John Patrick Jackson v. State of Mississippi

192 So. 3d 1143, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 370, 2016 WL 3153835
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 7, 2016
Docket2015-CA-00403-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 192 So. 3d 1143 (John Patrick Jackson v. State of Mississippi) 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
John Patrick Jackson v. State of Mississippi, 192 So. 3d 1143, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 370, 2016 WL 3153835 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

JAMES, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. John Patrick Jackson appeals from the circuit court’s denial of his motion for postconviction relief (PCR). Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On April 1, 2009, in cause number 09-112, Jackson waived indictment and, by criminal information, pled guilty to the possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, with intent to distribute in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-139(a) (Supp.2015), with the charge being enhanced under Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-152 (Rev.2013) for possession of a firearm. The circuit court accepted the prosecution’s recommendation pursuant to a plea agreement, and sentenced Jackson to forty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with twenty-three years to serve, twenty-two years suspended, and five years of post-release supervision, with the sentence to run concurrently with the sentence imposed in separate cause number 09-113.

¶ 3. On April 1, 2009, in cause number 09-113, Jackson waived indictment and, by criminal information, pled guilty to the sale of a controlled substance, cocaine, in violation of section 41-29-139(a). In cause number 09-113, the circuit court accepted the prosecution’s recommendation pursuant to a plea agreement, and sentenced Jackson to twenty-three years in the custody of MDOC.

¶ 4. On March 9, 2012, Jackson (pro se) filed a PCR motion arguing that his guilty plea was involuntary and that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. Jackson claimed that his plea was involuntary because his trial attorney, James K Dukes, gave him erroneous information regarding his charges and his parole eligibility. Jackson alleged that Dukes informed him that if he pled guilty, he would be eligible for parole. However, due to the *1145 firearm enhancement, Jackson was actually ineligible for parole. Jackson claimed that he would not have pled guilty had he known that he would be ineligible for parole.

¶ 5. On March 28, 2013, the circuit court summarily dismissed Jackson’s PCR motion without an evidentiary hearing. Jackson appealed from this order. Jackson v. State, 178 So.3d 807, 809 (¶ 7) (Miss.Ct.App.2014). On appeal, this Court held that Jackson had met the evidentiary burden required to obtain an evidentiary hearing, and remanded the case to the circuit court for an evidentiary hearing. Id. at 812 (¶¶ 22-23).

¶ 6. On January 15, 2015, the circuit court held an evidentiary hearing on Jackson’s PCR motion. Jackson was represented by new counsel. Jackson and his wife testified at the hearing. Jackson’s trial attorney, Dukes, also testified.

¶ 7. Jackson testified that prior to entering his guilty plea, Dukes told him that the firearm enhancement would double his sentence, but that he would be eligible for parole. Jackson’s wife also testified that immediately prior to the plea hearing, Dukes told Jackson that he would be eligible for parole. Jackson testified that he first found out he was , not eligible for parole — under Mississippi Code Annotated section 47-7-3 (Rev.2015)—due to the firearm enhancement when he was being processed and classified by MDOC. In stark contrast, Dukes testified that he told Jackson that he would not be eligible for parole. Dukes testified that he explained to Jackson that at the time of his guilty plea, his sentence, would be without the possibility of parole. Furthermore, Dukes testified that Jackson understood that he would not be eligible for parole.

¶ 8. After the circuit court heard testimony, received ten exhibits, and heard arguments of Counsel, it denied Jackson’s PCR motion. The circuit court determined that Jackson’s proof did not rise to the standard necessary for granting PCR. The circuit court specifically found that Jackson and his wife lacked credibility. However, the circuit court found Dukes’s testimony to be credible. On February 17, 2015, the circuit court entered an order denying Jackson’s PCR motion.

¶ 9. Jackson appeals raising three issues: (1) whether he was fully informed of the charges in the criminal informations filed against him; (2) whether he was informed that his charges excluded the possibility of parole; and (8) whether he was denied effective assistance of counsel.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 10. The Mississippi Supreme Court has provided the standard of review following an evidentiary hearing conducted by the circuit court in a PCR case:

When reviewing a [circuit] court’s decision to deny a motion for [PCR, the appellate court] will not disturb the trial court’s factual findings unless they, are found to be clearly erroneous.. In making that determination, [the appellate court] must examine the entire record and accept that evidence which supports or reasonably tends to support the findings- of fact made below, together with all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom and which favor,the [circuit] court’s finding of fact. That includes deference to the circuit judge as the sole authority for determining credibility of the witnesses.

Goodin v. State, 102 So.3d 1102, 1111 (¶ 30) (Miss.2012) (internal citations and quotations omitted).

¶11. However, questions of law are reviewed de novo. Id. At the evidentiary hearing, the PCR movant has the burden of “proving] by a preponderance of the *1146 evidence that he is entitled to the relief.” Id. (quoting Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-23(7) (Rev.2015)).

DISCUSSION

I. Whether Jackson was fully informed of the charges in the criminal informations filed against him.

¶ 12. Jackson argues that he was not fully informed of the charges in the criminal informations filed against him. Jackson claims that each criminal information was insufficient because the amount of cocaine was not specified'. "

¶ 13. On April 1, 2Ó09, Jackson filed a sworn petition to enter a guilty plea in both cause numbers pursuant to a plea agreement reached with the prosecution. In cause number 09-112, Jackson pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, with intent to distribute, with the firearm enhancement. Although the amount of cocaine was not listed in the criminal information, there is no requirement that the quantity of cocaine be listed. See Hawthorne v. State, 174 So.3d 306, 308 (¶ 7) (Miss.Ct.App.2015) (holding that while there was no quantity of cocaine listed in the indictment charging the defendant with possession of a controlled substance with intent to- distribute, there is no requirement that it be listed).

¶ 14. In cause number 09-113, Jackson pled guilty to the sale of a controlled substance, cocaine. “[A]n indictment is not defective for failing to list a quantity of cocaine in the context of a sale of cocaine charge. In fact, Mississippi law is clear that a quantity or amount of cocaine is not required to be listed in the indictment for a charge of sale of cocaine.” Id. at (¶ 6). Accordingly, we find that the criminal informations were not fatally defective.

¶ 15.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
192 So. 3d 1143, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 370, 2016 WL 3153835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-patrick-jackson-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2016.