Dan M. Lee

The case involved Elemetric Brown suing the Houston School District and its employees after her eight-year-old special education son, Corey Jones, ran away from school supervision on April 29, 1991, and was later found dead in a nearby creek. Brown asserted a state wrongful death claim along with federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for civil rights violations and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants. The court held that Brown provided no basis for the federal claims and that the wrongful death claim was barred by sovereign immunity under Mississippi Code § 11-46-1 et seq., with no genuine issues of material fact precluding dismissal.

civil rightsproceduretorts & liability

Anthony Collins was convicted of murder in Mississippi state court after shooting Jerry West during a confrontation in a parking lot following an altercation involving Collins's brother, with Collins claiming the shooting was in self-defense. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. The court held that the trial judge committed reversible error by sending the entire Black's Law Dictionary to the jury room, without limitations or safeguards, after the jury requested a definition of premeditation during deliberations.

criminal lawprocedure

In Howard v. State, Eddie Lee Howard was indicted and tried for capital murder during the commission of rape, convicted by a jury, and sentenced to death after representing himself at trial with standby counsel. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and death sentence, holding that the trial court committed reversible error on three key issues. The court found that Howard was improperly allowed to proceed pro se without adequate safeguards ensuring a fair trial, that standby counsel should have been permitted to deliver the defense closing argument at the guilt phase, and that the admission of unreliable bite-mark comparison testimony from the state's expert violated due process. These errors undermined confidence in the verdict and required reversal without addressing the remaining assignments of error.

criminal lawprocedurecivil rights

In Howard v. State, the Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the capital murder conviction and death sentence of Eddie Lee Howard for the 1992 rape and killing of an elderly woman, where Howard had elected to represent himself at trial with standby counsel. The court reversed the conviction and sentence, holding that the trial court erred in permitting Howard to proceed pro se without adequate safeguards, in denying his request for standby counsel to deliver the guilt-phase closing argument, and in admitting unreliable bite-mark expert testimony without proper scrutiny of its scientific basis. The decision focused on violations of the right to counsel, self-representation standards, and due process requirements for a fair trial, without addressing the remaining assignments of error such as jury selection or speedy trial claims. The court emphasized that these procedural and evidentiary flaws undermined confidence in the verdict and sentencing.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved state service employees who resigned from the Mississippi Department of Health after alleging discriminatory employment conditions and invoked the Employee Appeals Board (EAB) for review of their grievances under the state civil service system, but before the EAB completed its evidentiary hearings they filed an original suit in circuit court, prompting the EAB to issue an interlocutory order purporting to transfer the matter and relinquish jurisdiction. The circuit court vacated the transfer order and dismissed the complaint, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the EAB lacked statutory authority to transfer a pending matter to circuit court and that the only path to judicial review was limited appellate review of a final EAB decision on the merits rather than an original action. The Court reasoned that the statewide personnel statutes establish primary and exclusive EAB jurisdiction over such employment grievances, requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies before any court involvement, and rejected arguments that federal claims or requested relief outside EAB authority permitted bypassing this process.

labor & employmentprocedurecivil rights

The case involved the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance charging Municipal Judge John W. Whitten, III, with misconduct after he and associates stopped a vehicle at gunpoint on a neighbor's property, fired shots including one that disabled the tire, detained the occupants, and made threats. The Commission found violations of judicial conduct canons and recommended a public reprimand and $2,500 fine. The Supreme Court accepted these findings and recommendations, imposing the reprimand, fine, and costs, based on the need to maintain public confidence in the judiciary and deter similar conduct.

gunscriminal lawpropertyprocedure