Andre J. Jones v. State of Mississippi

271 So. 3d 694
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 11, 2018
DocketNO. 2017-CP-01510-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 271 So. 3d 694 (Andre J. Jones 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
Andre J. Jones v. State of Mississippi, 271 So. 3d 694 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

TINDELL, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. A Jones County jury found Andre Jones guilty of murder, and the circuit court sentenced Jones to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The Mississippi Supreme Court confirmed Jones's conviction and sentence in Jones v. State , 39 So.3d 860 , 868 (¶ 42) (Miss. 2010). Since then, Jones has filed six applications with the supreme court requesting leave to file a post-conviction relief (PCR) motion with the circuit court. The supreme court denied the first application on April 4, 2011. The supreme court dismissed five subsequent applications as untimely or successive.

¶ 2. Nine years after his conviction, Jones filed a "Motion for Production of Biological Evidence" with the circuit court on October 6, 2017, and requested the State produce: (1) inventory of biological evidence preserved in connection with his criminal case; (2) any results of reports or scientific tests or experiments connected with that evidence; and (3) certified copies of any results from the testing, analysis, or comparison of any biological evidence. The circuit court considered Jones's motion to be a PCR motion. Because the supreme court affirmed Jones's conviction on direct appeal, and Jones failed to obtain leave to file a PCR motion, the circuit court found it lacked jurisdiction to consider Jones's motion. The circuit court therefore dismissed the motion.

¶ 3. On appeal, Jones asserts the circuit court erred (1) in treating his motion as a PCR filing and (2) by dismissing his motion for lack of jurisdiction. Finding no error, we affirm the circuit court's dismissal of Jones's motion.

*696 STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 4. We decline to reverse a circuit court's dismissal of a PCR motion unless the circuit court's decision was clearly erroneous. Thompson v. State , 10 So.3d 525 , 527 (¶ 3) (Miss. Ct. App. 2009). We review issues of law de novo. Id.

DISCUSSION

¶ 5. Jones filed a motion with the circuit court for the production of biological evidence that was used in connection with his conviction. He is not challenging his conviction or sentence, just the dismissal of his motion for production. The supreme court has held that "pleadings cognizable under the Uniform Post Conviction Collateral Relief Act [ (UPCCRA) ] will be treated as ... motions for [PCR] that are subject to the procedural rules promulgated therein, regardless of how the plaintiff has denominated or characterized the pleadings." May v. State , 116 So.3d 1107 , 1109 (¶ 4) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013) (quoting Knox v. State , 75 So.3d 1030 , 1035 (¶ 12) (Miss. 2011) ). In May , May filed a motion with the circuit court requesting the production of documents from his court proceeding. Id. at 1108 (¶ 3). The circuit court interpreted May's motion as a PCR motion and dismissed it. Id. Similar to May , Jones's motion for the production of biological evidence is subject to the UPCCRA's procedural rules. Though titled a motion for the production of biological evidence, in his motion, Jones states that he is requesting the evidence based off of his indictment. Thus, Jones's filing amounts to a PCR motion that seeks to circumvent the supreme court's earlier denial of such relief, and the circuit court correctly dismissed it.

¶ 6. Further, Jones did not have permission from the supreme court to file his current motion. Under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-7 (Rev. 2015), a prisoner cannot file a PCR motion without permission from the supreme court if that prisoner's conviction has previously been affirmed by the court on appeal. Additionally, a circuit court lacks jurisdiction if the petitioner fails to request the supreme court's permission to file a PCR motion. Cortez v. State , 9 So.3d 445 , 446 (¶ 6) (Miss. Ct. App. 2009). In Minor v. State , Minor's conviction was affirmed by this Court on direct appeal. Minor v. State , 186 So.3d 437 , 438 (¶ 2) (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). Therefore, Minor sought permission to file multiple PCR motions, but the supreme court repeatedly denied permission. Id. at (¶ 3). Minor then filed a motion to compel the Mississippi Crime Laboratory to produce evidence found at the crime scene. Minor , 186 So.3d at 439 (¶ 4). However, the circuit court lacked jurisdiction because Minor did not file his motion to compel as a PCR motion and did not seek permission from the supreme court before filing his motion; thus, the circuit court dismissed it. Id. Here, similar to Minor , the supreme court affirmed Jones's conviction on direct appeal in 2010. Jones then filed numerous unsuccessful requests with the supreme court for permission to file a PCR motion. However, without permission from the supreme court to file his current motion, the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to consider it. Thus, the circuit court properly denied the motion for lack of jurisdiction.

¶ 7. There are circumstances under which a prisoner may be entitled to certain transcripts and documentation. Under the UPCCRA, a prisoner, who shows good cause and with the discretion of the circuit court, may be entitled to trial transcripts and other documents if he filed a proper motion that "withstood summary dismissal." Fleming v. State , 553 So.2d 505 , 506 (Miss. 1989). However, the supreme court has stated:

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271 So. 3d 694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andre-j-jones-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2018.