Hubbard v. State

919 So. 2d 1022, 2005 WL 1683612
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 19, 2005
Docket2003-CA-02357-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 919 So. 2d 1022 (Hubbard 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
Hubbard v. State, 919 So. 2d 1022, 2005 WL 1683612 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

919 So.2d 1022 (2005)

Shawn HUBBARD, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2003-CA-02357-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

July 19, 2005.

*1024 Sanford Knott, Jackson, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Daniel Hinchcliff, attorney for appellee.

Before BRIDGES, P.J., CHANDLER and ISHEE, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. The Circuit Court of Warren County revoked Shawn Hubbard's suspended sentence. Hubbard filed a motion for post-conviction relief. After an evidentiary hearing, the court denied the motion. Hubbard appeals, asserting: (1) that the trial judge erred by not finding that it was an abuse of discretion for him to preside over the revocation hearing; (2) that the trial court erroneously found that Hubbard had waived his right to a preliminary hearing; and (3) that there was insufficient evidence that Hubbard violated the terms of his probation by failing to avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character.

¶ 2. We find no error and, therefore, affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

FACTS

¶ 3. On June 5, 1997, Hubbard was convicted of sale of cocaine. Though the sentencing order does not appear in the record, it is apparent from other documents that the court sentenced Hubbard to eight years, with five years suspended. During the five year suspended sentence, Hubbard was on supervised probation.

¶ 4. In January 2003, the Vicksburg Police Department learned that William Smith, a prior felon, had sold cocaine at the residence of Claude Jones. The police obtained a search warrant for the Jones residence and an arrest warrant for Smith. On January 9, officers went to the Jones residence to execute the warrants. As Officer Penny Branch climbed the stairs in front of the house, she smelled a strong odor of burning marijuana. Sergeant Jeff Merritt also detected the odor of burning marijuana as he entered the house. The police found Jones, Smith, and Hubbard seated in the living room. Sergeant Virgil Woodall found a bag of marijuana under the cushion of Hubbard's chair. The police also found weapons concealed in the house. Hubbard was arrested.

¶ 5. At the revocation hearing, Hubbard stated that he had been at the Jones residence for about twenty or thirty minutes before the police arrived. Hubbard explained that he had visited the Jones residence in order to offer Jones a place to live because Jones was being evicted. Hubbard denied having seen any marijuana at the residence, having known marijuana was there, or having smelled an odor of burning marijuana. Hubbard denied having known that Smith was a convicted felon or that the residence was a place where drugs were sold.

¶ 6. The court found there was no showing that Hubbard had known that drugs were being sold at the Jones residence. However, the court found that Hubbard was at a place where marijuana was obviously being used because it smelled of marijuana and there was marijuana in Hubbard's chair. The court held that Hubbard had violated the terms of his probation by failing to avoid persons and places of disreputable or harmful character, and revoked Hubbard's suspended *1025 sentence. Hubbard challenged the proceedings at the revocation hearing in his motion for post-conviction relief.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. When reviewing the denial of a motion for post-conviction relief, this Court will not disturb the trial court's fact-findings unless they are found to be clearly erroneous. Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595, 598 (¶ 6) (Miss.1999). However, when questions of law are raised, the standard of review is de novo. Id.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED BY NOT FINDING THAT IT WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION FOR HIM TO PRESIDE OVER THE REVOCATION HEARING.

¶ 8. Hubbard argues that the circuit judge, Judge Frank G. Voller, impermissibly instructed Hubbard's probation officer to charge Hubbard with certain probation violations. Hubbard avers that, based on this conduct, a reasonable person would doubt Judge Voller's impartiality and, therefore, Judge Voller should have disqualified himself from presiding over Hubbard's revocation hearing.

¶ 9. Hubbard did not raise this issue at the revocation proceedings. A prisoner's failure to "raise objections, defenses, claims, questions, issues or errors either in fact or law which were capable of determination" in the proceeding under collateral attack constitutes a waiver thereof. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(1) (Supp.2004). This Court may grant relief from the waiver upon a showing of cause and actual prejudice. Id. The burden rests with the prisoner to allege facts necessary to demonstrate that his claims are not procedurally barred. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(6) (Supp.2004). In his PCR, Hubbard did not provide any explanation for why he could not or should not have moved for Judge Voller's recusal at the revocation proceedings. Therefore, this issue is procedurally barred. Id.

¶ 10. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, Hubbard's claim is without merit. Hubbard's probation officer, Barbara Clark, testified at the evidentiary hearing. Clark stated that, after Hubbard's arrest, she brought the offense report to Judge Voller, who read it and requested that Clark draft a warrant for Hubbard's violation of probation. Judge Voller instructed Clark to include the allegations of unlawful possession of a firearm and failure to avoid persons of disreputable or harmful character. Clark identified a document entitled, "Affidavit, Violation of Probation," as the document she drafted in response to Judge Voller's request for a warrant. The document alleged that Hubbard had materially violated his probation by failure to avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character and by felony possession of a firearm. The document was signed by Clark and witnessed by Judge Voller.

¶ 11. Hubbard argues that Judge Voller's instruction of Clark as to Hubbard's probation violations ran afoul of the doctrine of separation of powers and warranted Judge Voller's recusal pursuant to Canon 3E(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which provides:

[j]udges should disqualify themselves in proceedings in which their impartiality might be questioned by a reasonable person knowing all the circumstances or for other grounds provided in the Code of Judicial Conduct or otherwise as provided by law, including but not limited to instances where: (a) the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding;.. . .

*1026 Hubbard argues that Judge Voller's impartiality might be questioned because he essentially acted in a prosecutorial capacity when he specified the probation violations that Clark should allege against Hubbard.

¶ 12. The case of Dodson v. Singing River Hospital Sys., 839 So.2d 530, 532-33 (¶¶ 10-13) (Miss.2003) discussed the standard by which this Court reviews a claim that a judge should have disqualified himself under Canon 3. There is a presumption that a judge was qualified and unbiased. Id. at 533 (¶ 10). A judge must disqualify himself if "a reasonable person, knowing all the circumstances, would harbor doubts about his impartiality." Collins v. Joshi, 611 So.2d 898, 901 (Miss.1992) (citations omitted).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Alexander Buchanan v. State of Mississippi
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2023
Demario Walker v. State of Mississippi
230 So. 3d 709 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2016)
David Adams v. State of Mississippi
201 So. 3d 521 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2016)
Pruitt v. State
85 So. 3d 876 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2011)
Presley v. State
48 So. 3d 526 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2010)
AGENT v. State
30 So. 3d 370 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2010)
State v. Canales
916 A.2d 767 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
919 So. 2d 1022, 2005 WL 1683612, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hubbard-v-state-missctapp-2005.