Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Defendant John O'Connor was indicted for two counts of gratification of lust. A jury found him guilty on one count but not the other. He was sentenced to fifteen years, ten served, five suspended and five years of supervised probation. Defendant appealed his conviction, raising two allegations of error. Finding no merit to either, the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence. View "O'Connor v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Over two years after his trial, Defendant Patrick Coleman was ordered to a retrospective mental competency hearing by the Court of Appeals because he erroneously had been denied a pretrial one. Finding that the nunc pro tunc competency hearing did not adequately protect Defendant's due process rights, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate and trial courts' decisions and remanded this case back to the trial court for a new trial. View "Coleman v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Natasha Graham for murder and conspiracy to commit murder for which she was sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, she challenged the sufficiency of the evidence at trial. Finding the evidence sufficient for the jury to convict her, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Graham v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Fifteen-year old Lester Lavon Parker, Jr. was convicted for the murder of his grandfather James Shelton. He appealed his sentence to serve the remainder of his "natural life." The issues on appeal to the Supreme Court were: whether the trial court erred in admitting certain photographs at trial; whether the conviction was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence; and whether the sentence violated the Eighth Amendment. The Court affirmed Parker's conviction but vacated his sentence and remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether Parker should have been sentenced to "life imprisonment" or "life imprisonment with eligibility for parole." View "Parker v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Leslie "Bo" Galloway was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of Shakeylia Anderson. Galloway appealed to the Supreme Court, listing thirty evidentiary and procedural errors, and that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. In an one-hundred page opinion, the Supreme Court took each in turn and ultimately concluded that all of Galloway's arguments were without merit. View "Galloway v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Mari Lynn Hays (Alexander) appealed the denial of a motion for contempt and modification of alimony and child-support in her capacity as conservator for Lon Frederick ("Rick") Alexander, II, her adult son. In it, she sought unpaid alimony and child-support payments, and additional financial support from her former husband Lon Frederick Alexander. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the chancery court did not abuse its discretion by declining to require Lon to provide post-majority financial support for Rick. View " Hays (Alexander) v. Alexander" on Justia Law

Tevin James Benjamin was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Benjamin was convicted for his alleged role in a failed carjacking that ended when an accomplice fatally wounded one of the victims. Benjamin appealed, arguing that his statement to police was taken in violation of his Miranda rights. Agreeing, the Supreme Court reversed Benjamin's conviction and sentence and remanded the case for a new trial. View " Benjamin v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Dwayne Boyd was convicted of the sale of marijuana, greater than thirty grams but less than one kilogram, within 1,500 feet of a school or within 1,000 feet of the real property of a school. He was sentenced, as a subsequent drug offender, to 120 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with sixty years to serve and five years of supervised post-release supervision. The Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction and sentence. Upon review of Boyd's arguments on appeal, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Boyd's motion for continuance to secure new counsel on the day of trial. But the Court did find that Boyd did not receive timely notice that the State would seek a post-conviction amendment to the indictment and such action constituted unfair surprise. Therefore, the Court affirmed Boyd's conviction, but vacated his sentence and remanded for resentencing. View "Boyd v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

In a conviction for driving under the influence first offense, speeding, and littering, the State lost key evidence prior to the defendant's de novo trial in county court, while it was under a court order to preserve the evidence. The State's actions violated the defendant's due process right to present a complete defense. Furthermore, the county court improperly admitted proof of the radar device's accuracy under the business records hearsay exception. However, there was sufficient evidence to support the defendant's speeding conviction in the officer's testimony regarding the defendant's speed. The Supreme Court reversed the DUI conviction, but affirmed the speeding conviction, because it is supported by sufficient evidence. The Court found defendant did not adequately contest the littering conviction; thus the Court affirmed that conviction. View "Freeman v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

In 2011, Verina Childs was convicted of murdering her husband, Douglas Childs following a four-day jury trial. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). After her conviction, Childs filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. On appeal, Childs argued: (1) the State violated Childs' due-process rights by destroying evidence in violation of state law; (2) Childs was denied her fundamental right to alternative theories of defense; and (3) the State failed to prove deliberate-design murder. Because the Supreme Court found that the trial court did not err in its judgment of conviction, the Court affirmed on all three issues. View "Childs v. Mississippi" on Justia Law