Dotson v. State

593 So. 2d 7, 1991 WL 285756
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 31, 1991
Docket07-KA-59546
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 593 So. 2d 7 (Dotson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dotson v. State, 593 So. 2d 7, 1991 WL 285756 (Mich. 1991).

Opinion

593 So.2d 7 (1991)

Bridgette DOTSON
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 07-KA-59546.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 31, 1991.

*8 Caroline R. Moore, Eupora, Luke J. Schissel, Greenwood, for appellant.

Mike C. Moore, Atty. Gen., Charles W. Maris, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before DAN M. LEE, P.J., and ROBERTSON and SULLIVAN, JJ.

DAN M. LEE, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

Bridgette Dotson was convicted of manslaughter for the death of her boyfriend, Bernard Cates, and the court sentenced Dotson to fourteen (14) years to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Dotson appeals her conviction and sentence to this Court alleging reversible error occurred in the court below due to the State's failure to comply with its discovery obligation of Unif.Crim.Cir.Ct.Prac. 4.06. After a careful review of the facts of this case and the law, we agree. Consequently, we reverse Dotson's conviction for the crime of manslaughter and remand the same to the Leflore County Circuit Court for a new trial.

FACTS

For the most part, the facts of this case are uncontroverted, and we review only the basic facts which are necessary to our disposition of the case.

During a heated argument, Bridgette Dotson, age 16 or 17, stabbed her boyfriend, Bernard Cates, age 20, on the night of October 31, 1986; and Cates died approximately an hour later at a Greenwood hospital. On the night of the stabbing, Dotson was taken into custody and charged with murder. Dotson defended on the grounds of self-defense. At trial, the court granted a manslaughter instruction in addition to the instruction on murder, and the jury returned a conviction for manslaughter.

Bridgette Dotson and Bernard Cates had been dating for a little over two years, and there was much testimony that their relationship was, at times, stormy. In fact, on the night prior to Bernard's death, the couple had a bitter quarrel, to which there were at least three witnesses. On the fateful night of May 31, 1986, Dotson went to Cates' neighborhood where she found Cates walking with another girl. A heated argument ensued between Cates and Dotson in the street in front of Cates' house. *9 According to Dotson, Cates started swinging at her in an attempt to jab her in the face. Dotson swung back with a knife, and at some point she cut Cates in the chest. The fateful blow was a two and three quarter (2 3/4) inch long slash to the lower chest which cut through Cates' heart.

I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL AFTER LEARNING THAT THE STATE HAD NOT DISCLOSED TO DEFENSE COUNSEL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE WHICH HAD BEEN REQUESTED BOTH IN A MOTION FOR DISCOVERY AND IN A PRE-TRIAL HEARING.

Dotson alleges that the State committed a discovery violation for failing to produce the victim's shirt. Dotson contends that the shirt was important to her defense and argues that she made defensive slashing motions toward Cates to keep him away from her rather than offensive slashing motions with the design of causing serious bodily harm.

When Dotson filed her motion for discovery under Uniform Rule 4.06 in June of 1986, she made a blanket request for all information and evidence required to be furnished under the rule, and she made specific requests for the following:

4. A list of all tangible objects which were obtained during the investigation of this cause including but not limited to any object obtained from the residence or person of the defendant;
* * * * * *
6. Exhibit any physical evidence and photographs to be offered in evidence;
* * * * * *
10. All information of whatever form, source, or nature which may lead to evidence which tends to exculpate this defendant, either through an indication of her innocence or through the potential impeachment of any known or potential State's witness, and all information which may be of benefit to this defendant in preparing or presenting the merits of the defense of this defendant at any hearing in this cause... .

This case went to trial on November 12, 1987. After a jury had been selected and the opening statements delivered, the State called its first witness. At this point, the attorneys representing Bridgette Dotson, Mr. Luke Schissel and Ms. Caroline Moore, moved for an in-chambers hearing. According to Schissel and Moore, the State had failed to produce several items of evidence which the defense had not seen. Specifically, attorney Schissel mentioned clothing, photographs of the crime scene, and the knife which the defense team had not seen.

IN CHAMBERS
BY MR. SCHISSEL: Your Honor, the reason I asked that we move to chambers is rather than continually approaching the bench on this issue, the defense is in a dilemma. We anticipate that the prosecution is going to attempt to put physical evidence . . physical evidence into the record before this Court and the jury and we've not seen the first shred of it. We've not seen a knife, we've not seen clothing, we've not seen photographs; and it's my understanding the law is pretty clear that this needs to be presented to us before it's offered for evidence, and that... .
* * * * * *
BY MR. SCHISSEL: ... I never knew it [knife] was here; and the last report we had it was with the Crime Lab and I learned today upon voir dire when the issue came up about stipulation that the knife was in the building. We tried to determine how long it had been here and they didn't know and they were going to look, but I acknowledged the form from the District Attorney's Office November . . following my motion, and on the form there is no disclosure of knife, pictures, clothing of any sort, no physical evidence whatsoever; and as a matter of fact it's my understanding, according to the witness list that was delivered to my office yesterday or the day before, that they intend to introduce as witnesses Mr. *10 Whatley and Mr. Burton and I'm satisfied they are going to attempt to use their statements. We don't have them.
Now a statement of Mr. Moses was furnished and I receipted that as being furnished, although not listed on the form, and certainly we've acknowledged receipt of that. We've acknowledged receipt of statement of Jenette Davidson, and no physical evidence whatsoever.
BY MISS BOUCHARD: There is... .
BY MR. SCHISSEL: Particularly knife, shirt and photographs.
BY MISS BOUCHARD: [FOR THE STATE] There is no physical evidence other than the knife and four photographs.
* * * * * *
BY MISS MOORE: ... yesterday about the four photographs. Now that was the first time I knew about the photographs because they were not listed on the original sheet and, you know, I went back and checked my file because I didn't have any recollection of the photographs and they were not listed on the original sheet that we've had, so I didn't know that the photographs existed.
BY THE COURT: You did not know until yesterday that... .
BY MISS MOORE: Until yesterday afternoon that the photographs existed.
* * * * * *
BY MR. SCHISSEL: Well, Your Honor, I understand what Mr. Carlton is stating. If someone is stabbed, they're stabbed with an instrument. My objection to the introduction of this physical evidence is simple.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
593 So. 2d 7, 1991 WL 285756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dotson-v-state-miss-1991.