Amos Hicks v. State of Mississippi

214 So. 3d 1097, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 394
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 21, 2016
Docket2015-CP-00765-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 214 So. 3d 1097 (Amos Hicks v. State of Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amos Hicks v. State of Mississippi, 214 So. 3d 1097, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 394 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

GRIFFIS, P.J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. In 2006, Amos Hicks pleaded guilty to murder after killing his wife, Lena. The circuit court sentenced him to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

¶ 2. In 2015, Hicks filed a petition for post-conviction collateral relief (PCCR), which was dismissed by the circuit court as time-barred. Hicks now appeals, claiming that his guilty plea was involuntary as a result of a defective indictment and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel.

ANALYSIS

¶ 3. This Court reviews the dismissal of a PCCR motion under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Randall v. State, *1099 148 So.3d 686, 688 (¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App. 2014). We will reverse if the circuit court’s decision was clearly erroneous. Id. Questions of law are subject to de novo review. Id.

I. Whether Hicks’s PCCR motion is procedurally barred.

¶ 4. “A defendant’s post-conviction challenge to an indictment after a guilty plea must be filed within three years of entry of the judgment of conviction.” Id. at (¶ 7). Hicks pleaded guilty to murder on May 31, 2006. He filed his PCCR petition on April 13, 2015, nearly nine years later. Hicks argues that his fundamental constitutional rights were violated when he pleaded guilty under a defective indictment and when he received ineffective assistance of counsel.

¶ 5. It is true that “[ejrrors affecting fundamental constitutional rights are excepted from the procedural bars of the Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act.” Cummings v. State, 130 So.3d 129, 132 (¶ 7) (Miss.Ct.App.2013). But the three-year statute of limitations still applies to claims that an indictment was defective. Jordan v. State, 118 So.3d 656, 658 (¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.2013) (citing Moss v. State, 45 So.3d 305, 307 (¶ 10) (Miss.Ct.App.2010)). Likewise, this time-bar also applies to PCCR claims of involuntary guilty pleas and ineffective assistance of counsel. Smith v. State, 118 So.3d 180, 184 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.2013); Crosby v. State, 16 So.3d 74, 78 (¶ 8) (Miss. Ct.App.2009). “Merely asserting a constitutional right violation is not sufficient to overcome the time bar.” Cummings, 130 So.3d at 132 (¶ 7). “There must at least appear to be some -basis for the truth of the claim before the procedural bar will be waived.” Id. We find that the circuit court properly dismissed Hicks’s petition based on the time-bar. Notwithstanding the time-bar, Hicks’s claims are without merit.

II. Whether Hicks’s indictment was defective.

¶ 6. Hicks argues that his indictment for’ capital murder was defective. The underlying felony in the capital-murder indictment was burglary, but the elements of the burglary charge were not listed. The indictment states that Hicks “did ... willfully, unlawfully and felo-niously, without the authority of law, and with or without any design to effect the death, kill and murder Lena B. Hicks, a human being, while in the commission of the crime and felony of [b]urglary...

¶ 7. This Court has held, that “[cjapital-murder indictments predicated on the underlying felony of burglary must specifically name the intended crime that comprised an element of the burglary charge.” Pinkney v. State, 192 So.3d 337, 343 (¶ 18) (Miss.Ct.App.2015). The indictment “must include notice of the crime comprising the burglary because burglary requires[,] as an essential element, the intent to commit another crime.” Id. at 343 (¶ 20) (citing State v. Berryhill, 703 So.2d 250, 257-58 (¶¶ 29, 34) (Miss.1997)).

¶ 8. Hicks’s indictment does not list the crime underlying the burglary. However, Hicks pleaded guilty to murder, not capital murder. The supreme court has previously held that deficiencies in a capital-murder indictment do not require “reversal of a conviction or sentence obtained under the non-capital portion of the indictment” where the accused pleaded guilty to simple murder. Lambert v. State, 941 So.2d 804, 810 (¶ 28) (Miss.2006). Here, the prosecution dropped the capital portion of the indictment, and Hicks pleaded guilty to murder rather than capital murder. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.

*1100 III. Whether Hicks entered his guilty plea voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.

¶ 9. Hicks next contends that his guilty plea was not voluntary because he did not know of the defect in his indictment at the time of the plea. But Hicks did not plead guilty to capital murder under the indictment; when he accepted the guilty plea, the charge was reduced to murder. In considering whether a plea is knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made,

[the court] evaluated] ... whether the defendant was advised of the nature of the charges against him, the rights which he would waive by pleading guilty, the maximum sentences that he could i’eceive for the crimes charged, and whether he was satisfied with the advice and counsel of his attorney.

Richardson v. State, 856 So.2d 758, 761 (¶ 10) (Miss.Ct.App.2003).

¶ 10. Hicks stated during the plea colloquy that he and his attorney discussed the indictment and that he understood the charge against him. He knew that he could potentially be sentenced to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Hicks told the court that he was satisfied with the services of his attorney. The judge stated clearly the rights that would be waived if Hicks were to plead guilty. Further, Hicks admitted that he killed his wife and gave his account of what happened the night of the murder. The circuit court, at that time, found that Hicks’s plea was freely, voluntarily, and intelligently made and accepted the plea. We agree. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.

IV. Whether Hicks received ineffective assistance of counsel.

¶ 11. Hicks also claims ineffective assistance of counsel. To prove ineffective assistance of counsel, Hicks must show

(1) his counsel’s performance was deficient, and (2) this deficiency prejudiced his defense. The burden of proof rests with the defendant to prove both prongs. Under Strickland, there is a strong presumption that counsel’s performance falls within the range of reasonable professional assistance. To overcome this presumption, the defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for the counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.

Maggitt v. State, 26 So.3d 363, 365 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.2009) (internal citations and quotations omitted) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)).

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Lambert v. State
941 So. 2d 804 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2006)
Maggitt v. State
26 So. 3d 363 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Crosby v. State
16 So. 3d 74 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Burrough v. State
9 So. 3d 368 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Berryhill
703 So. 2d 250 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1997)
Richardson v. State
856 So. 2d 758 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2003)
Moss v. State
45 So. 3d 305 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2010)
Armon Randall v. State of Mississippi
148 So. 3d 686 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2014)
Bobby Joe Pinkney v. State of Mississippi
192 So. 3d 337 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2015)
McBride v. State
108 So. 3d 977 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)
Smith v. State
118 So. 3d 180 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)
Jordan v. State
118 So. 3d 656 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)
Cummings v. State
130 So. 3d 129 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
214 So. 3d 1097, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amos-hicks-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2016.