Jones v. Quitman County, Mississippi

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 6, 2025
Docket3:23-cv-00455
StatusUnknown

This text of Jones v. Quitman County, Mississippi (Jones v. Quitman County, Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Quitman County, Mississippi, (N.D. Miss. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI OXFORD DIVISION KENDRA JONES, Individually and as Personal Representative on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of TYRONE JONES, Deceased PLAINTIFF vs. Civil No. 3:23-cv-00455-GHD-JMV QUITMAN COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, et al. DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION Presently before the Court is Defendants Quitman County, Mississippi; Sheriff Oliver Parks, Jr.; Chief Deputy Peter Clinton; and Deputy William Horhn’s (“Defendants”) Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 118]. Also before the Court is Plaintiff Kendra Jones’s (“Plaintiff”) Motion to Strike [128]' and Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Inadmissible Exhibits to Her Summary Judgment Response [168]. The Court will address each in turn. L Factual & Procedural Background This § 1983 action arises from Tyrone Jones’s tragic suicide that occurred on June 19, 2022, at the Quitman County Jail [119]. The events leading up to this tragedy began on June 18, 2022, when the Quitman County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call about a man sitting in a car with alleged self-inflicted throat injuries [50; 127]. However, a subsequent caller notified the Quitman County Sheriff's Department Tyrone Jones’s wife, Kendra Jones, had stabbed Tyrone in the neck with scissors during a domestic dispute [50; 127]. Before Defendants Lieutenant Williams and Sergeant Pryor arrived at the scene, the Quitman County Ambulance Service notified them Tyrone was en route to Quitman County Community Hospital [50]. The ' The Court notes here—although a lengthier analysis follows—it denies Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike [128], and the Court utilizes all of Defendants’ MBI Investigative Report [118-1] in drafting this Opinion. See Cooper v. Meritor, No. 4:16-cv-52-DMB-JMV, 2019 WL 545253 (N.D. Miss. Feb. 11, 2019).

two defendants “made contact” with Tyrone there, and he confirmed his injuries were sustained during the domestic dispute [50; 127]. According to Defendants, they also investigated the Jones’ residence where they found “convincing evidence of the crime of domestic violence,” and “collected evidence such as scissors, a knife, and hair that Plaintiff reported had been torn from her” [50]. Hospital staff then released Tyrone into Defendants’ custody, and under the charge of domestic violence and simple assault, Sergeant Pryor transferred him to the Quitman County Jail [50; 127]. Arriving at 10:00 P.M., “Jailer/Dispatcher Horhn booked Tyrone Jones into the jail,” and noted he was intoxicated but not belligerent [50; 127]. After his booking, Tyrone called his mother and was then escorted to jail cell number one as its sole occupant [50; 127]. Shortly thereafter Tyrone requested a blanket, and Defendant Horhn provided one for him [50; 127]. Defendant Horhn later commenced his regular “jail checks” at 11:00 P.M., 12:00 A.M., 1:00 A.M., and 2:00 A.M. [118-1 p. 59]. During the 1:00 A.M. check, Tyrone requested to call his attorney but refrained after discovering he had only his attorney’s office phone number [50; 127]. Defendant Horhn then failed to conduct his scheduled check at 3:00 A.M. to book another inmate [118-1 p. 59, 70] but found Tyrone Jones hanging from his cell window with the torn blanket around his neck at approximately 4:30 A.M. [50; 127]. Plaintiff subsequently filed this present action in Quitman County Circuit Court [2], and Defendants removed to this Court [1]. Defendants later filed their Motion for Summary Judgment [118], and Plaintiff responded [126]. i. Summary Judgment Standard This Court grants summary judgment “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact

and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 91 L. Ed. 2d 265 (1986); Weaver v. CCA Indus., Inc., 529 F.3d 335, 339 (Sth Cir. 2008). The rule “mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a sufficient showing to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322. The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial responsibility of informing the Court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact. /d. at 323. Under Rule 56(a), the burden then shifts to the nonmovant to “go beyond the pleadings and by .. . affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’” /d. at 324; Littlefield v. Forney Indep. Sch. Dist., 268 F.3d 275, 282 (Sth Cir. 2001); Willis vy. Roche Biomedical Labs., Inc., 61 F.3d 313, 315 (Sth Cir. 1995). When the parties dispute the facts, the Court must view the facts and draw reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Scott v. Harris, 550 USS. 372, 378, 127 S. Ct. 1769, 167 L. Ed. 2d 686 (2007) (internal citations omitted). “However, a nonmovant may not overcome the summary judgment standard with conclusional allegations, unsupported assertions, or presentation of only a scintilla of evidence.” McClure v. Boles, 490 F. App’x 666, 667 (Sth Cir. 2012) (per curiam) (citing Hathaway v. Bazany, 507 F.3d 312, 319 (Sth Cir. 2007)).

Analysis The following discussion resolves both parties’ motions to strike [128; 168] and Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [118]. The Court first adjudicates the motions to strike given their obvious impact on the summary judgment analysis. A. Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike Plaintiff seeks to strike Defendants’ MBI Investigative Report [118-1] pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c)(4), which states, “An affidavit or declaration used to support a motion must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant or declarant is competent to testify on the matters stated.” Plaintiff contends the report violates Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 803, 805, 901, and 902 [129 p. 3]. Plaintiff's 702 argument is meritless because “Rule 702 is inapplicable to public records.” Cooper v. Meritor, No. 4:16-cv-52-DMB-JMV, 2019 WL 545253, *3-4 (N.D. Miss. Feb. 11, 2019). The MBI Investigative Report is also a self-authenticating document under Rule 902 because it bears the Quitman County Sheriff Department’s seal, and proper authorities have signed it [118-1]; therefore, neither Rule 901 nor 902 call for the document’s exclusion. To determine whether hearsay rules 803 and 805 demand exclusion, the Court must conduct a lengthier analysis. The parties agree Defendants’ MBI Investigative Report [118-1] should be analyzed as a public record under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8).

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Jones v. Quitman County, Mississippi, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-quitman-county-mississippi-msnd-2025.