Jackson v. State

935 So. 2d 1108, 2006 WL 1229731
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 9, 2006
Docket2004-KA-00784-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 935 So. 2d 1108 (Jackson 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
Jackson v. State, 935 So. 2d 1108, 2006 WL 1229731 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

935 So.2d 1108 (2006)

Kado James JACKSON, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2004-KA-00784-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 9, 2006.

*1111 Herbert H. Klein, attorney for appellant.

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

EN BANC.

MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

GRIFFIS, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. The motion for rehearing is denied. The original opinion is withdrawn and this opinion substituted in its place.

¶ 2. A series of thefts, reported by Artis Shows, from construction sites in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, eventually led Officer David Jerrell, an investigator with the Forrest County Sheriff's Department, to the residence of Kado James Jackson on September 2, 2003. Officer Jerrell was joined by Officer Glenn Moore, also with the Forrest County Sheriff's Department, and Officer Michael Palmer, from the Petal Police Department, both of whom were assigned to the Metro Narcotics Task Force for Forrest and Perry Counties. No one answered the door at Jackson's house, so Officer Jerrell contacted Jackson by phone and requested that he come there. Jackson agreed, and the officers waited, remaining outside at all times. While waiting, though, they were joined by Officers Robert McGinty and Mark Denny, both of whom were assigned to the Metro Narcotics Task Force for Forrest and Perry Counties through their employment with the Hattiesburg Police Department. Jackson arrived shortly thereafter, at which time Officer Jerrell explained to him why he and the other officers were there. Officer Jerrell then advised Jackson of his Miranda rights, after which Jackson executed a written consent to search form. The ensuing search of the house yielded, inter alia, a large quantity of cocaine along with three individuals, namely, Carl Willis, Roderick Wilborn, and a minor child.

¶ 3. All evidence seized in said search was then presented to a grand jury in the Circuit Court of Forrest County. The grand jury heard, in pertinent part, Officer *1112 Jerrell testify to the fact that Jackson admitted during said search that all of the cocaine found was his and his alone. The State also called Benny Sellers to the stand, who testified, in his capacity as the city engineer as well as the director of public services for the City of Hattiesburg, that Jackson's house was approximately 285 feet from Beacon Baptist Church. The grand jury returned an indictment at the conclusion of said hearing, and on December 16, 2003, Jackson was found guilty of possession of more than thirty grams of cocaine with the intent to transfer or distribute, with said act having been committed within 1,500 feet of a church. The court then sentenced Jackson to a term of sixty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with ten years suspended on post-release supervision, and ordered Jackson to pay $25,000 in fines plus all costs of court.

¶ 4. On December 22, 2003, Jackson filed what he termed a motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a judgment notwithstanding the verdict; however, the motion was denied. Aggrieved by the denial, Jackson has effectuated this appeal and presents fifteen assignments of error, which have been combined into the following fourteen assignments of error for our review:

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN DENYING JACKSON'S VARIOUS MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE ALLEGEDLY SEIZED WITHOUT A WARRANT

II. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR BY ALLOWING TESTIMONY THAT WAS INADMISSABLE AS HEARSAY, THUS IN VIOLATION OF THE CONFRONTATION CLAUSE

III. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN ADMITTING INTO EVIDENCE EXHIBIT S-7 BASED ON THE STATE'S FAILURE TO ESTABLISH A PROPER CHAIN OF CUSTODY

IV. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN ALLOWING OFFICER MOORE TO TESTIFY AS AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF FINGERPRINTING

V. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN GIVING JURY INSTRUCTION S-6

VI. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN ADMITTING INTO EVIDENCE EXHIBIT S-8

VII. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN DENYING JACKSON'S MOTION FOR A DIRECTED VERDICT BASED ON THE STATE'S FAILURE TO PROVE THE DISTANCE SPECIFIED IN THE INDICTMENT

VIII. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN GIVING JURY INSTRUCTIONS S-1A AND S-3A

IX. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN DENYING JURY INSTRUCTION D-17

X. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN PROHIBITING JACKSON'S ATTORNEY FROM DISCUSSING HIS THEORY OF DEFENSE DURING CLOSING ARGUMENTS

XI. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERRONEOUSLY SENTENCE JACKSON TO A TERM WHICH EXCEEDED THAT OUTLINED IN THE PLEA BARGAIN

XII. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERRONEOUSLY CONSIDERING FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE WHEN SENTENCING JACKSON

XIII. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERRONEOUSLY SENTENCE JACKSON IN VIOLATION OF THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT

XIV. DID THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THE INDIVIDUAL ERRORS COMMITTED BY THE TRIAL COURT PREJUDICE JACKSON, *1113 THUS ENTITLING HIM TO A NEW TRIAL

Finding Jackson's argument to be without merit, we affirm.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

¶ 5. We preface our discussion in this matter noting that Jackson, in raising fifteen assignments of error, premises the arguments he advances as to some on conclusions he reaches on others. Therefore, in striving for clarity and brevity, we will combine such issues in our discussion when appropriate.

I. UNCONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE

¶ 6. Jackson maintains that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress all evidence seized in the search of his house based on his contention that said search was conducted without a warrant. More specifically, Jackson claims that the officers who conducted the search of his property (a) trespassed via the rear driveway, entered the house without either probable cause or a valid search warrant, (b) began searching his property prior to obtaining his consent to search, (c) failed to restrict said search based on his "limited" consent to search and continued the search over his objection, which he believes he effectively revoked, what he terms, his "limited" written consent to search, and (d) the State failed to prove consent to search was voluntary pursuant to Agee v. State, 185 So.2d 671 (Miss.1966). Jackson additionally claims that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress statements made by him during the search because they are tainted as "fruit of the poisonous tree."

¶ 7. First, we note that a claim of police trespass cannot occur on areas normally used by visitors. Mitchell v. State, 792 So.2d 192, 206(¶ 56) (Miss.2001). Just as the officers entered Jackson's property in the case at bar, the court in Mitchell found that the area the police occupied "was an area of common use, near the driveway and the back door." Id. Secondly, the search did not begin until Jackson's consent was obtained; therefore, the Fourth Amendment was not violated. The officers proceeded to search Jackson's property only after being authorized to do so, pursuant to the consent to search form executed by Jackson in writing. Searches may compromise an individual's interest in privacy; however, if an article is in plain view, neither its observation nor seizure would involve an invasion of privacy for Fourth Amendment purposes. Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 133-35, 110 S.Ct. 2301, 110 L.Ed.2d 112 (1990).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
935 So. 2d 1108, 2006 WL 1229731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-state-missctapp-2006.