Fredrick Jones a/k/a Fred a/k/a Fredrick Lee Jones v. State of Mississippi

• Court: Court of Appeals of Mississippi
• Decided: January 7, 2025
• Docket: 2023-CP-01247-COA
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2023-CP-01247-COA

FREDRICK JONES A/K/A FRED A/K/A APPELLANT FREDRICK LEE JONES

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 09/06/2023 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. WILLIAM HUNTER NOWELL COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: COAHOMA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: FREDRICK JONES (PRO SE) ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALEXANDRA LEBRON NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 01/07/2025 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., LAWRENCE AND EMFINGER, JJ.

WILSON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. In 1996, following a jury trial, Fredrick Jones was convicted of two counts of

aggravated assault and sentenced to serve two consecutive terms of life imprisonment as a

violent habitual offender. This Court affirmed Jones’s convictions and sentences on appeal.

Jones v. State, No. 96-KA-00235-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Feb. 10, 1998) (unpublished op.).

¶2. In 1999, Jones filed an application in the Mississippi Supreme Court for leave to file

a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR) in the trial court. The Supreme Court denied the

application. Jones v. State, No. 1999-M-00004 (Miss. Mar. 31, 1999) (panel order).

¶3. In 2023, Jones filed a second application in the Mississippi Supreme Court for leave to file a PCR motion in the trial court. The Supreme Court dismissed the application for

failure to comply with the requirements of Mississippi Code Annotated sections 99-39-9 and

99-39-27 (Rev. 2020). Jones v. State, No. 2023-M-01034 (Nov. 1, 2023) (panel order).

¶4. Before the Supreme Court dismissed Jones’s second application for leave to proceed

in the trial court, Jones also filed a “Motion on Sentencing Relief” in the trial court. Jones’s

motion was in the nature of a PCR motion. The trial court dismissed the motion for lack of

jurisdiction because Jones had not received permission from the Supreme Court to file a PCR

motion. Jones filed a notice of appeal.

¶5. The trial court properly dismissed Jones’s motion for lack of jurisdiction. Mississippi

Code Annotated section 99-39-7 (Rev. 2020) provides that a PCR motion “shall be filed as

an original civil action in the trial court, except in cases in which the petitioner’s conviction

and sentence have been appealed to the Supreme Court of Mississippi and there affirmed or

the appeal dismissed.” Id. (emphasis added). If a prisoner’s conviction and sentence have

been affirmed on direct appeal, the prisoner must obtain permission from the Mississippi

Supreme Court before filing a PCR motion in the trial court. Id. “This procedure is not

merely advisory, but jurisdictional.” Dunaway v. State, 111 So. 3d 117, 118 (¶6) (Miss. Ct.

App. 2013) (quoting Campbell v. State, 75 So. 3d 1160, 1162 (¶7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2011)).

Because Jones failed to obtain permission from the Supreme Court, the trial court properly

dismissed his motion for lack of jurisdiction. Id. at 119 (¶8); accord, e.g., Jackson v. State,

359 So. 3d 1132, 1133 (¶3) (Miss. Ct. App. 2023).

¶6. AFFIRMED.

2 BARNES, C.J., CARLTON, P.J., WESTBROOKS, McDONALD, LAWRENCE, McCARTY, EMFINGER AND WEDDLE, JJ., CONCUR. ST. PÉ, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.