Gazaway v. State

708 So. 2d 1385, 1998 WL 101754
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 10, 1998
Docket96-KA-00657 COA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 708 So. 2d 1385 (Gazaway 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
Gazaway v. State, 708 So. 2d 1385, 1998 WL 101754 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

708 So.2d 1385 (1998)

Timothy Allen GAZAWAY, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 96-KA-00657 COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 10, 1998.

*1386 William Charles Bell, Ridgeland, for Appellant.

Michael C. Moore, Attorney General, W. Glenn Watts, Sp. Asst. Attorney General, Jackson, for Appellee.

Before THOMAS, P.J., and KING and PAYNE, JJ.

THOMAS, Presiding Judge, for the Court:

¶ 1. Timothy Allen Gazaway appeals his conviction for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana raising the following issues as error:

I. THE TRIAL COURT ABRIDGED GAZAWAY'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL JURY WHEN THE COURT DENIED GAZAWAY'S MOTION FOR A MISTRIAL ON THE GROUND THAT THE COURT APPOINTED THE FOREMEN OF THE JURY.

II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY DENYING GAZAWAY'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS ADMISSION OF THE MARIJUANA AND CRYSTAL METHAMPHETAMINE THAT WAS SEIZED PURSUANT TO AN ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On December 6, 1995, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, along with the Mississippi Department Of Transportation, were conducting a drug interdiction detail along Interstate 20 in Scott County. They were also checking commercial vehicles for Department of Transportation violations. A semi-truck was observed which had improper blue lights on the rear of the truck. The truck was pulled over and eventually searched.

¶ 4. The driver of the truck was Marie Gazaway. Her husband, Timothy Gazaway, was in the sleeper compartment of the truck when it was pulled over. Luis Hawkins, an officer of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, approached Mrs. Gazaway and asked if she would consent to have her truck searched and she agreed. After having asked Mr. Gazaway to step down, Officer Hawkins then preceded to search the truck. Officer Hawkins found a container in the sleeper compartment of the truck which contained marijuana.

*1387 ¶ 5. James Richardson, an officer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, dealt with Mr. Gazaway while Officer Hawkins conducted his search. He asked Mr. Gazaway to both take his hands out of his pockets and to empty his pockets. Mr. Gazaway was observed throwing a small package from his pocket into the truck. The package was recovered and discovered to contain crystal methamphetamine.

¶ 6. Mr. Gazaway was placed under arrest, searched, and read his Miranda rights. The search incident to arrest resulted in the discovery of more marijuana. He then told the officers that all of the drugs found belonged to him. Mrs. Gazaway was neither arrested nor indicted. Officers then asked Mrs. Gazaway to write out her consent, which she did. This written consent was drafted after the search of the truck and was witnessed by Officer Palmer, another member of the Mississippi Department of Transportation present at the scene. Mr. Gazaway was indicted for possession of controlled substances. Following deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of guilty.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE TRIAL COURT ABRIDGED TIMOTHY GAZAWAY'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL JURY WHEN THE COURT DENIED TIMOTHY GAZAWAY'S MOTION FOR A MISTRIAL ON THE GROUND THAT THE COURT APPOINTED THE FOREMAN OF THE JURY.

¶ 7. The Mississippi Supreme Court has mandated that trial judges should not appoint jury foremen, for that is a decision which should be made by fellow jurors. Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1259 (Miss. 1995). The trial judge in this case did in fact appoint the jury foreman. However, in this instance, Gazaway failed to make a contemporaneous objection when the trial judge appointed the jury foreman. After the foreman was appointed, the jury was allowed to retire and deliberate for forty-five minutes. Upon return of the guilty verdict the jury was dismissed and proceedings concluded for the day. Sentencing of the defendant was then scheduled for the following day. Not until the next morning did Gazaway bring this issue to the trial court's attention. This issue was first raised with a motion for mistrial right before sentencing. The failure to make a contemporaneous objection waives the right to raise this issue on appeal. Id. (citing Chase v. State, 645 So.2d 829, 835 (Miss. 1994); Cole v. State, 525 So.2d 365, 369 (Miss. 1987); Irving v. State, 498 So.2d 305 (Miss. 1986); Cannaday v. State, 455 So.2d 713, 718-19 (Miss. 1984)). Furthermore, Gazaway could not advance at trial or on appeal any meaningful argument as to prejudice, except to assume or infer some taint on the jury's deliberations. We will not address issues not properly preserved for review. This issue is procedural barred.

II.

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY DENYING TIMOTHY GAZAWAY'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS ADMISSION OF THE MARIJUANA AND CRYSTAL METHAMPHETAMINE THAT WAS SEIZED PURSUANT TO AN ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE.

¶ 8. Gazaway argues that the marijuana and crystal methamphetamine introduced as evidence against him at trial was seized pursuant to an illegal search and seizure and therefore, should be excluded. The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution as well as Art. 3, § 23 of the Mississippi Constitution. This right is protected by the warrant clauses of both provisions, which require the government to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before a search is conducted. However, the constitutional preference for searches pursuant to a warrant is tempered by the fact that both the United States Supreme *1388 Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court have recognized certain well-delineated exceptions to the requirement of obtaining a valid warrant. Graves v. State, 708 So.2d 858, 861 (Miss. 1997). These exceptions include search incident to arrest, search of a vehicle (where probable cause exists that the car is evidence of a crime or may contain evidence of a crime), plain view, stop and frisk, hot pursuit and emergency search, administrative search, and consent to a search. Id.

¶ 9. Chief among these exceptions is the one allowing for consent to a search. Id. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that a voluntary consent to a search eliminates an officer's need to obtain a search warrant. Davis v. United States, 328 U.S. 582, 593, 66 S.Ct. 1256, 1261, 90 L.Ed. 1453 (1946); Zap v. United States, 328 U.S. 624, 628, 66 S.Ct. 1277, 1279, 90 L.Ed. 1477 (1946). The Mississippi Supreme Court has also recognized that a defendant can waive his rights under the warrant requirement by consenting to a search. Smith v. State, 133 Miss. 730, 731, 98 So. 344, 345 (Miss. 1923); Quan v. State, 185 Miss. 513, 514, 188 So. 568, 569 (Miss. 1939); Penick v. State, 440 So.2d 547, 549 (Miss. 1983); Jones v. Mississippi Dept. of Public Safety, 607 So.2d 23, 26 (Miss. 1991). Where the United States Supreme Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court differ is upon what constitutes a valid consent.

¶ 10. The United States Supreme Court addressed the issue of consent in the landmark case of Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). There the Schneckloth

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
708 So. 2d 1385, 1998 WL 101754, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gazaway-v-state-missctapp-1998.