King v. State

615 So. 2d 1202, 1993 WL 74335
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 18, 1993
Docket90-KA-1234
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 615 So. 2d 1202 (King 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
King v. State, 615 So. 2d 1202, 1993 WL 74335 (Mich. 1993).

Opinion

615 So.2d 1202 (1993)

Robert KING
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 90-KA-1234.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 18, 1993.

*1203 Richard W. Hamilton, Robert A. Pritchard, Pritchard & Chapman, Pascagoula, for appellant.

Michael C. Moore, Atty. Gen., Charles W. Maris, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before HAWKINS, C.J., and McRAE and ROBERTS, JJ.

McRAE, Justice, for the Court:

Robert King appeals from a conviction in the Circuit Court of Adams County for sale of a controlled substance, marijuana, as a second subsequent offender under Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-147 (1972), and sentence of twenty-four (24) years in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.[1] He alleges that the trial court erred in (1) refusing to exclude alleged erroneous *1204 evidence introduced by the State and (2) making prejudicial comments in the presence of the jury. Finding that reversible error exists in the court's admission of extrinsic testimony, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

On March 29, 1989, Michael Diggs, a confidential informant wired for sound, met King at a Natchez motel for the purpose of purchasing marijuana. King called his wife, who picked up King and Diggs, and the group proceeded to travel to the nearby community of Cannonsburg. During the trip, they were under surveillance by Bureau of Narcotics agents, who followed in other vehicles. Upon arriving in Cannonsburg, King exited the vehicle and entered the mobile home of Ray White. He returned to the vehicle with a bulge under his outer clothing. The parties returned to Natchez where the marijuana sale was concluded in the motel room rented by Diggs.

King was subsequently indicted, tried and convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court of Adams County.

I.

During trial, Ray White, occupant of the mobile home in Cannonsburg, testified as a witness for King. White related that on March 29, 1989, he was outside his trailer washing his car when King arrived. He stated that King conversed with him in his yard about a loan to use for gambling, that he refused to make the loan, and neither he nor King entered his mobile home on the occasion.

On cross-examination, White stated that he had not been convicted of any crimes. The State then requested and elicited the following information from White without objection from the defense:

Q. Now, you say that you were — you've never been convicted of a crime?
A. No, I haven't.
Q. Isn't it true that you had been supplying dope to Robert King?
A. No, I haven't.
Q. You deny that?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Isn't it true that you would get in quantities of marijuana and then you would sell parcels of it off, some of which to Robert King and some to other people?
A. No.
Q. You deny that?
A. Yes.
* * * * * *
Q. Now, do you know a — let's see — do you know a man named Little John?
A. Little John?
Q. Yes, Sir, from Louisiana?
A. No.
Q. Let me ask you this: do you remember back April 1st of this year being set up to receive a dope shipment?
A. Being set up to receive a one?
Q. Yes, Sir, where you were supposed to receive a shipment of marijuana?
A. No.
Q. You deny that?
A. I don't remember — I don't remember being set up to receive a dope shipment, no, I don't.
Q. OK. I want to ask you very specifically about this back on April 1st of this year, which was a Sunday, do you remember going out to the, this roadside park out in Jefferson County to meet somebody to pick up some marijuana?
A. To meet someone?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. No.
Q. Is it true? Not true? Or you don't remember or what?
A. I don't remember going out to the roadside park meeting anybody to pick up no marijuana, no.
Q. Because you don't deal in marijuana; do you?
A. No.
Q. And that's your testimony up here before the Court today?
A. Yes, it is.
*1205 Q. All right. Now, you say you found out — you heard through some friends about Robert's case; did you know that Robert was supposed to have come out and got the dope from your trailer?
A. No.
Q. You didn't know anything about that?
A. No.
Q. Did you know about that before I just asked you about that? When did you first find out about that?
A. When I first found out about Robert King and the incident was like about two or three weeks after Robert King and this particular incident from just different peoples in the street saying that Robert King had sold to a narcotics agent. But, no, I didn't know he had supposed to have came and got the dope from me; no, I didn't know that.
Q. You didn't know that till you come up to Court today?
A. Right.
Q. And you do admit that the three people came out to your house that day, you remember that on that particular day?
A. That's correct.

Cross-examination of White concerning the details of other alleged criminal activities of King and himself was clearly violative of Miss.R.Evid. 608(b), which provides:

(b) Specific Instances of Conduct. Specific instances of conduct of a witness, for the purpose of attacking or supporting his credibility, other than conviction of crime as provided in rule 609, may not be proved by extrinsic evidence. They may, however, in the discretion of the court, if probative of truthfulness or untruthfulness, be inquired into on cross-examination of the witness (1) concerning his character for truthfulness or untruthfulness, or (2) concerning the character for truthfulness or untruthfulness of another witness as to which character the witness being cross-examined has testified.

In the Comment to Miss.R.Evid. 608 we are told:

Subsection (b) prohibits the impeachment of a witness by specific acts of conduct, but it provides two important exceptions. First, a witness may be impeached by a criminal conviction... . The second exception of Rule 608 goes further than pre-rule Mississippi practice. This exception allows for impeachment by specific acts which are something other than criminal convictions when the character trait of truthfulness of the witness being cross-examined is under attack. The second exception also allows the witness to be cross-examined regarding specific acts regarding the truthfulness of another witness about whom he has testified. This exception only applies when the character trait of truthfulness or untruthfulness is being explored.

The exceptions listed in the Comments do not warrant or permit the actions of the State in this case, particularly, the questions pertaining to the involvement of King in other specific crimes with White.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
615 So. 2d 1202, 1993 WL 74335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-state-miss-1993.