Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court found that Chancellor D. Neil Harris abused his contempt powers, failed to recuse himself from contempt proceedings, and prevented those he charged with contempt from presenting any defense. This matter stemmed from Judge Harris' presiding over a 2010 case in which the State hired private process servers to pursue child-support and paternity proceedings. The Judge obtained information that suggested some of the parties had not been properly served with process, and that returns on the summonses were falsified. The Judge instituted contempt proceedings against five process services, the owner of the service company, and two notaries public. The Supreme Court found that appropriate sanctions were: a public reprimand, a $2,500 fine, and a $200 assessment of costs. View "Mississippi Comm'n on Judicial Perf. v. Harris" on Justia Law

The Securities and Charities Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State Office brought charges against Marshall Wolfe and Jack Harrington for securities violations pertaining to their operation of SteadiVest, LLC. The Secretary of State found that Wolfe and Harrington had violated Mississippi securities laws, and fines were levied against them. Wolfe and Harrington appealed, and the Chancery Court affirmed. Wolfe and Harrington then appealed to the Supreme Court. After review of the Circuit and Chancery Court records, the Supreme Court found that the chancellor did not err in affirming the Secretary of State's finding that Wolfe and Harrington had violated Mississippi Code Section 75-71-501. The Secretary of State's decision was supported by substantial evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, did not go beyond the Secretary of State's power, and did not violate Wolfe's or Harrington's statutory or constitutional rights. However, the Court found the method used to assess penalties against Wolfe and Harrington was improper, and reversed on that issue. View "Harrington v. Ofc. of Mississippi Sec'y of State" on Justia Law

Regina Dees was convicted of arson and insurance fraud. For arson, the circuit court sentenced Dees to ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with two years to serve and eight years suspended, with three years on post-release supervision. For insurance fraud, the court sentenced Dees to two years to run concurrently with the arson sentence. Dees appealed the convictions and sentences, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting both convictions. Because the evidence sufficiently supported the convictions, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Dees v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Lee Darrell Nix appealed a Court of Appeals judgment affirming the Circuit Court’s denial of his motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). Nix was convicted of touching a child for lustful purposes and kidnapping. His conviction was unanimously affirmed by the Supreme Court on direct appeal. On PCR, Nix argued that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt an essential element of the crime. The Supreme Court concluded that Nix failed to carry his burden showing he was entitled to relief. As such, the trial court did not err in denying his petition. View "Nix v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Two vehicles struck multi-ton counterweights owned by Mitchell Crane Services, Inc., which were on a traveled portion of a highway. The accident occurred in 1999, at night. The occupants of the two vehicles sued Mitchell Crane. During the liability phase of a bifurcated trial, the jury found that a thief was seventy-five percent responsible, and Mitchell Crane was twenty-five percent responsible for any damages. The trial court denied Mitchell Crane’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). At the conclusion of the damages trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Patricia Page and the other plaintiffs. Mitchell Crane renewed its motion for JNOV, which was denied. Mitchell Crane appealed, and Page cross-appealed. Given a jury finding that a thief stole the truck, the trial court erred by not applying our controlling law and granting Mitchell Crane’s original motion for JNOV. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment. View "Mitchell Crane Services, Inc. v. Page" on Justia Law

Yardley Shelton Lyons was indicted for carjacking (Count I) and kidnapping (Count II). The indictment accused Lyons of perpetrating these acts against persons over the age of sixty-five years, subjecting him to the elderly sentence enhancement which allowed the court to sentence him to twice the maximum statutory sentence for both counts. After finding Lyons guilty on both counts, the jury also found that he was eligible for the elderly sentence enhancement. The trial court did not impose the sentence enhancement, and instead sentenced Lyons to fifteen years for carjacking and twenty-five years for kidnapping, to be served consecutively. The court later amended Lyons's sentence on Count II, reducing it from twenty-five years to fifteen years. Lyons filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), or for a new trial. This motion was denied. Lyons appealed. After reading the entire transcript and record, the Supreme Court was unable to discern any issues which would warrant additional briefing or reversal. Accordingly, the Court affirmed Lyons' convictions and sentences. View "Lyons v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Terence Jones appealed a Chancery Court's denial of his 2011 petition to disestablish paternity, which relied on Section 93-9-10(3)(c) of the Mississippi Code. Because Jones signed a stipulated agreement of paternity that was approved by court order in 2000, the chancery court properly denied Jones's petition as presented. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the chancery court's judgment denying Jones's petition. View "Jones v. Mallett" on Justia Law

Sacory Brown directly appealed his conviction for burglary of a dwelling to the Supreme Court. Brown received a twenty-five year sentence, with eighteen years to serve and seven years suspended (with five of those years on post-release supervision). On appeal, he argued that the Miranda warning he was given before making an inculpatory statement to the police was insufficient because it did not explicitly inform him of his right to stop talking to the police at any time. He also argued that the twenty-five-year sentence was grossly disproportionate in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Furthermore, he argued that the evidence supporting the verdict was legally insufficient and the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed Brown's conviction and sentence. View "Brown v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Defendant Mickey Johnson argued that law enforcement officers gave defective Miranda warnings and coerced his written statement by promising to forego charges against his fiancée. Defendant was ultimately convicted for possession of cocaine. The Supreme Court found defendant's Miranda warnings were not defective, and was not persuaded that the trial court erred in finding defendant voluntarily gave a statement that included his confession. View "Johnson v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Eboni White of manslaughter, and the trial judge sentenced her to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). White appealed, claiming the trial court erred by: (1) refusing to dismiss her indictment based on certain improper influences on the grand jury; (2) prohibiting her expert witness from giving his opinion at trial on the use of force in self-defense; (3) refusing to instruct the jury on her theory of self-defense; and (4) not allowing her witness to testify because he was in the courtroom during the expert's testimony. Additionally, White challenged the weight and sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction and argued cumulative error. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding no error. The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the issues of whether the trial court erred by excluding the witness' testimony and denying White’s jury instructions, the Court found error and reversed for a new trial. View "White v. Mississippi" on Justia Law