Ellis v. State

956 So. 2d 1008, 2007 WL 586120
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 27, 2007
Docket2005-KP-01426-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 956 So. 2d 1008 (Ellis 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
Ellis v. State, 956 So. 2d 1008, 2007 WL 586120 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

956 So.2d 1008 (2007)

Robert Earl ELLIS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-KP-01426-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

February 27, 2007.
Rehearing Denied May 29, 2007.

*1010 Robert Earl Ellis, Appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

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

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Robert Earl Ellis appeals his May 20, 2005 conviction of aggravated assault in the Circuit Court of Holmes County. The jury returned a guilty verdict against Ellis, finding that on April 10, 2004, Ellis shot his own brother during an argument over rights to the real property of their deceased mother. The trial judge sentenced Ellis to a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with the last five years to be served under post-release supervision. Ellis appeals, raising the following five issues:

I. WHETHER ELLIS WAS THE VICTIM OF A CONSPIRACY TO ILLEGALLY ACCUSE AND CONVICT HIM OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT?
II. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN REFUSING TO PROVIDE THE JURY WITH ELLIS' "SINGLE JUROR" INSTRUCTION D-2, "PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE AND STATE'S BURDEN OF PROOF" INSTRUCTION D-9, "ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE" INSTRUCTION *1011 D-11, AND "ACCIDENT" INSTRUCTION D-12?
III. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO PROVIDE THE JURY WITH AN INSTRUCTION ON ANY OF THE LESSER-INCLUDED OFFENSES TO THE CRIME OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT?
IV. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO PROVIDE THE JURY WITH A SELF-DEFENSE INSTRUCTION?
V. WHETHER ELLIS RECEIVED CONSTITUTIONALLY INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL?

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the trial court.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 3. On April 10, 2004, an argument ensued between Robert Earl Ellis and his brother, Mossolina Ellis, over whether Robert could construct a home on a parcel of property located at 443 Longcreek Road in Holmes County, Mississippi. The property in dispute had been the home place of their mother, Ethel Lee Ellis, prior to her death in 2001. Robert and his stepson, Elton D. Jackson, had run water lines and were preparing to lay foundation blocks on the property, when Mossolina was informed by his and Robert's nephew, Calvin Young, Jr., that Robert was building a home on the property. Mossolina, who lives approximately one quarter of a mile down Longcreek Road, approached Robert, and told him that he had no right to build on that section of the property because their mother had willed that section to their brother Tim. At the time, Ethel Lee Ellis' will had not been probated. Robert insisted that he had every right to build his home on that section of the property, and the argument grew increasingly heated. During the course of the argument, Robert pulled a 30/30 rifle from his truck and fired two shots at the ground between Mossolina and Calvin. When Robert attempted to fire a third shot, the rifle jammed, and Calvin ran home to call the police. According to Mossolina, Robert then said, "I'll take care of you," and pulled a .22 caliber rifle from his truck. Mossolina testified that as he retreated home, Robert leaned across the hood of his truck, took aim, and fired one shot striking Mossolina in the head. Mossolina's injuries were nonfatal, but he has suffered some partial permanent disability as a result of his wound.

¶ 4. At trial, both Mossolina and Calvin testified to the facts as stated above. Neither Robert nor his stepson testified, and there were no other eyewitnesses to rebut the testimony offered by Calvin and Mossolina. The jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of aggravated assault, and from this disposition, Robert Earl Ellis now appeals.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

I. WHETHER ELLIS WAS THE VICTIM OF A CONSPIRACY TO ILLEGALLY ACCUSE AND CONVICT HIM OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT?

¶ 5. Ellis argues that his prosecution and conviction were the product of a conspiracy entered into among law enforcement officers, the prosecution, the prosecution's witnesses, his own appointed defense counsel, and the trial judge to "illegally accuse, try, and convict" him. However, after a thorough review of the record, we find not a scintilla of evidence to support this accusation. All of the evidence introduced at trial supports both the validity of the charge against Ellis and his conviction. This issue is without merit.

*1012 II. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN REFUSING TO PROVIDE THE JURY WITH ELLIS' "SINGLE JUROR" INSTRUCTION D-2, "PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE AND STATE'S BURDEN OF PROOF" INSTRUCTION D-9, "ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE" INSTRUCTION D-11, AND "ACCIDENT" INSTRUCTION D-12?

¶ 6. Ellis' second assignment of error is that the trial court erred in refusing to provide the jury with his proposed "single juror" instruction D-2, "presumption of innocence and State's burden of proof" instruction D-9, "elements of the offense" instruction D-11, and "accident" instruction D-12. During a conference on the jury instructions, the State objected to proposed instructions D-2, D-9, D-11, and D-12, and the trial court ruled that the subject matter of proposed instructions D-2, D-9, and D-11 was fairly covered in other instructions provided to the jury, and that proposed instruction D-12 lacked any foundation in the evidence. Our standard of review for determining whether error lies in the refusal of the circuit court to grant a particular instruction, requires that the instructions actually given be read as a whole. Johnson v. State, 823 So.2d 582, 584(¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2002). If the instructions, when read as a whole, fairly announce the law of the case and create no injustice, no reversible error will be found. Id. Further, no one instruction is to be taken out of context. Poole v. State, 826 So.2d 1222, 1230(¶ 27) (Miss.2002). A defendant is entitled to have jury instructions given which present his theory of the case; however, this entitlement is limited in that the court may refuse an instruction which incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is without foundation in the evidence. Id.

1. "Single Juror" Instruction

¶ 7. Proposed instruction D-2 is commonly known as a "single juror" instruction. The instruction reminds the jury that in order to convict the defendant each juror must find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and not yield his or her own convictions to other jurors with whom they disagree. The trial judge denied proposed instruction D-2 because she found the content therein to be fairly covered in instruction C-CR-1, which was provided to the jury. Paragraph six of instruction C-CR-1 states:

The verdict must represent the thoughtful judgment of each juror and must not be arrived at by drawing lots or by some other means of chance. Your duty is to consult with one another and to deliberate, while keeping in mind that your goal is to reach a verdict, if you can do so without abandoning your individual judgment. Each of you must decide this case for yourself. But do so only after thoughtfully considering all the evidence with your fellow jurors. In the course of you[r] deliberations, do not hesitate to reexamine your own views and to change your opinion if you become convinced it is wrong.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
956 So. 2d 1008, 2007 WL 586120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellis-v-state-missctapp-2007.