Courtney R. Logan a/k/a Courtney Logan v. State of Mississippi

• Court: Court of Appeals of Mississippi
• Decided: February 9, 2021
• Docket: 2019-CP-01386-COA
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2019-CP-01386-COA

COURTNEY R. LOGAN A/K/A COURTNEY APPELLANT LOGAN

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/06/2019 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. CAROL L. WHITE-RICHARD COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: LEFLORE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: COURTNEY R. LOGAN (PRO SE) ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: SCOTT STUART NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - OTHER DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 02/09/2021 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., LAWRENCE AND McCARTY, JJ.

McCARTY, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. A prisoner challenged the dismissal of his motion to show cause, alleging his

constitutional rights were circumvented when he was extradited from Mississippi to

Tennessee without a hearing. The prisoner had been returned to Tennessee years before he

filed his motion. Therefore, his challenge is moot. Accordingly, we affirm the dismissal.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. This appeal is the latest in a series of extradition challenges by Courtney Logan. The

petitioner was in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Corrections when Mississippi

sought his extradition to face prosecution for crimes he had committed in the state. At that time, Logan had served less than two years of his thirty-one year sentence for the attempted

murder of a Nashville, Tennessee police officer. The Governors of Tennessee and

Mississippi entered into an executive agreement granting the extradition request, provided

that the prisoner be returned to Tennessee following his prosecution in Mississippi.

¶3. Logan was then convicted in Leflore County, Mississippi, of five counts of

kidnapping, one count of aiding an escape, and one count of being a felon in possession of

a firearm. The trial court sentenced him as a habitual offender to serve seven consecutive

life terms without eligibility for parole or probation. Logan’s convictions and sentences were

affirmed on appeal. Logan v. State, 192 So. 3d 1012, 1025 (¶47) (Miss. Ct. App. 2015).

¶4. Following his convictions in Mississippi, Logan filed claims in Tennessee,

Mississippi, and federal courts. The claim giving rise to this appeal was filed in the Circuit

Court of Leflore County. Logan claimed “he was denied the due process protection of the

MS, TN and United States Constitutions regarding his illegal extradition, [kidnapping]

without a hearing.” (Brackets in original). The lower court dismissed the motion, and Logan

appealed.

DISCUSSION

¶5. “It is well-established that a prisoner has no standing to contest an agreement between

two sovereigns concerning the temporary exchange of custody of the prisoner on a writ of

habeas corpus ad prosequendum[.]” Smothers v. State, 741 So. 2d 205, 207 (¶10) (Miss.

1999) (quoting Chunn v. Clark, 451 F.2d 1005, 1006 (5th Cir. 1971)). Further, “[o]nce a

2 prisoner has been returned to the demanding state, the legality of the extradition is no longer

subject to legal attack.” Logan v. State, 300 So. 3d 1040, 1044 (¶11) (Miss. Ct. App. 2020)

(quoting Godsey v. Houston, 584 So. 2d 389, 391 (Miss. 1991)).

¶6. Logan first challenged his extradition from Tennessee to Mississippi in the United

States District Court of the Northern District of Mississippi. Logan v. Banks, No.

4:13CV89-SA-SAA, 2014 WL 5715432, at *2 (N.D. Miss. Nov. 5, 2014). He argued that

he was “illegally in Mississippi custody and that he should be returned to Tennessee custody

to pursue Tennessee appellate and post-conviction collateral relief.” Id. The district court

dismissed his claim, finding that “the actual transfer of Logan to Mississippi extinguished

any claims” against the demanding state, Mississippi, “regarding the propriety of his

extradition” from the asylum state, Tennessee. Id.

¶7. Logan then raised similar claims in Tennessee. Logan v. State, No. M2015-00725-

CCA-R3-HC, 2016 WL 716818 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 23, 2016). However, “[a]t the time

of the filing, the petitioner was no longer in the custody of the State of Tennessee, and there

was no available relief for the trial court to provide to the petitioner, even if it was shown that

his extradition was improper.” Id. at *3. Accordingly, the court found “that the petitioner’s

appeal [was] moot.” Id.

¶8. Next, Logan sought to challenge the extradition in Mississippi state courts. Logan v.

State, 300 So. 3d 1040 (Miss. Ct. App. 2020). Initially, he filed a petition challenging his

confinement in Mississippi and requested a transfer back to Tennessee. Id. at 1041 (¶3). The

3 petition was denied, and Logan sought reconsideration, again alleging his confinement in

Mississippi was illegal and that he should be extradited to Tennessee. Id. at (¶4). However,

by that time he had already been extradited back to Tennessee pursuant to the executive

agreement. Id. So the circuit court dismissed the second motion, finding it “not well taken”

and “moot.” Id. Nevertheless, Logan appealed the dismissal and we affirmed the lower

court’s dismissal on the basis that “Logan’s claims on appeal [were] moot.” Id. at 1044

(¶11).

¶9. In the current incarnation of Logan’s appeal, he reverses course by challenging his

extradition from Mississippi to Tennessee after he was already extradited. The Leflore

County Circuit Court characterized Logan’s filings as “playing a game of cat and mouse with

the court.”

¶10. All three of the courts addressing parallel issues to the one raised today found Logan’s

claims to be “extinguished” or “moot.” All three courts concluded that Logan’s claims failed

because he had been returned to the demanding state. See Logan, 300 So. 3d at 1044 (¶11).

Logan was returned to Tennessee on November 23, 2017. Therefore, the legality of his

extradition is no longer subject to legal attack. Id. For that reason, we affirm the lower

court’s dismissal of his claim.

¶11. AFFIRMED.

BARNES, C.J., CARLTON AND WILSON, P.JJ., GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS, McDONALD AND LAWRENCE, JJ., CONCUR. SMITH. J., NOT PARTICIPATING.