Jones v. State

846 So. 2d 1041, 2002 Miss. App. LEXIS 688, 2002 WL 31692927
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Jones v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 798 So. 2d 592
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided December 3, 2002·No. No. 2001-KA-00925-COA·Published

Opinion

McMILLIN, C.J.,

for the court.

¶ 1. Charlotte Jones was convicted by a Jackson County Circuit Court jury of the crime of armed robbery. On appeal, she alleges that her right to a speedy trial was denied, that improper testimony and impeachment were allowed, that a jury instruction was erroneously refused, and that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. We do not find merit in any of the issues. Therefore, we affirm.

Facts

¶ 2. Charlotte Jones and her husband, Willie Jones (now deceased), were involved in a real estate transaction with Kenneth and Teresa Fountain. The Joneses were to sell five acres of their land to the Fountains. They agreed on a sale price of $14,500, of which $1,300 had already been paid. Though no closing of the sale had occurred, a deed had been executed and given to the buyers.

¶ 3. There was evidence of the following events, though the proof was disputed. A few days before the robbery, Anthony Draughon entered into a scheme with Charlotte Jones, Keith Grider (Jones’ son), [1044]*1044and Shirley Broadus (Draughon’s aunt), to rob the Fountains. Jones told Draughon that the Fountains had $13,000 for the pending real estate sale hidden somewhere in the bedroom of their house, along with the deed for the property. It was agreed that Grider would drop Draughon off at the Fountains’ home, and then Draughon would rob the Fountains and return to his aunt’s house.

¶4. On April 22, 1997, Draughon entered the Fountains’ home and walked to the bedroom, where Teresa Fountain was located. Draughon pointed a gun at her and demanded the money. Perhaps in order to deflect suspicion from those involved in the real estate transaction, he said, “Just give me the money your husband owes me for dope.... The $13,000 that your husband owes me for dope.” Fountain handed him the money, which was inside an envelope along with the warranty deed. Draughon tied her up and left the home, taking Fountain’s car keys, cash and cigarettes from her purse. He then drove off in her blue Honda Civic.

¶ 5. As Draughon was proceeding in the Fountain car, a rock was propelled by one of the tires and hit the windshield of another car. Tina Warden was driving, with Janet Jackson as a passenger. Warden drove after Draughon and caused him to stop. Warden demanded that Draughon pay for her damaged windshield. Drau-ghon took $140 from the stolen cash to pay Warden. Warden recognized Draughon and asked him if his name was Anthony. He said that it was not and gave her the money. At trial, Draughon confessed that he had recognized the woman and that in fact, she was married to one of his friends. Warden, Jackson and Teresa Fountain are sisters.

¶ 6. After paying Warden, Draughon drove to his aunt Shirley Broadus’ home. Broadus, Grider, Jones and Patsy Carpenter, Broadus’ sister, were present. Drau-ghon testified that he handed the envelope containing the money and the warranty deed to the group. The cash was divided among Draughon, Broadus, Grider and Jones. Jones retained the warranty deed. Draughon left his aunt’s house and went to pick up his girlfriend. Later on that day, Draughon went to a pet store and bought over $600 worth of pet supplies, including a ferret and a chinchilla. The receipts for these were placed into evidence at trial. Draughon was arrested later that evening. Two days later, Draughon implicated Charlotte Jones in the robbery. Jones was arrested on May 7,1997.

Discussion

I.

Speedy Trial

¶ 7. Jones asserts that the trial court erred in failing to grant her motion to dismiss based on a denial of a speedy trial. Jones was arraigned on this charge on May 12, 1998. Her trial was first scheduled for August 17, 1998. Several continuances over the following months were requested and granted. The trial finally began on January 8, 2001.

¶ 8. A statute requires that a defendant be brought to trial within 270 days after arraignment “unless good cause be shown, and a continuance duly granted by the Court.” Miss.Code Ann. § 99-17-1 (Rev. 2000). The Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution grant a defendant the right to a speedy trial. Because a defendant has these two separate rights to a speedy trial, we will examine each in order to determine whether there is merit to this claim.

A.

Statutory Right to a Speedy Trial

¶ 9. More than 270 days passed after arraignment until the first day of [1045]*1045trial. Jones does not address the statutory right in any detail, and therefore the State does not respond to it. However, the record contains a detailed response by the State to the trial motion that sought dismissal based on a speedy trial violation. It contains a schedule of continuances and other motions which gave rise to the delays. The summary states that continuances duly granted caused 469 days of delay, that the several defendants caused 345 days of delay, and that only 162 days of the total time that transpired should be counted towards the 270 days within which an accused should be brought to trial.

¶ 10. The defendant does not indicate what part of this calculation might be in error. Indeed, Jones mentions the statutory issue with such brevity that the State asserted that only the constitutional issue was raised on appeal. We find no violation of the statutory right prior to the first trial.

¶ 11. A mistrial concluded the first effort to determine Jones’ guilt. Only 110 days passed until the second trial commenced. Even had the delay between the two trials been longer, the statutory right to a speedy trial would not have been implicated. The statutory right is satisfied once the defendant is brought to trial, even if that trial results in a mistrial. Only the constitutional speedy trial analysis is relevant thereafter. Handley v. State, 574 So.2d 671, 674 (Miss.1990).

B.

Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial

¶ 12. Jones’ constitutional right to a speedy trial attached at the moment that she was accused, such as by arrest. Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 408 (Miss.1989). To determine if her constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated, certain balancing factors identified by the United States Supreme Court must be applied. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). These factors are (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) the defendant’s assertion of right to a speedy trial; and (4) whether the defendant has been prejudiced by the delay. Id. at 533, 92 S.Ct. 2182. All of these factors must be considered as a whole. Id.

¶ 13. Jones asserts that the length of delay from her arrest on May 9, 1997, to the date that her trial began on January 8, 2001, is evidence of a speedy trial violation. Delays of over eight months are presumptively prejudicial and satisfy the defense burden on the first factor. Smith, 550 So.2d at 408. The delay in this case was three years and eight months. The length of delay does not establish a speedy trial violation, but it is the threshold that leads to the need to analyze the remaining three Barker considerations. Wiley v. State, 582 So.2d 1008, 1012 (Miss.1991).

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Jones v. State, 846 So. 2d 1041, 2002 Miss. App. LEXIS 688, 2002 WL 31692927 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

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