Forrest v. State

863 So. 2d 1056, 2004 WL 77915
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 20, 2004
Docket2002-KA-00206-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 863 So. 2d 1056 (Forrest 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
Forrest v. State, 863 So. 2d 1056, 2004 WL 77915 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

863 So.2d 1056 (2004)

Irvin FORREST, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2002-KA-00206-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 20, 2004.

*1059 William E. Phillips, David M. Ratcliff, Laurel, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jean Smith Vaughan, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

KING, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. This cause has returned to this Court upon the State's motion for rehearing. That motion is denied, the prior opinion withdrawn and this modified opinion substituted in its stead.

¶ 2. Irvin Forrest was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jones County of two counts of rape and one count of auto theft. He appeals, asserting that the circuit court erred in: (1) denying his motion to suppress DNA evidence obtained in violation of his rights under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, (2) denying his motion for funds for an expert witness to interpret DNA testing, (3) denying his motion to dismiss for failure to provide a speedy trial, (4) denying his motion to declare a mistrial after a witness mentioned the word "rape" despite a pre-trial order prohibiting the use of the word, (5) refusing to declare a mistrial after witnesses stated that he was charged with kidnapping while no such charge was brought, (6) allowing testimony of his attempt to flee when taken into custody, and (7) restricting full cross-examination of the state's DNA expert witness.

¶ 3. We find that while the Jones County Sheriff's Department should have obtained a search warrant prior to collecting a DNA sample from Forrest, under the unique facts of this case the failure does not require reversal and suppression of the evidence. All other assignments of error are without merit. Therefore, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 4. On April 24, 2000, at approximately 1:00 a.m., a man with a handgun accosted H.C. and N.S. in the parking lot of the Hattiesburg restaurant where they worked. The man forced H.C. to drive him and N.S. to a secluded area near the Laurel-Hattiesburg airport, where he raped both of them. He stole H.C.'s vehicle and left them. The two women walked to the airport where they summoned assistance. They gave a description of their *1060 attacker as an African American male in his mid-twenties, with frizzy hair pulled back, a stubble of a beard, and wearing black jeans and a dark shirt. This information was sent out on the National Crime Information Center's computer. The Laurel Police located the vehicle, parked and unoccupied, inside the Laurel, Mississippi city limits. Jones County Sheriff's Investigator Wayne Black responded to the location, and saw a motel room key on the driver's seat. The car was towed, and Black retrieved the key. Officer Black determined that the key belonged to the El Patio Motel in Laurel.

¶ 5. Black and a deputy went to the motel, entered the motel room and ascertained that no one was inside, then left the room and placed it under surveillance. Later that day, Black observed Forrest enter the motel room. Officer Black placed Forrest in custody and transported him to the Jones County Sheriff's jail. A search of the motel room yielded a pair of black jeans and a nine millimeter pistol.

¶ 6. The next day, April 25, 2000, H.C. and N.S. came to the jail, and from separate line-ups identified Forrest. Black testified that after the line-ups, he and Detective Rusty Keyes, of the Hattiesburg Police Department, gave Miranda warnings to Forrest, and attempted to question him. However, Forrest refused to waive his rights and refused to answer questions without the presence of an attorney. Black testified that Forrest was then "isolated" and denied any opportunity to contact a lawyer, until the following day when he was initially brought before a magistrate.

¶ 7. Black testified that following Forrest's invocation of his right to counsel and his refusal to answer questions, but before his initial appearance and the appointment of counsel, Black again initiated questioning by asking Forrest to consent to a bodily search to procure pubic hairs for DNA testing. Black testified that he did not advise Forrest of the right to refuse to provide the samples. Black and Janet Booth, a nurse, testified that Forrest consented to the bodily search and seizure. The State's DNA expert, Amrita Lal, testified that Forrest's DNA matched DNA samples taken from the rape kit provided by N.S.

DISCUSSION

1. MOTION TO SUPPRESS

¶ 8. Forrest contends that the collection of his DNA samples was an illegal search and seizure, and that the circuit court erred in denying his pretrial motion to suppress DNA evidence. The written motion was premised upon the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. However, in arguing the motion before the circuit court, Forrest also made clear that the substance of his argument went to his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution.

¶ 9. Warrantless searches are illegal, even when supported by probable cause, unless the search is conducted pursuant to one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576, (1967) (citation omitted) (quoting Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 481-482, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441, (1963)). "Searches conducted without warrants have been held unlawful `notwithstanding facts unquestionably showing probable cause', for the constitution requires `that the deliberate, impartial judgment of a judicial officer ... be interposed between the citizen and the police.'" Id. The question in this case is whether Forrest's *1061 consent to the collection of DNA evidence was obtained consistent with his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

¶ 10. A valid search may be conducted without a warrant, where the defendant gives his consent Watts v. State, 828 So.2d 835 (¶ ¶ 27-28) (Miss.Ct.App. 2002). Whether a valid consent to a search has been given must be determined by an examination of the totality of the circumstances. Jackson v. State, 418 So.2d 827, 830 (Miss.1982). While one of the factors to be considered in making that determination is whether the defendant was aware that he could refuse to give his consent, it is not the controlling factor, Logan v. State, 773 So.2d 338 (¶ ¶ 12, 14)(Miss.2000), since "consent may be established without a showing that the police warned the consenting party of his Fourth Amendment rights or that he was otherwise aware of those rights." Jones v. State ex rel. Miss. Dept. of Public Safety, 607 So.2d 23, 27 (Miss.1991).

¶ 11. The record establishes that Forrest had previously been given that warning commonly referred to as the Miranda rights. At that time Forrest declined to waive those rights, and indicated his desire to speak with an attorney.

¶ 12. Subsequent to this refusal, Forrest was approached by Black and asked to give hair samples. The testimony is that Forrest indicated his consent and cooperated in the collection of the hair samples. Based upon this evidence, the trial judge found Forrest's consent to be sufficiently voluntary to make the search lawful.

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Bluebook (online)
863 So. 2d 1056, 2004 WL 77915, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/forrest-v-state-missctapp-2004.