Harris v. State

757 So. 2d 195, 2000 WL 233522
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 2, 2000
Docket1999-CP-00573-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 757 So. 2d 195 (Harris v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. State, 757 So. 2d 195, 2000 WL 233522 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

757 So.2d 195 (2000)

David A. HARRIS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1999-CP-00573-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 2, 2000.

*196 David A. Harris, Appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, Attorney for Appellee.

EN BANC.

BANKS, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. This matter is before the Court on appeal from a denial of post-conviction relief arising from David A. Harris's plea of guilty to felony D.U.I. Because we conclude that the trial court did not err, we affirm.

I.

¶ 2. On June 11, 1995, Harris was driving his motor vehicle east on Highway 42 in Sumrall, Lamar County. He admitted having drunk ten or eleven beers prior to driving his car. Harris lost control of his vehicle and swerved into the westbound lane of traffic, hitting the vehicle Cynthia Hall was driving. As a result of this collision, *197 Hall suffered extensive and permanent disfiguring injuries to her face, as well as her right elbow and arm.

¶ 3. On September 4, 1996, Harris pled guilty to felony D.U.I. in violation of Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30(4), as amended before the Circuit Court of Lamar County. The record of the plea hearing establishes that Harris and his attorney, William Ducker, were present and that the judge fully informed Harris of his rights and the consequences of waiving those rights by pleading guilty. The record further shows that the judge informed Harris of the maximum and minimum penalties and that there would be no sentencing recommendation by the State. The judge also inquired whether Harris's guilty plea was voluntarily given.

¶ 4. The factual basis of the plea was also examined, and Harris openly admitted to having committed the crime for which he was indicted. The plea hearing covered the fact that Harris refused to take a breath test at the scene and that a blood sample was taken from Harris and tested for alcohol content. The record contains a court order for medical personnel to release medical records from the hospital where the blood test was performed. These records indicated Harris's blood/alcohol content at the time of the wreck was.18. Also, the district attorney stated that if the case went to trial the State would present medical testimony regarding the permanent and disfiguring injuries suffered by Hall.

¶ 5. Harris had copies of the victim impact statement and benefitted from full discovery from the State, including knowledge of the nature and extent of Hall's injuries. After being read the indictment and hearing the change requested that the words "which caused disfigurement to her person" be added to the indictment, both Harris and his attorney agreed to the change. No objection was made to this addition. Harris subsequently pled guilty to felony D.U.I.

¶ 6. Harris's guilty plea was accepted as voluntarily given, and the circuit court sentenced him to twenty years with ten years suspended upon condition of completion of alcohol treatment and supervised probation. Harris was also ordered to make restitution to Hall in the amount of $37,765 for medical bills incurred, subject to Harris being employed and capable of making $200 monthly payments toward that bill.

¶ 7. On December 14, 1998, Harris filed his pro se Motion for Post Conviction Relief, supplying no documents or witness affidavits to support his claims. On January 13, 1999, the Circuit Court of Lamar County denied Harris's motion without holding a hearing, finding that his claims were unsupported, lacked merit, and were contradicted by his own guilty plea petition, admissions and answers to questions asked of himself and his counsel at his guilty plea hearing by the circuit court. Harris perfected his appeal to this Court.

II.

¶ 8. "When reviewing a lower court's decision to deny a petition for post conviction relief this Court will not disturb the trial court's factual findings unless they are found to be clearly erroneous. Bank of Mississippi v. Southern Mem'l Park, Inc., 677 So.2d 186, 191 (Miss.1996). However, where questions of law are raised the applicable standard of review is de novo. Id." Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595, 598 (Miss.1999).

A.

¶ 9. Harris argues that his indictment is not valid. We disagree. Here, Harris pled guilty to the crime. This Court has held that a guilty plea waives any claim to a defective indictment. Jefferson v. State, 556 So.2d 1016, 1019 (Miss. 1989).

¶ 10. Nevertheless, the indictment against Harris is valid. The indictment against Harris states that he:

*198 did wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and negligently operate a motor vehicle on Highway 42, a highway in the city of Sumrall, County of Lamar, State of Mississippi, at a time when he was under the influence of intoxicating liquor and that while he was operating the said motor vehicle in a negligent manner the defendant while traveling east of Highway 42 did negligently veer into the west bound lane of the said highway and thereby striking the vehicle that Cynthia C. Hall, a human being, was traveling in thereby causing injury to her face, eye, left knee and toe, and right elbow which caused disfigurement to her face, eye, lip and body, contrary to and in violation of Section 63-11-30(4) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended; against the peace and dignity of the state of Mississippi.

¶ 11. In its version at the time of Harris's crime, Miss.Code Ann. § 63-11-30 included some nine subsections the relevant portions of which in this case were (1) and (4) stated as follows:

(1) It is unlawful for any person to drive or otherwise operate a vehicle within this statute who (a) is under the influence of intoxicating liquor;
. . . .
(4) Every person who operates any motor vehicle in violation of the provision of subsection (1) of this section and who in a negligent manner causes the death of another or mutilates, disfigures, permanently disables or destroys the tongue, eye, lip, nose or any other limb, organ or member of another shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony and shall be committed to the custody of the State Department of Corrections for a period of time not to exceed twenty-five (25) years.

Miss.Code Ann. § 63-11-30 (1995). As part of a 1998 amendment, subpart (4) has been renumbered as subpart (5) in the current version of this statute, Miss.Code Ann. § 63-11-30-(5) (Supp.1999).

1.

¶ 12. Harris contends that the indictment as originally worded failed to charge him with a crime, and that the indictment's subsequent amendment was unlawful. His argument centers around the contention that "disfigurement" is an essential element of the crime for which he was indicted. This argument has no merit.

¶ 13. This Court has previously held that § 63-11-30(4) imposes criminal liability on a person who (1) negligently operates a motor vehicle while intoxicated and (2) causes death or injury to another person. Hedrick v. State, 637 So.2d 834, 837-38 (Miss.1994). The indictment, even as originally worded, clearly charges Harris with these two elements. Furthermore, given the holding in Hedrick,

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Bluebook (online)
757 So. 2d 195, 2000 WL 233522, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-state-miss-2000.