fracture in the steering rod due to defective material and that the trial court's exclusion of certain federal and state boating regulations from evidence was not erroneous because they did not relate to the alleged product misuse. The court also held that the damages were not excessive given McRee's permanent injuries and medical expenses.

torts & liability

In Hentz v. State, the Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed a direct contempt citation against Larry Shelton Hentz, who had appeared as a defense witness in a perjury trial and refused to answer numerous questions on cross-examination about his role in a murder after testifying on direct examination that his brother was responsible. The trial court found Hentz in contempt on 27 occasions for defying orders to answer but imposed sentence on only six counts, resulting in 180 days of incarceration. The Supreme Court addressed whether the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protected Hentz from answering once he had voluntarily testified about the underlying events. The court concluded that the contempt findings were proper because Hentz's direct testimony waived the privilege as to related matters, and he had been adequately warned and represented by counsel before testifying.

criminal lawprocedure

This medical malpractice case arose when plaintiff Kathryn Latham sued two ENT physicians after surgery to remove ear polyps left her with permanent facial paralysis due to damage to the seventh cranial nerve. The trial court granted a directed verdict for the defendants at the close of the plaintiff's case-in-chief, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed. The majority held that Latham failed to present sufficient expert testimony establishing a breach of the local standard of care for informed consent or surgical technique; it further reasoned that the cholesteatoma discovered intraoperatively was not a known risk that needed to be disclosed beforehand. The court rejected arguments that hypothetical questions posed to the defense expert were improperly restricted. A dissent contended that the informed-consent issue presented a jury question even without the cholesteatoma.

torts & liabilityhealthcareprocedure

The case involved Jeffrey Owen White, a Mississippi resident employed by Mississippi-based Malone Properties, Inc., who was injured while working exclusively in Louisiana. White filed a common law damages action in Mississippi circuit court after the deadline for claiming workers' compensation benefits under Louisiana law had passed and no claim had been made. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Louisiana's workers' compensation exclusivity provision and its time limits barred the suit. The court reasoned that when a statute creates a right and sets a deadline for enforcement, that deadline is substantive and applies in other states, following prior precedents on choice of law in workers' compensation cases, and that Louisiana law should govern as the center of gravity with no overriding Mississippi interests.

labor & employmentproceduretorts & liability