Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

In 1998, Michael Johnson, then 17, conspired with Aaron Johnson to murder Aaron’s roommate, Dustin Sean Parker. They planned the murder for hours, eventually deciding to bludgeon Parker to death with a metal barbell. After killing Parker, they wrapped his body in plastic bags and buried it in the woods. Johnson later bragged about the murder, leading to his arrest and conviction for deliberate-design murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.The Rankin County Circuit Court initially sentenced Johnson to life without parole. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. Alabama, which deemed mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles unconstitutional, Johnson sought post-conviction relief. The trial court vacated his sentence and held a new hearing, considering the Miller factors. Despite this, the court reinstated Johnson’s life sentence, ruling that the parole statute's application was not unconstitutional.The Supreme Court of Mississippi reviewed the case. Johnson argued that the trial court misapplied the law and facts and that Mississippi Code Section 99-19-101 required jury sentencing for juveniles. The court found that recent statutory amendments did not entitle Johnson to jury sentencing, as he was convicted before July 1, 2024. The court also upheld the trial court's application of the Miller factors, noting Johnson’s age, the premeditated nature of the crime, and the lack of evidence suggesting his immaturity or inability to understand the consequences of his actions. The court affirmed the trial court’s decision, maintaining Johnson’s life sentence without parole. View "Johnson v. State" on Justia Law

In 2000, Antonio McDowell, a juvenile at the time, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole. Following a 2012 Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which deemed mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile defendants unconstitutional, McDowell's sentence was vacated. The trial court then proceeded with a jury trial for sentencing under Mississippi Code Section 99-19-101. The jury, after considering evidence related to the Miller criteria, was unable to agree on a sentence. The trial judge, instead of imposing a sentence of life, sentenced McDowell to life without parole, a decision that was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.The Mississippi Supreme Court, on certiorari review, found that the trial court's decision to proceed with a jury trial for sentencing under Section 99-19-101 made the section applicable to the entirety of the proceedings. This applicability continued when the jury failed to agree on a sentence. Therefore, the trial court erred by conducting the Miller analysis and sentencing McDowell to life without parole. The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the trial court and remanded the case back to the trial court for proceedings consistent with its opinion. View "McDowell v. State" on Justia Law

The case revolves around two Senate Bills—2780 and 3064—passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 2022. Senate Bill 2780 established the Independent Schools Infrastructure Grant Program (ISIGP), which allowed independent schools to apply for reimbursable grants for infrastructure projects funded by the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds under the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Senate Bill 3064 allocated $10 million from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund to ISIGP. Parents for Public Schools (PPS), a nonprofit organization advocating for public schools, filed a complaint alleging that ISIGP violated the Mississippi Constitution by appropriating public funds to private schools. PPS sought injunctive and declaratory relief, asserting associational standing on behalf of its members.The Chancery Court of Hinds County found that PPS had established associational standing. It also found that Senate Bills 2780 and 3064 violated the Mississippi Constitution by appropriating public funds to private schools. The court denied a motion to intervene by the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), which sought to challenge the constitutionality of the relevant section of the Mississippi Constitution under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.The Supreme Court of Mississippi, however, found that PPS lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. The court determined that PPS failed to demonstrate an adverse impact different from that of the general public. The court noted that the funds at issue were federal, not state, funds earmarked for specific infrastructure needs, and were not commingled with state funds. The court also found that PPS's challenge to general government spending was too attenuated to bestow standing. As a result, the court vacated the judgment of the Hinds County Chancery Court and rendered judgment dismissing PPS's complaint. View "Midsouth Association of Independent Schools v. Parents for Public Schools" on Justia Law

In this case, Dwan Wakefield aided Byron McBride after McBride committed a car theft, kidnapping, and murder. Wakefield was convicted under Mississippi Code Section 97-1-5 for three counts of aiding McBride in the aforementioned crimes. He appealed to the Supreme Court of Mississippi, arguing that being charged multiple times for being an accessory after the fact for each felony committed by the principal violated the Fifth Amendment's protection against double jeopardy.The court found that, under the unit of prosecution test, the State may charge multiple violations of Section 97-1-5 for each felony committed. The court argued that each felony committed by the principal constitutes a separate unit of prosecution, allowing for multiple convictions under the statute. Wakefield's argument was based on the belief that he committed a single act (giving McBride a ride home) while McBride committed three distinct acts (auto theft, kidnapping, and murder). However, the court disagreed and upheld the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Madison County Circuit Court.In conclusion, the court held that for the purposes of Mississippi’s accessory after the fact statute, Section 97-1-5, each felony committed by a principal offender constitutes a single unit of prosecution. Therefore, Wakefield was not put in jeopardy by being charged with three separate counts under Section 97-1-5. The court affirmed the lower court's decision. View "Wakefield v. State of Mississippi" on Justia Law

In this case, the Supreme Court of Mississippi heard an appeal by Christopher Stewart who was convicted on two counts of sexual battery against his two preteen nieces. Stewart argued that he was entitled to a new trial because he was not physically present at a pretrial tender-years hearing due to COVID-19 restrictions and also claimed that the evidence presented was insufficient. The court affirmed both convictions and sentences. It held that Stewart's virtual attendance at the hearing due to the COVID-19 pandemic did not constitute reversible error as he was able to cross-examine the witnesses at the trial where he was physically present. The court referred to a similar case (Kentucky v. Stincer) where the Supreme Court found no Confrontation Clause or due-process violation for a defendant's exclusion from a pretrial hearing. As for the sufficiency of the evidence, the court rejected Stewart's claim that the State had to prove all three methods of penetration (vaginal, anal, and oral) as charged in the indictment. The court found that there was evidence of all three types of penetration and, in any case, the State only needed to prove one form of penetration to establish the offense of sexual battery. View "Christopher Stewart v. State of Mississippi" on Justia Law

In 2004, De’Andre Dampier was convicted of a capital murder committed during an auto-dealership robbery when he was 16 years old. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, which was the only statutory sentence available at the time. In 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled that imposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences on juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment. Based on this ruling, the Supreme Court of Mississippi granted Dampier’s request to seek post-conviction relief from his life-without-parole sentence. However, before the trial court addressed any of the factors from the US Supreme Court decision, it vacated Dampier’s life-without-parole sentence. Dampier then requested that a jury be convened to decide if he should be sentenced to life with or without parole, but the trial judge denied this request. After a hearing in which the trial judge considered the factors from the US Supreme Court decision, the judge reimposed a sentence of life in prison without parole.The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the decisions of the lower courts, holding that Dampier did not have a statutory right to be sentenced by a jury. The court emphasized that the decision to be made by the trial court was whether Dampier was entitled to post-conviction relief from his life-without-parole sentence, imposed for a crime committed when he was a juvenile. The court also agreed with the lower courts that the trial judge did not err by denying Dampier’s request for jury sentencing. Furthermore, the court agreed with the lower courts that the trial court did not err by ruling that, after a careful consideration of the factors from the US Supreme Court decision, life without parole was an appropriate sentence for Dampier’s crime. View "Dampier v. State of Mississippi" on Justia Law

In February 2003, Devin Bennett was found guilty of capital murder, and a jury sentenced him to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Bennett’s conviction and sentence on appeal. In 2006, Bennett sought leave from the Court to file a motion for post-conviction relief. The Supreme Court ultimately determined that Bennett was entitled to seek post-conviction relief on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase of his trial. Bennett filed his PCR petition on October 1, 2008, and an amended petition on May 16, 2012. On March 25, 2021, the circuit court held an evidentiary hearing, and it ultimately denied Bennett’s amended petition. Bennett appealed again, but the Supreme Court upheld the denial: "while counsel might be faulted for not more thoroughly investigating the alternative mitigation case Bennett presented at the PCR hearing, we cannot find any reasonable probability that doing so would have led to a different outcome. In fact, although Bennett had fifteen years to assemble an alternative mitigation case, we agree with the trial judge that the additional evidence would have hurt Bennett more than it helped him." View "Bennett v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Nathan Lollis and his codefendants, Marcel Smith and Charles Wells, were convicted by jury of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Lollis received a life sentence for murder and twenty years for conspiracy to commit murder. The trial court denied Lollis’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. He appealed, raising sufficiency of the evidence as the sole issue on appeal. Finding no error, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed. View "Lollis v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

In August 2023, the Mississippi Supreme Court granted Kelton Hathorne Sr.’s petition for writ of certiorari. Hathorne appealed a circuit court order that denied his motion for post-conviction collateral relief. On appeal, Hathorne argued his indictment was defective because it failed to charge a crime. The Court of Appeals agreed that the indictment was defective; however, it determined Hathorne’s claim was procedurally barred under the Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act and, thus, affirmed the circuit court’s order. After review, the Supreme Court found the Court of Appeals erred by affirming the judgment of the circuit court and that Hathorne’s claim was not procedurally barred. The case was remanded for further proceedings. View "Hathorne v. Mississippi" on Justia Law

Jackson Federation of Teachers (JFT) filed a complaint against the Jackson Public School District (JPS), alleging alleged that certain JPS policies violated the free speech rights of its employees. The trial court: (1) denied JPS’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing; (2) denied JPS’s motion to dismiss for mootness; (3) found that JPS’s three policies were in violation of article 3, section 11, and article 3, section 13, of the Mississippi Constitution; and (4) issued a permanent injunction enjoining JPS from enforcing the policies. JPS timely appealed. Because JFT failed to establish standing, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision and rendered judgment in favor of JPS. View "Jackson Public School District v. Jackson Federation of Teachers, et al." on Justia Law