Hatten v. State

938 So. 2d 365, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 697, 2006 WL 2729545
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 26, 2006
DocketNo. 2004-KA-02241-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 938 So. 2d 365 (Hatten 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
Hatten v. State, 938 So. 2d 365, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 697, 2006 WL 2729545 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

IRVING, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. Willie Earl Hatten, Sr. was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jones County of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sentenced to three years, as a habitual offender, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He appeals, alleging that the trial court erred in refusing to quash the indictment, in refusing to grant a directed verdict, and in denying his request for a new trial.

¶ 2. We find no error in Hattens’ allegations; therefore, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On April 20, 2003, the Laurel Police Department received an anonymous complaint that a man in the Brown Circle area of Laurel was firing a gun into the air. The complainant gave a detailed description of the man. Officers went to investigate the area. Once there, they discovered Hatten, who was wearing clothing that matched the description given by the anonymous complainant. When the officers encountered Hatten, he was leaning into a truck and was talking to the driver of the truck, which was blocking traffic in the area. When officers conducted a cursory safety search of Hatten, they discovered a 9 millimeter pistol tucked into the waistband of his clothing. One of the officers on the scene knew that Hatten was a convicted felon, and Hatten was arrested and charged as a convicted felon in possession of a deadly weapon, a violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-37-5, as annotated.1

[367]*367¶ 4. At trial, Hatten testified that a man had driven a ear over his feet. Hatten testified that he was able to stop and encounter the car, whose driver then pulled a gun on Hatten. Hatten testified that there was a struggle, and he was able to wrest the gun away from the man. Hatten further testified that he then called someone to come pick him up and get him out of the area. Hatten testified that the individual in the truck that Hatten was talking to was someone that Hatten was attempting to get a ride with. Hatten also testified that he did not seek medical attention as a result of the car running his feet over. The officers who were at the scene testified that Hatten did not request any medical attention as a result of any injuries that he sustained when the car ran over him. There was no indication that Hatten contacted police regarding the incident with the vehicle and its driver.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Amendment of Indictment

¶ 5. Hatten contends that the indictment charging him was fatally defective because it alleged an incorrect date for one of his prior felony convictions. Hatten admits that the indictment is correct as to everything (court, case number, crime, etc.) except the specific date of the prior conviction. The court found that the indictment was not fatally defective and allowed the State to amend the indictment to reflect the correct date of the prior conviction.

¶ 6. As support, Hatten cites Watson v. State, 291 So.2d 741, 743 (Miss.1974), where the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed a defendant’s conviction on the basis of an indictment which failed to set forth with enough specificity the details of the defendant’s prior felony conviction. We find that Watson is distinguished from this case because the indictment in Watson apparently alleged only that the defendant had “been previously convicted of a felony” without giving any details as to the prior felony. Id. The Watson court noted that the prior felony statute at issue in the case required that the prior conviction be a felony “under the laws of this state, any other state, or of the United States.” Id. Therefore, since the indictment failed to allege anything about the nature of the prior felony, such as what state the felony was obtained in, the indictment was fatally defective. Id. By contrast, the indictment in this case gave numerous details about Hatten’s prior convictions, and merely failed to correctly assert the proper date of one of his prior convictions.

¶ 7. In order to be sufficient, an indictment must “be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged and [must] fully notify the defendant of the nature and cause of the accusation against him.” Havard v. State, 928 So.2d 771, 801 (¶ 60) (Miss.2006) (quoting Byrom v. State, 863 So.2d 836, 865 (Miss.2003)). In the present case, the indictment clearly informed Hatten of his prior convictions. The indictment alleged the crimes exactly, along with their respective cause numbers, and simply contained an incorrect date. Hatten was clearly on notice and informed about the prior convictions that the State intended to use in order to prove his habitual offender status.

¶ 8. Particularly on point is Benson v. State, 551 So.2d 188, 196 (Miss.1989), where the Mississippi Supreme Court held that an indictment’s failure to list any date for a prior conviction was not fatal to the indictment. In so finding, the court noted:

[368]*368While it is correct that the date of the judgment is not specifically stated in the indictment, all of the information that is contained, and specifically the cause number, afforded the defendant access to the date of the judgment. This Court holds that information pertaining to the date of the judgment was substantially set forth in the indictment and that sufficient information was afforded the defendant to inform him of the specific prior convictions upon which the State relied for enhancement punishment to comply with due process.

Id. The same is true in the case currently before us. While the indictment alleged an incorrect date, Hatten clearly had access to and was aware of the proper date of the judgment. Furthermore, because the change of the date in the indictment did nothing to prejudice Hatten in his defense and was not material to the charges against him, the court was correct in allowing the State to amend the indictment to reflect the correct date. Montgomery v. State, 891 So.2d 179, 184-85 (¶¶ 22-23) (Miss.2004).

¶ 9. Also particularly on point is Rule 7.09 of the Mississippi Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court, which states:

Indictments may also be amended to charge the defendant as an habitual offender or to elevate the level of the offense where the offense is one which is subject to enhanced punishment for subsequent offenses and the amendment is to assert prior offenses justifying such enhancement.... Amendment shall be allowed only if the defendant is afforded a fair opportunity to present a defense and is not unfairly surprised.

Therefore, even if the State had not put Hatten’s prior convictions in the indictment at all, it would have been entitled to amend the indictment to reflect Hatten’s prior convictions that prove his habitual offender status.

¶ 10. The indictment in this case sufficiently apprised Hatten of the “nature and cause of the accusation against him.” The indictment was not fatally defective as a result of the incorrect date alleged for Hatten’s prior conviction, and the court was correct in allowing amendment of the indictment. Therefore, this issue is without merit.

2. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 11. A motion for directed verdict challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction. Bush v. State,

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Lenard v. State
828 So. 2d 232 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2002)
Benson v. State
551 So. 2d 188 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1989)
Amiker v. Drugs for Less, Inc.
796 So. 2d 942 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2000)
Bush v. State
895 So. 2d 836 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2005)
Edwards v. State
469 So. 2d 68 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1985)
Franklin v. State
676 So. 2d 287 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1996)
Montgomery v. State
891 So. 2d 179 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2004)
Watson v. State
291 So. 2d 741 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1974)
Havard v. State
928 So. 2d 771 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2006)
Herring v. State
691 So. 2d 948 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1997)
Byrom v. State
863 So. 2d 836 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2003)
Carr v. State
208 So. 2d 886 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1968)
Spicer v. State
921 So. 2d 292 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
938 So. 2d 365, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 697, 2006 WL 2729545, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hatten-v-state-missctapp-2006.