Jenkins v. State

759 So. 2d 1229, 2000 WL 637534
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 18, 2000
Docket97-CT-01117-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 759 So. 2d 1229 (Jenkins 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
Jenkins v. State, 759 So. 2d 1229, 2000 WL 637534 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

759 So.2d 1229 (2000)

Hanson JENKINS, Jr., a/k/a "Bob"
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 97-CT-01117-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 18, 2000.

*1231 Richard A. Rehfeldt, Jackson, A. Randall Harris, Ridgeland, Attorneys for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Charles W. Maris, Jr., Attorney for Appellee.

EN BANC.

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

BANKS, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. We grant certiorari in this case to consider the interpretation of the manifest necessity requirement attentive to claims founded upon double jeopardy and arising out of the grant of a mistrial. We conclude that the Court of Appeals erred in its application of the principle. Nevertheless, because we find that the Court of Appeals also misinterpreted the record in concluding that any double jeopardy issue was raised or preserved, we affirm its judgment and that of the trial court.

I.

¶ 2. Hanson Jenkins, Jr. was twice put on trial under an indictment which charged him with sale of less than one ounce of marijuana and possession of more than one ounce of marijuana with intent to distribute. Jenkins was found guilty at his second trial and was sentenced to seventeen years in prison with five years suspended and twelve years to serve.

¶ 3. Jenkins raised six issues on appeal to the Court of Appeals of Mississippi. The Court of Appeals found these issues to be without merit and affirmed the convictions. Jenkins v. State, No. 97-KA-01117-SCT (Miss.Ct.App. Aug. 10, 1999).

¶ 4. Jenkins's petition to this Court for a writ of certiorari raised a single issue. It is an important issue because it involves whether Jenkins was denied a constitutional guarantee: Did the fact that Jenkins was retried, after a mistrial was granted in his first trial, result in a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Art. 3, § 21 of the Mississippi Constitution?

¶ 5. Certiorari was granted because the Court of Appeals reached the right result in affirming Jenkins's conviction, but for the wrong reasons. We granted the writ to correct that error, lest the bench and bar be misled.

II.

¶ 6. There was confusion over the seating of jurors in Jenkins's first trial. The Court of Appeals summarized the situation in its majority opinion, which we quote to avoid the use of paraphrase, as follows:

The convictions now before us were the result of Jenkins's second trial on this indictment. The first trial ended in a mistrial declared by the trial court, on its own motion, when it was discovered that one juror selected to sit in trial of the case had, through circumstances not fully understood, failed to take his seat in the jury box. Instead, another member of the venire not selected as a juror had taken that seat. This problem was not discovered until the trial had commenced. Upon initial discovery of the problem, defense counsel moved for a mistrial but the trial court denied the motion, concluding that a qualified alternate juror could be substituted for the *1232 missing juror without any prejudice to the defendant. However, later during the proceeding, the prodigal juror was located and the trial court inquired further into the circumstances. At that point, it began to appear that the trial court, in calling out the names of those selected to sit on the jury, had failed to call this juror's name. The trial court was apparently of the opinion that the court's failure to call the juror presented a different circumstance than the case where the juror's name was actually called but the juror failed to properly respond. Based on these developments, and without seeking the view of either the State or the defense, the trial court declared a mistrial on its own motion.

¶ 7. The Court of Appeals determined that the State was not barred from trying Jenkins a second time, because a "manifest necessity" for a mistrial was presented by these facts. The majority found support, in prior opinions by the United States Supreme Court and this Court, for the proposition that juror problems are matters vested in the sound discretion of the trial court. Three dissenting judges would have reversed and rendered for Jenkins pursuant to an analysis of precedents applied to the same facts.

¶ 8. A reviewing court examines the entire record to determine if a manifest necessity exists for a mistrial. United States v. Bauman, 887 F.2d 546, 550 (5th Cir.1989). If the record in this case revealed only the facts above presented, we would likely be compelled to reverse Jenkins's convictions. Our analysis of the entire record explains how we can disagree with the majority opinion of the Court of Appeals, yet affirm the conviction.

III.

¶ 9. The transcript of the first trial reveals that a juror was discovered to be missing before any testimony had been taken. The trial court announced that it was considering seating an alternate juror. The defendant thereupon moved for a mistrial. The trial judge announced that the trial would proceed with the seating of an alternate juror. The trial began. Some direct testimony was being taken from a police officer when the prodigal juror returned. The following exchange occurred outside the presence of the jury:

By the Court: The other juror is here.
By Mr. Gilmore (Counsel for Defendant): I renew my objection.
By Mr. Evans (District Attorney): Well, we've already started the trial. I don't think there's any question at this point, is there?
By the Court: I think the stone has been laid.
By Mr. Gilmore: We would like to make a record.
By the Court: All right. Make whatever record you want. Have a seat.
By Mr. Gilmore: Are you going to announce the situation?
By the Court: Let the record reflect that we've started the trial and we're about half-way through the first witness. The Court has already seated the alternate, and at the time the missing juror has appeared. Mr. Gilmore wants to make a record on that.
By Mr. Gilmore: Again, I would renew my objection to proceeding with this jury and ask the Court to declare a mistrial.
By the Court: That motion is overruled. Is there anything else on that issue?
By Mr. Gilmore: No, sir.
By the Court: You can tell him to go home now.
By Mr. Evans: Your Honor, I would make a motion really to ask that you ask if anybody told him to leave or anything like that, just to be safe.
By the Court: That's fine. And, I'm going to tell y'all what I'm going to do. If he states that I told him to leave that I will declare a mistrial.

¶ 10. The record indicates that the trial judge and attorneys then questioned the *1233 prodigal juror. The juror said his understanding was the judge said he could leave. The transcript reads:

By Mr. Gilmore: So, it was your understanding that the Judge told you that you could leave?
By Prodigal Juror: Yes, sir.
By Mr. Gilmore: I renew my motion, your honor.
By the Court:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 So. 2d 1229, 2000 WL 637534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-state-miss-2000.