Michael D. Sullivan

The case involved a dispute over whether a circuit judge could refuse the prosecutor's motion to dismiss two indictments against Stephanie and Mike Timmons for drug offenses, where the dismissals were part of a plea agreement approved by a different judge in the same court. The Mississippi Supreme Court held that the judge abused her discretion in denying the nolle prosequi motion. The court reasoned that although the district attorney should have obtained consent from both judges under Mississippi Code § 99-15-53 before entering the plea deal, the defendants had detrimentally relied on the agreement by pleading guilty to other charges, binding both the prosecutor and the court to dismiss the remaining indictments.

criminal lawprocedure

The case was a direct appeal by Tommie Weatherspoon from his conviction for possession of cocaine, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison following a jury trial in Madison County Circuit Court. Weatherspoon challenged the trial court's denial of funds for a fingerprint expert to examine matchboxes containing the drugs, the exclusion of evidence regarding his willingness to take a polygraph test, and the prosecutor's closing argument that likened individual rocks of crack cocaine to specific crimes such as murder, burglary, and rape. The majority of the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding that the prosecutor's remarks were improper, the trial court's sustaining of the objection was insufficient to cure the prejudice, and the comments likely affected the verdict. On the fingerprint expert request, the court found no abuse of discretion in denying it because matchboxes are unlikely to yield usable prints and the results would not have resolved the factual dispute created by the officer's testimony versus the defendant's denial. Dissenting opinions addressed the polygraph issue and argued that the closing argument did not warrant reversal given the strength of the evidence.

criminal lawprocedure

In Chevalier v. State, Mark Chevalier was convicted of kidnapping his estranged wife Karen after he forcibly took her and their child from a doctor's office parking lot, drove away despite police intervention, and later hid with her at his mother's house. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded for further proceedings, holding that the trial court erred by permitting the State to amend the indictment mid-trial to remove the word "secretly," which altered a substantive element of the charged offense under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-53. The court also found reversible error in the jury instructions, which failed to adequately set forth the required elements of kidnapping, including the intent to secretly confine the victim. Other issues raised on appeal, such as the exclusion of certain testimony and sentencing, were addressed but did not affect the reversal.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involves Kendrick Berry's appeal from his robbery conviction and sentence in Mississippi state court after he pled guilty to the reduced charge in exchange for a recommended suspended sentence. After discovering Berry's prior felony conviction, the trial court ruled the initial oral suspended sentence invalid under state law prohibiting such sentences for felons, denied Berry's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and resentenced him to five years in prison. Berry argued on appeal that he should have been allowed to withdraw his plea, but the Mississippi Supreme Court held it lacked jurisdiction to review the plea itself on direct appeal and could only consider the sentence. The court affirmed the five-year sentence, finding it fell within the statutory maximum of fifteen years for robbery and was therefore valid and within the trial court's discretion. The court noted that challenges to the plea would need to be raised in a separate post-conviction relief proceeding.

criminal lawprocedure

James C. Steele petitioned the Mississippi Supreme Court for reinstatement to the practice of law after a six-month suspension for violating multiple Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, including failures to follow client objectives, act diligently, keep clients informed, charge reasonable fees, return a retainer, and cooperate with disciplinary authorities in a grandparents' visitation matter. The court granted the petition for reinstatement. It determined that Steele had satisfied Rule 12's jurisdictional requirements by completing restitution payments, paying investigatory fees, demonstrating legal learning through continuing education and research, and showing rehabilitation and remorse via character references and personal statements, even though the Bar took no position on the petition.

procedure

The case concerned a dispute over the City of Durant's award of a public construction contract to King Metal Buildings, Inc., the lowest bidder, whose sealed bid envelope lacked the contractor's Certificate of Responsibility number on the exterior as required by Miss. Code Ann. § 31-3-21, despite the number appearing inside the bid documents. Laws Construction Co., the second-lowest bidder, protested the award, and the circuit court ruled the bid invalid, holding that the City violated the statute by opening and considering it; because the project was substantially completed during the appeal, the court awarded Laws compensatory damages, costs, and attorneys' fees instead of the contract. On appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court after rehearing, the majority opinion addressed the validity of the circuit court's judgment, while a dissent argued that the procurement statute does not authorize a private damages action by an unsuccessful bidder against the governmental entity.

business & regulatoryprocedure

This case arose after federal courts upheld Mississippi's parental consent requirement for minors seeking abortions and its informed consent statute against U.S. Constitution challenges in Barnes v. Mississippi and Barnes v. Moore. Plaintiffs including Pro-Choice Mississippi and several abortion providers then sued in state court, claiming the same laws violated privacy and due process protections under the Mississippi Constitution. The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the statutes' judicial bypass procedures, two-parent consent rules, and waiting periods, comparing them to federal precedents like Casey and Bellotti as well as other states' constitutions, to determine their validity under state law.

abortioncivil rightsfamily law

The case involved a wrongful death action filed by the parents of Andre Jones, who died by hanging in the Simpson County Jail while awaiting trial on minor charges, against various local law enforcement officials, counties, cities, and state defendants, alleging negligence and other claims related to jail conditions and prisoner treatment. The Mississippi Supreme Court addressed an interlocutory appeal on the issue of venue after the trial court in Hinds County denied motions to dismiss or transfer based on improper venue. The court held that venue in Hinds County was never proper because the resident state defendants had been properly dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, as they owed no duty to the decedent who was held in a local facility. The reasoning centered on Mississippi venue statutes requiring a reasonable claim of liability against resident defendants to establish venue, which was not satisfied here given the dismissals and lack of factual support for including the state parties.

proceduretorts & liability

The case involved a dispute over the allocation of settlement funds in a wrongful death action arising from a 1990 car accident in Mississippi. After a later determination that the decedent's marriage was invalid and her estate's heirs were her parents and siblings rather than her purported spouse, the successor administratrix moved to vacate a 1993 circuit court order that had permitted the workers' compensation insurer to apply estate funds toward its lien against the spouse. The circuit court denied the motion as untimely under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). The Supreme Court reversed and remanded, concluding that the motion was brought within a reasonable time under the catch-all provision of Rule 60(b)(6) so that the merits could be addressed to promote justice.

proceduretorts & liabilityfamily law

The case involved a medical services provider suing a non-custodial parent for unpaid bills totaling $23,765 for treatment provided to his minor daughter over a period of more than a year following the parents' divorce. The trial court granted summary judgment to the parent, dismissing the direct action by the third-party provider. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court applied Maryland law under a center-of-gravity choice-of-law analysis, because that state had the most substantial contacts with the services rendered, the child, and the provider. It held that the non-custodial parent could be liable, reasoning that Maryland statutes impose joint and several parental responsibility for a child's support and medical care that continues after divorce and runs directly to the service provider.

family lawhealthcare

Shirley Thompson, a casino change person employed by Casino Magic, suffered injuries while working on the Dubuque Belle (a vessel) and later on the Casino Magic barge, and she sued under the Jones Act and general maritime law claiming the vessels were unseaworthy. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that Thompson was not a seaman and thus not entitled to Jones Act remedies. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning that the undisputed facts showed Thompson's assignment to the Dubuque Belle was temporary and rotational with no duties related to navigation or operation of the vessel, her connection to it was not substantial, and she was not exposed to the perils of the sea. The court also noted that unseaworthiness claims require seaman status, which was absent here.

labor & employmentproceduretorts & liability

In Owens v. State, McKinley Owens was convicted of selling cocaine as a habitual offender and sentenced to thirty years in prison. The Mississippi Supreme Court granted certiorari to review whether the trial court properly admitted a statement by alleged accomplice Robert Dent under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule in Mississippi Rule of Evidence 803(2). The Court held that the statement, made approximately an hour after the events at issue, did not qualify as an excited utterance because it was not made while the declarant was still under the stress of excitement from the startling event. As a result, the admission of the statement was erroneous, the conviction was reversed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings. The Court did not address the Confrontation Clause issue.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved Justin Underwood, who was indicted and tried in Madison County Circuit Court for the capital murder of Virginia Ann Harris, whom he was accused of kidnapping and shooting to death on February 15, 1994. After a jury found him guilty and recommended the death penalty, the trial court imposed a sentence of death by lethal injection. On direct appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the guilt-phase evidence, including the condition of the victim's home and car indicating she had been taken against her will, along with procedural aspects of the trial and sentencing. The court affirmed the conviction and death sentence, finding the evidence sufficient to support the jury's verdict under the capital murder statute.

criminal law

The case concerned a dispute between the mayor of Canton, Mississippi, and the board of aldermen over the appointment of a municipal judge, the mayor's veto of the reappointment, her unilateral suspension of the judge for alleged political activity violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, and her appointment of a replacement judge pro tempore. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment in favor of the board and the original appointee. The core reasoning was that the mayor lacked unilateral authority to suspend or appoint without board approval, the board validly overrode the veto at a properly called meeting despite the mayor's absence, and any judicial conduct violations should be addressed through the Judicial Performance Commission rather than by mayoral action.

procedure

In White v. State, Tommy White was convicted in Mississippi circuit court on three separate counts related to operating a chop shop: conspiracy to operate one, jointly operating one with an accomplice, and individually operating one, based on evidence from searches of his salvage yard showing stolen vehicles and parts. White appealed, arguing the convictions were against the weight of the evidence and that the multiple convictions violated double jeopardy by punishing him twice for the same conduct. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conspiracy and joint operation convictions but reversed and rendered the individual operation conviction, holding that counts II and III constituted the same offense under the double jeopardy clause's protection against multiple punishments. The court reviewed the double jeopardy claim as plain error despite it not being raised at trial, applying precedents like North Carolina v. Pearce and the Blockburger test to determine the offenses were not distinct.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved a dispute over a $4,000 life insurance policy issued by American Funeral Assurance Company to Lucille Kitchens, who died shortly after the policy's issuance from pancreatic cancer; the company denied the claim upon discovering undisclosed diabetes and prior hospitalizations, leading the estate's administratrix to sue for breach of contract, tortious breach, and fraud. The chancery court awarded compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages, finding the agent had failed to record health information and acted in bad faith, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. On certiorari, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the compensatory award, concluding substantial evidence supported the finding that the agent's actions caused the denial, but reversed the punitive damages. It held that the statutory punitive damages provision did not apply to contract claims, requiring instead common-law proof of malice or gross negligence constituting an independent tort, which the record did not establish beyond ordinary negligence.

business & regulatorytorts & liability

The case was a petition for writ of certiorari by Brian C. Hickson after his 1993 conviction for sexual battery and the Court of Appeals' 1996 affirmance of the trial court's rulings. Hickson raised four issues: the state's failure to timely disclose two witnesses' identifications of him as the perpetrator under Uniform Criminal Rule 4.06, improper denial of his motion in limine to exclude a prior conviction and its effect on his right to testify, and improper cross-examination of his wife regarding her post-arrest silence and refusal to speak with prosecutors. The court reviewed the trial record showing changed witness identifications at trial, the five-factor balancing test for prior convictions, and precedent on using witness silence for impeachment, analyzing whether discovery violations or evidentiary errors warranted a new trial or mistrial.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved Gerry Lynn Lester, who was indicted, tried, and convicted of capital murder for the death of his one-year-old daughter during the commission of felonious child abuse, and sentenced to death by lethal injection. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and death sentence and remanded for a new trial after identifying multiple reversible errors, including the trial court's allowance of an amendment to the indictment that expanded the time period of the charged abuse, denial of a defense continuance that impaired preparation and effective assistance of counsel, and improper admission of evidence concerning prior bad acts and assaults. The court concluded that these errors, combined with additional issues involving voir dire and cumulative prejudicial evidence, required reversal to ensure a fair trial.

criminal lawprocedure

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance brought a complaint against Justice Court Judge Charles L. Vess alleging that he engaged in ex parte communications with a defendant, her family, the arresting officer, and the prosecutor in a criminal case involving drug charges and probation revocation, and that he improperly interfered with the defendant's attempt to post bond. A hearing tribunal found the charges well-founded and recommended a public reprimand plus costs, which the Commission adopted and jointly moved the Supreme Court to approve. The court granted the motion, holding that Judge Vess's actions violated Canons 1, 2A, 2B, 3A(1), 3A(4), and 3C(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct by creating an appearance of partiality and exceeding his authority. The court reasoned that the sanction was consistent with prior decisions imposing public reprimands for comparable ex parte communications and interference by justice court judges.

criminal lawprocedure

In Hall v. State, Jasper Hall was convicted in Sunflower County Circuit Court of two counts of capital rape of his nine-year-old daughter and sentenced to concurrent life terms. On certiorari, the Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed three evidentiary issues from the trial and Court of Appeals: admission of expert opinion testimony on the victim's truthfulness, use of a medical photograph taken over a year after the incident, and exclusion of impeachment testimony from the defendant's wife regarding the victim's statements. The court found the first two issues without merit under the Mississippi Rules of Evidence and held that while the trial court should have permitted the impeachment evidence on the third issue, the error was harmless given the strength of other testimony and evidence supporting the conviction. Accordingly, the court affirmed the conviction and sentences.

criminal lawprocedure