Greer v. State

755 So. 2d 511, 1999 WL 432578
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 22, 1999
Docket98-KA-00013-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 755 So. 2d 511 (Greer 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
Greer v. State, 755 So. 2d 511, 1999 WL 432578 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

755 So.2d 511 (1999)

Kent GREER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 98-KA-00013-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 22, 1999.
Rehearing Denied September 28, 1999.
Certiorari Denied February 17, 2000.

*513 Edward Blackmon, Canton, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Dewitt T. Allred, III, Attorney for Appellee.

BEFORE KING, P.J., PAYNE, AND THOMAS, JJ.

THOMAS, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Kent Greer appeals his conviction of aggravated assault and murder, raising the following issues as error:

I. THE COURT ERRED IN QUESTIONING A JUROR ABOUT CONVERSATIONS HE MAY HAVE HAD WITH A MEMBER OF THE DEFENDANT'S FAMILY DURING A COURT RECESS PRIOR TO THE START OF THE STATE'S CASE THUS PLACING UPON THE JUROR A DUTY OF CASING A GUILTY VERDICT IN ORDER *514 TO PROVE HIS "IMPARTIALITY."

II. THE COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN ALLOWING DEPUTY SHERIFF MARCH TO TESTIFY AS A WEAPONS EXPERT.

III. THE COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF A JACK WHICH WAS NOT A WEAPON USED BY THE DEFENDANT.

IV. REVERSIBLE ERROR WAS COMMITTED BY THE COURT IN DENYING INSTRUCTION D-4.

V. THE COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR A MISTRIAL IN RESPONSE TO PREJUDICIAL REMARKS MADE BY THE STATE DURING CLOSING.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On November 9, 1996, Kent Greer along with Frederick Russell and Tony Granderson arrived at an establishment called Mary Walden's in Lexington, Mississippi. Greer exchanged some words with Tonnie Kimbrough and his friends when Kimbrough or another person swung a truck door in front of Greer just as he was passing by. Greer and his friends went into Walden's and shot pool. Shortly thereafter, Greer left Walden's. What happened after that depends on which witness was telling the story. Most of the State's witnesses testified that Greer hit Richard Smith, a friend of Kimbrough's, over the head with a beer bottle. Thereafter, a fight ensued. State's witnesses testified that friends of Greer's, not Greer himself, started hitting Richard Smith over the head with a tire jack. After the fight started, Kimbrough retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from his vehicle and began firing, apparently in all directions. Many witnesses claimed that Kimbrough's purpose in firing was to break up what essentially had become a riot. Greer left the scene. State's witnesses testified that Greer returned several minutes later carrying an A-K 47 assault rifle. He then fired several shots into Richard Smith who was on the ground. By that time, Kimbrough had returned to his truck. Greer fired several shots into Kimbrough as he was getting into a truck.

¶ 4. Defense witnesses told a slightly different story. Witnesses testified that as soon as Greer exited Walden's, Richard Smith took off his belt buckle and started attacking Greer and his friends. Kimbrough's friends attacked Greer with a beer bottle. Kimbrough was shooting into the crowd. Jessie Walden, who was attempting to break up the fight, was shot by Kimbrough. Kimbrough returned to his truck. Allegedly, Kimbrough had stopped firing his .22 because it was jammed, a fact which was later ascertained after law enforcement arrived on the scene. Greer then fired his A-K 47 assault rifle a number of times into the truck, striking Kimbrough.

¶ 5. Therefore, this present case arises out of a fight characterized by a shooting spree which left Tonnie Kimbrough dead, Richard Smith with serious permanent injuries, and Jessie Walden as a quadriplegic.

¶ 6. Greer was tried for the murder of Tommie Kimbrough and aggravated assault upon Richard Smith. The jury found Greer guilty on both counts.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE COURT ERRED IN QUESTIONING A JUROR ABOUT CONVERSATIONS HE MAY HAVE HAD WITH A MEMBER OF THE DEFENDANT'S FAMILY DURING A COURT RECESS PRIOR TO THE START OF THE STATE'S CASE THUS PLACING UPON THE JUROR A DUTY OF CASTING A GUILTY VERDICT IN ORDER TO PROVE HIS "IMPARTIALITY."

¶ 7. Just prior to the State putting on its case, but subsequent to jury selection, *515 the victim witness coordinator advised the district attorney that one of the jurors had been seen standing near a family member of the defendant outside the courthouse. The trial judge called the coordinator into the courtroom so she could tell what she saw and be questioned by both the State and the defense. She stated that when she came to the courthouse after lunch, she saw a juror standing with the family members of the defendant. The backs of the juror and the family members were toward her and when she got near them she did not see them talking. She stated that the juror was smoking a cigarette. The coordinator approached the juror and told him that he needed to go back in the courtroom. The juror responded that he did not say anything and he did not even know who they were.

¶ 8. After the coordinator gave her side of the incident, the trial judge indicated that he would be calling in the juror to question him on the incident. Defense counsel stated that the singling out of this juror would unquestionably make this juror feel like he did something or somebody believed that he did something wrong. The trial judge brought in the juror. The juror stated that he had just finished lunch and went to have a cigarette. He did not know the relatives, he did not talk to anyone, and he did not overhear them talking about the case. After the juror left, the defense moved for a mistrial, which was denied.

¶ 9. Greer argues that the effect on the juror of being summoned and singled out was to plant in the juror's mind that he would be carefully watched by the court as well as the State, thus prejudicing his ability to decide the case by being able to concentrate solely on the evidence. The trial court's action thus biased the juror, and for the State and the court to take the position that their questioning of this juror did not "influence him one way or the other" is somewhat naive.

¶ 10. "[W]henever there is a question concerning outside influencing of a jury, the trial judge himself ought to examine the jury carefully to ensure that the jury's deliberations are based on the evidence produced at trial and not extraneous matters." Williamson v. State, 512 So.2d 868, 882 (Miss.1987) (overruled on other grounds). "The most fundamental and sacred rights secured for the criminal defendant is his right to a trial before a fair and impartial jury." Id. at 881 (citing Johnson v. State, 476 So.2d 1195, 1209 (Miss.1985)). "Because of this, once the jury is empaneled, all cautionary measures possible should be taken to prevent extraneous or outside influence from reaching the jury in an effort to ensure impartiality and to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial. The jury's verdict must be based on the evidence before them." Williamson, 512 So.2d at 882. "Outside influences must be eliminated if possible and minimized otherwise or the verdict rendered is questionable and a mistrial is appropriate." Id. (citing Fuselier v. State, 468 So.2d 45 (Miss.1985)).

¶ 11. We are sure that had the juror not been interrogated about his involvement or lack of involvement with the defendant's family, on appeal the argument would be that Greer was denied his right to a fair and impartial jury under the Sixth Amendment. "The mere possibility that the jurors may have been influenced by some extraneous matter is not enough to set aside a verdict." Allman v. State, 571 So.2d 244, 247 (citing Irving v. State,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
755 So. 2d 511, 1999 WL 432578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greer-v-state-missctapp-1999.