Elder v. State

750 So. 2d 540, 1999 WL 410482
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 22, 1999
Docket97-KA-00399-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 750 So. 2d 540 (Elder 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
Elder v. State, 750 So. 2d 540, 1999 WL 410482 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

750 So.2d 540 (1999)

Ray Anthony ELDER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 97-KA-00399-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 22, 1999.
Rehearing Denied September 21, 1999.
Certiorari Denied February 3, 2000.

*541 Donald A. Smith, Attorney for Appellant.

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

BEFORE KING, P.J., BRIDGES, AND DIAZ, JJ.

KING, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Appellant Ray Anthony Elder was convicted of sale of a controlled substance in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-139(a)(1)(Rev.1993), and sentenced to serve fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentence, Elder appeals and assigns two points of error. This Court quotes these errors verbatim:

I. THE DEFENDANT WAS DENIED HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL AS SECURED BY THE LAWS AND CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND THE UNITED STATES, AND SECTION 99-17-1 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CODE ANNOTATED.
II. THE VERDICT OF THE JURY WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

Finding no error, this court affirms the circuit court judgment.

*542 FACTS

¶ 2. Investigators April Nelson of the Biloxi Police Department and Joseph Pevey of the Harrison County Sheriffs Department conducted controlled drug buy operations as members of the Multi-Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force, a cooperative force comprised of representatives from the Biloxi, Gulfport, and Long Beach police departments and the Harrison County Sheriffs Department for the purpose of arresting individuals involved in drug activity in Harrison County.

¶ 3. On the evening of January 5, 1993, Investigator Pevey drove to the parking lot of a Biloxi grocery store. Pevey's car was equipped with a video camera, tape recorder, and microphone. Elder approached Pevey's vehicle, who then told Elder that he was interested in a "twenty".[1] Elder indicated a desire to get into Pevey's vehicle in order to go get the cocaine. When Pevey declined this request, Elder agreed to retrieve it and meet Pevey around the corner from the store.

¶ 4. Pevey drove to the agreed area and waited for Elder. While waiting for Elder, Pevey attempted to make drug purchases from other individuals in that area. After Elder arrived, Pevey followed him to another street and waited while Elder crossed the street to meet with another individual. Elder returned to the car and handed Pevey crack cocaine. Pevey gave Elder a twenty dollar bill as payment for the crack. The serial number from this bill had been copied prior to issue to Pevey by Nelson.

¶ 5. After purchasing the cocaine from Elder, Pevey met Nelson at a prearranged location. He gave the cocaine to her along with a videotape of the transaction. Nelson placed the cocaine into a bag which both investigators initialed. Nelson later transferred the cocaine to the Mississippi Crime Lab.

¶ 6. Elder was arrested on February 19, 1993 and later indicted for the sale of cocaine. A jury found him guilty as charged. Elder's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and/or new trial having been denied, he now appeals the circuit court judgment.

ISSUES

I. Was Elder denied his right to a speedy trial as secured by the constitutions of the State of Mississippi and the United States, and Section 99-17-1 of the Mississippi Code Annotated?

¶ 7. A criminal defendant's right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and by Article 3, § 26 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. Speedy trial issues are analyzed by applying the factors detailed in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). The four Barker factors include (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) whether the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial; and (4) whether the defendant was prejudiced by the delay. Skaggs v. State, 676 So.2d 897, 900 (Miss.1996). No single factor controls. Id. Furthermore, the court is not strictly limited to consideration of the Barker factors. State v. Magnusen, 646 So.2d 1275, 1278 (Miss.1994). Alleged violations of the right to a speedy trial are decided on a case by case basis, weighing the facts and circumstances and the conduct of the prosecution and the defense. McGhee v. State, 657 So.2d 799, 804 (Miss.1995); Giles v. State, 650 So.2d 846, 851 (Miss.1995).

¶ 8. Elder also argues that his conviction should be overturned because Mississippi law, specifically Miss.Code Ann. § 99-17-1 (Rev.1994), requires that a defendant's trial should begin within 270 *543 days following arraignment. Elder charges that 974 days elapsed from his arraignment until trial. However, the 270-day requirement may be waived if good cause can be shown for the delay. Giles, 650 So.2d at 851. As explained below, the delays in the present case resulted from numerous continuances due to attorneys' withdrawals, Elder's skipping bond, and the psychiatric evaluation. Therefore, none of that time should be charged to the State. While some of the final 139 days before trial might be charged to the State, that delay does not violate the 270-day requirement, and we find no basis to reverse Elder's conviction under the Mississippi statute.

¶ 9. In regard to the constitutional issue, the supreme court has instructed that the reviewing court should treat the trial court's good cause findings "the same way we treat any other findings of ultimate fact challenged on appeal" and "leave the finding undisturbed only where there is in the record substantial, credible evidence from which it may fairly have been made." Folk v. State, 576 So.2d 1243, 1247 (Miss. 1991). The circuit judge articulated his findings of fact and applied them to the Barker factors at the hearing on Elder's motion to dismiss. We address the Barker factors again on review.

A. Length of delay

¶ 10. Elder argues that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was denied because 1304 days elapsed from the date of his arrest until his trial. The supreme court has held that the right to a speedy trial under the United States Constitution attaches immediately upon the defendant's arrest. Box v. State, 610 So.2d 1148, 1150 (Miss.1992). A delay of more than eight months is presumptively prejudicial. Spencer v. State, 592 So.2d 1382, 1387 (Miss.1991); Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 408 (Miss.1989). However, this presumption can be rebutted when balanced by the remaining factors. Handley v. State, 574 So.2d 671, 676 (Miss.1990). As 1304 days elapsed between the arrest and the trial, the delay in the present case is presumptively prejudicial.

B. Reason for delay

¶ 11. Of the 1304 days between the date of arrest and trial, Elder argues that 888 of those should be attributed to the State. Elder acknowledged that the court's continuance in early 1994 and its initial motion for a psychiatric evaluation followed by Elder's 281 day avoidance of the judgment nisi against him should not accrue against the State.

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Bluebook (online)
750 So. 2d 540, 1999 WL 410482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elder-v-state-missctapp-1999.