Jones v. State

902 So. 2d 593, 2004 WL 2439616
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided November 2, 2004·No. 2003-KA-00470-COA·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

902 So.2d 593 (2004)

Jack JONES, Jr., Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2003-KA-00470-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

November 2, 2004.
Rehearing Denied February 22, 2005.
Certiorari Denied May 26, 2005.

*594 Mark Kevin Horan, Joseph Joshua Stevens, Chicago, IL, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Jack Jones, Jr. was convicted of robbery after a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Lowndes County and sentenced as an habitual offender to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Feeling aggrieved by his conviction, Jones appeals *595 and asserts the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in failing to quash the habitual offender portion of the indictment, (2) whether the trial court erred in allowing the state to amend the indictment on the eve of trial to charge the defendant as an habitual offender under Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-19-83(3) (Rev.2000) whether the trial court erred in failing to conduct a mental competency hearing pursuant to Mississippi Uniform Circuit and County Court Rule 9.06, (4) whether the trial court erred in refusing the defendant twelve peremptory challenges to the jury pursuant to Mississippi Uniform Circuit and County Court Rule 10.01, (5) whether the trial court erred in overruling the defendant's motion to suppress both the single-suspect eyewitness and in-court identifications of the defendant, (6) whether the trial court erred in overruling the defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment against the defendant for denial of a speedy trial, (7) whether the trial court erred in invoking a sentence grossly disproportionate to the crime charged and constituting cruel and unusual punishment, and (8) whether the trial court committed plain error in refusing to give a requested defense instruction.

¶ 2. We reject each of the suggestions of error and affirm Jones's conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 3. On the evening of October 8, 1999, Jack Jones, Jr. snatched the purse of Sara Moellenhoff while she was in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Columbus, Mississippi. He ran to a white Chevrolet pickup truck in which he made his escape. Shortly after receiving a description of the assailant's truck from Moellenhoff, the police found a truck matching that description and made a traffic stop of the vehicle. The police immediately escorted Moellenhoff to the traffic stop where she identified Jones as the person who had snatched her purse.

¶ 4. Jones was subsequently indicted and arraigned for robbery. After a jury trial which commenced on November 21, 2002, Jones was convicted of robbery and later sentenced as an habitual offender to serve a term of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. This is his appeal from that conviction and sentence.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF ISSUES

1. Quashing the Habitual Offender Portion of the Indictment

¶ 5. Jones argues that the circuit court erred in failing to quash the habitual offender portion of the indictment as void. He explains that the circuit court's order which amended his original indictment failed to include the language of "against the peace and dignity of the state" and therefore violates section 169 of the Mississippi Constitution. The original indictment concluded with the phrase, "against the peace and dignity of the state." Jones concludes that since the original indictment was amended to charge Jones as an habitual offender, the amendment was defective because of the omission of the required language. Citing McNeal v, State, 658 So.2d 1345 (Miss.1995), Jones concludes that the circuit court should have held that the habitual portion of his indictment was fatally defective, granted his motion to quash the indictment, and vacated his habitual offender sentence. The State counters that McNeal is not applicable and that the amendment to the indictment conformed with constitutional requirements.

¶ 6. We agree with the State that McNeal is not applicable to the case sub judice. In McNeal, the defendant challenged *596 the validity of his indictment as an habitual offender because the habitual portion was preceded by the language of "against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi." Id. at 1348-49. In fact, the part of the indictment charging McNeal as an habitual offender was on a separate page from the rest of the indictment. Finding that Section 169 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 requires an indictment to conclude with the language, "against the peace and dignity," our supreme court vacated the habitual charge against McNeal. Id. at 1350. In the case before us, the indictment was amended to charge Jones as an habitual offender. As previously stated, Jones's original indictment was proper, concluding with the required language. A separate order amended the indictment. There was no new indictment. Jones equates the separate order with the separate page in McNeal. The separate order stated that the indictment was amended to include the language charging Jones as an habitual offender. However, it did not state or indicate any point of insertion in the indictment, just that the indictment was amended to include the habitual offender language.

¶ 7. We have not been able to find a case addressing the exact question presented here, that is, whether an indictment—which has been amended by a court order but which order does not conclude with the language, "against the peace and dignity of the state"—comports with the requirement of Section 169 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 that "all indictments shall conclude `against the peace and dignity of the state.'" Although we have found no authority, we need not resolve the issue today. It is sufficient to say that Jones never objected to the amended indictment on the ground upon which he now objects in his appellate brief. While he objected to the State's motion to amend the indictment and again raised the issue in his post-trial motion, he never questioned the legality of the amendment on the basis he now presents. The closest he came was his assertion in his post-trial motion that the indictment "was spliced together." He never explained what he meant by the phrase.

¶ 8. Rule 7.09 of the Uniform Circuit and County Court Rules permits the amendment of indictments to charge a defendant as an habitual offender. That is what was allowed by the trial judge. We find no merit in this issue.

2. Timing of the Amendment to the Indictment

¶ 9. Jones next argues that the circuit court's amendment caught him by surprise, prejudiced his ability to negotiate with the State regarding his potential sentence, and did not allow him sufficient time to prepare his defense concerning his prior convictions. The State counters that Jones had ample warning, notice, and opportunity to prepare his defense. We agree.

¶ 10. According to our perusal of the record, Jones was indicted for robbery on February 10, 2000. On May 20, 2002, the State filed its motion to amend the indictment to charge Jones as an habitual offender. On November 18, 2002, Jones filed his response to state's motion to amend the indictment. On the same day, the circuit court conducted a pre-trial hearing in which the judge heard the State's motion to amend. As a result of this hearing, the court issued an order amending the indictment. Jones's trial was commenced on November 21, 2002.

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Jones v. State, 902 So. 2d 593, 2004 WL 2439616 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

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