Anthony v. State

936 So. 2d 471, 2006 WL 2348074
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 15, 2006
Docket2004-KA-02228-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 936 So. 2d 471 (Anthony v. State) 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
Anthony v. State, 936 So. 2d 471, 2006 WL 2348074 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

936 So.2d 471 (2006)

Michael ANTHONY, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2004-KA-02228-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 15, 2006.

*473 Daniel Christopher Jones, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING and ROBERTS, JJ.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Following a jury trial, Michael Anthony was convicted of murder and aggravated assault. The Simpson County Circuit Court sentenced Anthony to life for the murder conviction and twenty years for the assault conviction, the twenty years to run concurrent to the life sentence, and both to be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved, Anthony appeals and asserts the following errors, which we quote verbatim:

1. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING MR. ANTHONY'S VIDEOTAPED STATEMENTS AND HIS MIRANDA WARNINGS TO BE ENTERED INTO EVIDENCE WHEN MR. ANTHONY, A MINOR, DID NOT FULLY COMPREHEND THE WAIVER OF HIS RIGHTS.
2. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING MR. ANTHONY'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, A NEW TRIAL.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On February 7, 2003, Anthony and his friend, Jaquan Clemente, were picked up by Jeffrey Johnson and Johnson's cousin, Bryant Tillis. Johnson and Tillis had allegedly come to Mendenhall to look at a Camaro and some rims that Anthony had told them about. Although the State's version of events differs from Anthony's version, what is undisputed is that the car, driven by Johnson and containing Anthony, Clemente, and Tillis, was driven to a remote rural area. A dispute of some kind arose, and Anthony shot Johnson once and shot Tillis twice. Johnson survived and was able to make his way to a road, where he was picked up by a passer-by and taken to a hospital for treatment. Tillis died as a result of his wounds.

¶ 4. Anthony gave two videotaped statements regarding the shooting. In the first statement, Anthony stated that he shot Johnson because Johnson had made sexual advances toward him. Anthony denied shooting Tillis at that time. In the second statement, Anthony admitting shooting both Johnson and Tillis. He stated that he shot Johnson by accident, admitted that there was no attempted sexual assault, and could give no reason as to why he shot Tillis. Anthony's trial testimony indicated that the shooting was either an accident or was in defense of Clemente, who, according to Anthony, was being choked by Tillis. Clemente did not testify at trial, and Johnson testified that Anthony shot him and then shot Tillis while Tillis was attempting to get away from Anthony.

¶ 5. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our discussion of the issues.

*474 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Waiver of Rights

¶ 6. In his first point of error, Anthony contends that the court erred in allowing his videotaped statement and Miranda warnings into evidence. The basis for Anthony's argument is that he was confused at the time and was a minor, and therefore was unable to fully comprehend his rights.

¶ 7. The admissibility of statements made by minors has been addressed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in Dancer v. State, 721 So.2d 583 (Miss.1998). The defendant in Dancer was a thirteen-year-old who "had no prior involvement with the criminal justice system and [who] performed at a low national average on standardized achievement tests." Id. at 586(¶ 11). The court determined that the trial court did not err in ruling that the defendant's statement given during custodial interrogation was admissible, despite the defendant's tender years and lower-than-average intelligence. Id. at 589(¶ 27). The Dancer court ultimately held that "an inquiry into the totality of the circumstances is necessary" to determine the admissibility of a statement given by a juvenile during custodial interrogation. Id. at 587(¶ 19) (citing Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979)). The Mississippi Supreme Court noted that a court's determination regarding a juvenile's statement must be "manifestly in error or contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence" in order for us to reverse the decision of a trial court to admit the statement of a juvenile given during custodial interrogation. Id. at 588(¶ 22) (citing Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1281 (Miss.1994)).

¶ 8. Section 43-21-151 of the Mississippi Code specifies that juveniles are entitled to the protections of youth court generally, but "[a]ny act attempted or committed by a child, which if committed by an adult would be punishable under state or federal law by life imprisonment or death, will be in the original jurisdiction of the circuit court." Miss.Code Ann. § 43-21-151(1)(a) (Supp.2005). Therefore, the legislature has specifically elected to treat juveniles facing life imprisonment or death as adults for the purposes of prosecution. This section and Dancer, among other cases, makes it clear that juveniles in Mississippi are not afforded any additional protections during custodial interrogation.

¶ 9. In the case at bar, no motion was ever filed by the defense for a hearing on the admissibility of Anthony's statement, although an objection was lodged by the defense during the testimony of Bernard Gunter, an investigator with the Simpson County Sheriff's Department. The court sent the jury out of the room to deal with the objection, and Anthony's attorney was given the opportunity to voir dire Gunter concerning the voluntariness of Anthony's Miranda waiver. The court specifically asked Anthony's attorney, "Do you have any evidence you would like to put on, Mr. Jones?" Anthony's attorney responded that he did not have any evidence to put on. Thereafter the objection was overruled, presumably since no evidence or argument had been provided as to why the waiver should not be admitted into evidence. Later during Gunter's testimony, an objection was raised to the admissibility of Anthony's second Miranda waiver, given during his second interview. Again, Anthony's attorney was given the opportunity to voir dire Gunter. The court asked whether Anthony's attorney had any evidence to present regarding the waiver's admissibility, and again Anthony's attorney responded that he had none. The court then went a step further and inquired, "Do you have any law that you can *475 show me about minors waiving their rights?" Anthony's attorney responded, "No, Your Honor, I do not." Thereafter, the court overruled the objection. Anthony's videotaped statements were later played in court, and Anthony's attorney lodged the same objections, again without providing even a scintilla of argument or evidence as to why the statements should not be admissible.

¶ 10. When asked during direct examination, "Did you understand what you were — the Waiver of Rights — did you really understand all of that," Anthony testified, "No, sir. I really didn't. I didn't — I didn't understand it because I never had anything to talk about the law system." However, this was the only evidence introduced indicating that there was any question as to the admissibility of Anthony's waiver of his rights. Both of the Miranda

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
936 So. 2d 471, 2006 WL 2348074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anthony-v-state-missctapp-2006.