Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Appellant David Javarious Jamison "Jamie" Renfro was convicted of armed robbery. The victim testified that Renfro entered her trailer home and robbed her at gunpoint. A second eyewitness corroborated most of the victim's testimony. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict, and Renfro was sentenced to twenty years in prison, with five years suspended. On appeal, Renfro argued that the verdict was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and therefore, he was entitled to a new trial. Because the Supreme Court found that it was well-supported by the weight of the evidence, the Court upheld the jury's verdict. View "Renfro v.Mississippi" on Justia Law

Rico Veazy and Brandon Mosley were convicted of armed robbery and were sentenced to eight and ten years, respectively, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections after being tried together in circuit court. The robbery involved a vehicle belonging to Veazy but undergoing repairs by mechanic Jimmy Smith, who testified that the vehicle was taken from his repair shop by gunpoint. Finding no merit in any of the defendants' issues raised on appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment. View "Veazy v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

KCC, Inc., d/b/a Vital Care of Meridian (Vital Care) filed a complaint against the Mississippi State and School Employees' Life and Health Plan ("the Plan") and the Plan’s pharmacy benefits manager, Catalyst Rx, alleging that the Plan and Catalyst had violated Mississippi Code Section 83-9-6 by designating Walgreens Pharmacy as the sole provider of specialty pharmacy services. Later, Vital Care moved for partial summary judgment on the question of whether Section 83-9-6 applied to the Plan. The Chancery Court granted Vital Care’s motion for partial summary judgment, and the Plan and Catalyst appealed. Upon review of the applicable statute, the Supreme Court found that Section 83-9-6 applied to the Plan because it applies to "all health benefit plans providing pharmaceutical services benefits, including prescription drugs, to any resident of Mississippi" and was not ambiguous. View "Mississippi State & School Employees' Life and Health Plan v. KCC, Inc." on Justia Law

In a slip-and-fall case, Laura Karpinsky alleged that she sustained injuries when she fell in a puddle in a shopping mall. The Circuit Court found that Karpinsky had failed to offer any evidence that her fall was caused by negligence attributable to the Defendants, and entered summary judgment against her. The Court of Appeals found that the circuit court had erred and reversed the summary judgment order. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and, finding that the circuit court properly granted summary judgment in this case, reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated and affirmed the order of the circuit court. View "Karpinsky v. American National Insurance Company " on Justia Law

Three main issues were raised on appeal to the Supreme Court in this case: (1) whether a school district is liable for oil and gas severance taxes on its royalty interests derived from oil and gas production on sixteenth-section land (the chancellor ruled that it is not); (2) whether the statute of limitations restricts the time period in which a school district can seek a refund of severance taxes that it had paid erroneously (the chancellor ruled that a three-year statute of limitations applied to any refund claims); and (3) whether a school district is liable for administrative expense taxes on its royalty interests derived from oil and gas production on sixteenth-section land (the chancellor ruled that it is). Upon review of the applicable code and in consideration of the arguments of the parties to this case, the Supreme Court found that the chancellor's judgment should be affirmed in part and reversed in part: (1) school districts are not liable for oil and gas severance taxes on sixteenth-section royalty interests: school districts, as political subdivisions of the state, are not included within the definition of "persons" made subject to these taxes; (2) pursuant to the Mississippi Constitution, statutes of limitation in civil causes do not run against the state or its subdivisions; and (3) school districts are liable for administrative expense taxes on sixteenth-section royalty interests: "[t]hese assessments are 'fees,' not 'taxes'; the Legislature has expressly made the state and its subdivisions subject to these fees; and no constitutional provision or other law is violated by requiring school districts to pay them." View "Jones County School District v. Mississippi Department of Revenue" on Justia Law

John Stubbs was awarded damages for breach of contract after he sued Martin and Valerie Falkner to enforce a construction lien on their home. The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment, but reversed its award of attorney's fees and prejudgment interest, finding that Stubbs's recovery was based in quantum meruit and, thus, attorney's fees and prejudgment interest were unavailable remedies. Stubbs petitioned for certiorari, arguing that the Court of Appeals failed to consider various statutory grounds for an award of attorney's fees. Although the Court of Appeals did not discuss the statutes Stubbs raised, the Supreme Court found that those statutes provided an insufficient basis for an award of either prejudgment interest or attorney's fees in this case. The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision and the judgment of the Circuit Court. View "Falkner v. Stubbs" on Justia Law

Freddie Webber, Jr., was convicted of the sale or transfer of cocaine and was sentenced as a habitual offender to a term of thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) without eligibility for probation or parole. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed Webber's conviction and sentence. View "Webber v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Alexander Gardner sued the City of Jackson, alleging that he had suffered a broken leg when one of the City's police officers forced him to sit down while in handcuffs. The City filed for summary judgment, which was denied by the trial court. On review of the City's interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's denial of summary judgment, finding that the officer's conduct did not rise to the level of reckless disregard for Gardner's safety and well-being. View "City of Jackson v. Gardner" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Talib Hannah was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent. On appeal, he raised two issues: (1) whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Hannah's "Motion for the State to Disclose the Identity of Its Confidential Informant;" and (2) whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Hannah's motion for continuance. As Hannah's Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process to call a witness was not recognized, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction and sentence and remanded the case for a new trial. View "Hannah v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs were two shareholders of a closely held corporation. They attempted to tender their shares to the corporation pursuant to a buy-sell agreement. Unhappy with the corporation's purchase offer, the shareholders brought suit in Chancery Court, and the court in turn submitted the matter to binding arbitration as required by the agreement. The chancellor ultimately rejected the arbitrators' valuations and ordered the corporation to buy plaintiffs' shares at a much higher price. The corporation appealed the chancellor's rejection of the arbitrator's award, and plaintiffs cross-appealed claiming they were entitled to additional damages. Finding no legal basis for setting aside the arbitration award, the Supreme Court reversed the Chancery Court and reinstated the arbitration award. View "Bailey Brake Farms, Inc. v. Trout" on Justia Law