Friday v. State

141 So. 3d 18, 2014 WL 815149, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 118
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 4, 2014
DocketNo. 2012-CP-01669-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 141 So. 3d 18 (Friday 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
Friday v. State, 141 So. 3d 18, 2014 WL 815149, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 118 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

CARLTON, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Warren Douglas Friday filed a post-conviction-relief (PCR) motion in the trial court, claiming his post-release supervision (PRS) was improperly revoked. He argued that he was denied due process at his revocation hearing and that the trial court lacked a sufficient basis to revoke his PRS. The trial court summarily dismissed the motion, finding that Friday received a proper revocation hearing and that Friday’s aggravated-assault guilty plea and his domestic-violence conviction while on PRS provided sufficient grounds for revocation. We affirm.

¶ 2. On appeal, Friday also raises arguments challenging the validity of his aggravated-assault guilty plea. We will not address these arguments, as they are not properly before this Court in this appeal.

FACTS

¶ 3. On September 5, 2003, Friday pled guilty in the Lowndes County Circuit Court to two counts of felony auto theft. On Count I, he was sentenced to three years, followed by two years of PRS. On Count II, he was sentenced to two years, followed by three years of PRS. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), for a total of five years of incarceration and five years of PRS. One condition of Friday’s PRS was that he “commit no offense against the laws of this or any other state.... ” In 2009, while on PRS, Friday committed domestic violence and aggravated assault. Based on Friday’s violations of the terms of his release, Friday’s PRS was revoked on November 20, 2009, and he was ordered to serve the five-year revoked sentence in the custody of the MDOC. The revoked sentence was ordered to run consecutively to any other imposed sentences.

114. On May 7, 2012, Friday filed a PCR motion in the Lowndes County Circuit Court, arguing the following: (1) he did not receive a proper revocation hearing; (2) his guilty plea to aggravated assault was invalid because he did not “willfully” commit the crime; and (3) his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary. The trial court addressed Friday’s arguments in two separate orders since the first argument challenged a different criminal cause number. The first order, entered on September 24, 2012, addressed Friday’s arguments regarding the revocation of his PRS from the auto-theft convictions (Cause Number 2001-0762-CR1). The second or[20]*20der, entered on September 28, 2012, addressed Friday’s arguments regarding his competency at the time he committed and pled guilty to aggravated assault (Cause Number 2009-0108-CR1). Both orders summarily dismissed Friday’s PCR motion. Friday now appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. “A trial court’s dismissal of a motion for post-conviction relief will not be reversed absent a finding that the trial court’s decision was clearly erroneous.” Means v. State, 43 So.3d 438, 441 (¶ 6) (Miss.2010). Issues of law are reviewed de novo. Id.

¶ 6. Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-11(2) (Supp.2013) provides that a PCR motion may be dismissed “[i]f it plainly appears from the face of the motion, any annexed exhibits and the prior proceedings in the case that the movant is not entitled to any relief[.]” “[D]ismissal of a PCR motion is proper where ‘it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.’ ” State v. Santiago, 773 So.2d 921, 923-24 (¶ 11) (Miss.2000) (quoting Turner v. State, 590 So.2d 871, 874 (Miss.1991)).

DISCUSSION

I. Jurisdiction

¶ 7. Before discussing the merits of Friday’s appeal, we must address this Court’s jurisdiction over the arguments raised on appeal.

¶ 8. Friday filed one PCR motion in the trial court challenging two different judgments: (1) the judgment revoking his PRS in Cause Number 2001-0762-CR1 (the auto-theft convictions); and (2) the judgment of conviction for aggravated assault in Cause Number 2009-0108-CR1. In response to Friday’s motion challenging the two different judgments, the trial court entered two separate orders dismissing Friday’s motion — one dated September 24, 2012, and the other dated September 28, 2012. When Friday noticed his appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, he only referenced the September 24, 2012 order. In his notice of appeal, Friday specifically states that he seeks to challenge his “unlawful and unconstitutional revocation,” citing Cause Number 2004-0070-CV1. This cause number references the civil post-conviction matter challenging the sentence revocation in criminal Cause Number 2001-0762-CR1 — the auto-theft convictions. Because this is the only order appealed, our decision and analysis will be limited to Friday’s due-process arguments concerning the revocation of his PRS. We will not address Friday’s arguments regarding the legality of his judgment of conviction for aggravated assault since he failed to appeal the trial court’s order dismissing his PCR claim regarding that judgment.1

[21]*21II. Sentence Revocation

¶ 9. Friday argues that the revocation of his PRS was illegal for several reasons. First, he argues he received no prompt probable-cause hearing after his arrest. Second, he argues he was not given both a preliminary and final revocation hearing. Third, he argues that the trial court denied him due process because he was not given notice of the hearing and was not allowed to present evidence at the hearing.

¶ 10. Friday argues his due-process right to a prompt hearing was violated because he was incarcerated for approximately 336 days between his arrest on December 18, 2008, and his hearing on November 20, 2009. In Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 485, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that once a suspect is detained for violating the terms of his or her release, a “minimal inquiry” must be conducted “as promptly as convenient after arrest while information is fresh and sources are available.” See also Riely v. State, 562 So.2d 1206, 1210 (Miss.1990). The purpose of this prompt inquiry is to “determine whether there is probable cause to hold the defendant for the final decision regarding revocation!)]” Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Here, no probable-cause hearing was necessary to hold Friday.

¶ 11. Friday was not incarcerated simply pending a decision on the revocation of his PRS. Rather, he was incarcerated on other charges for which he was later convicted. On March 4, 2009, Friday was found guilty of domestic violence; he received credit for time served. On September 3, 2009, he pled guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to twelve years. Because Friday was incarcerated on other grounds that later served to revoke his PRS, the delay in holding a hearing was harmless error. See Presley v. State, 48 So.3d 526, 530 (¶ 14) (Miss.2010). As the supreme court held in Presley:

Under harmless error analysis, the failure to provide [the defendant] with an immediate informal “probable cause” hearing shortly after the State began proceedings to revoke his probation -will not be seen to render ineffective the subsequent formal proceeding at which [the defendant] was afforded all the due process protections required under Mor-rissey

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Bluebook (online)
141 So. 3d 18, 2014 WL 815149, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friday-v-state-missctapp-2014.