King v. State

936 So. 2d 481, 2006 WL 2347880
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided August 15, 2006·No. 2005-CP-01640-COA·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

936 So.2d 481 (2006)

Brandon Benard KING, a/k/a Brandon Bernard King, a/k/a Brandon Renard King, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-CP-01640-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 15, 2006.

*482 Brandon Bernard King, Appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING and ROBERTS, JJ.

*483 ROBERTS, J., for the Court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. On December 9, 1999, the Pearl River County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Brandon Benard King. The grand jury's indictment alleged that King took $2.00 from an individual based on a threat to whip that individual if he did not pay King $5.00 per week. With the advice of counsel, King ultimately pled guilty to robbery on May 25, 2000. The Pearl River County Circuit Court did not sentence King. Instead, the circuit court withheld adjudication of King's guilty plea under the authority of Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-15-26 (Rev.2000) and ordered King to complete a five year period of probation incident to non-adjudication subject to certain conditions. The circuit court explained that, should King complete that five-year period of non-adjudication, King would have a clean record. This occurred on August 15, 2000.

¶ 2. On October 18, 2002, King was arrested by the Picayune Police Department for possession of a controlled substance. King was alleged to have violated the terms of his non-adjudicated probation in that King: (1) was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, (2) failed to maintain stable employment, (3) tested positive for cocaine on October 9, 2002, and (4) was $1175 in arrears regarding his obligation to pay restitution. On November 13, 2002, King went before the circuit court for a hearing on whether he violated the terms of his non-adjudication. At that hearing, King confirmed that he violated the terms of the non-adjudication agreement.

¶ 3. On November 13, 2002, the circuit court entered an "Order of Adjudication" and found that King violated the terms of his non-adjudication. As such, the circuit court found King guilty of robbery and sentenced King to fifteen years imprisonment but retained jurisdiction under the authority of Mississippi Code Annotated § 47-7-47 (Rev.2004) for up to one year, and placed King in the Regimented Inmate Discipline program. The circuit court also directed King to complete a three month drug and alcohol treatment program after he completed the Regimented Inmate Discipline program. As part of an agreement with defense counsel, the State announced that it would not pursue the possession of controlled substances charge.

¶ 4. On October 1, 2003, the circuit court filed an "Amendment to Order of Adjudication" and found that King completed the Regimented Inmate Discipline program on July 11, 2003. The circuit court also found that King was to be released from the required three month drug and alcohol treatment program on October 3, 2003. As such, the circuit court amended King's November 13, 2002, order, suspended his fifteen years robbery sentence, and ordered that King be placed on probation for five years, again subject to certain conditions. That resentencing was authorized pursuant to the prior retention of jurisdiction under the earned probation statute detailed at Mississippi Code Annotated § 47-7-47.

¶ 5. On February 2, 2004, slightly over four months after being released from custody, the Pearl River County Sheriff's Office arrested King for sale of a controlled substance. On February 20, 2004, King executed a document entitled "Waiver of Rights to Notice and/or Waiting Period Prior to Preliminary Probation Hearing." By that document King waived his rights "to a notice and/or any waiting period prior to hearing the allegations against [him] at any set date of [his] probation preliminary hearing."

*484 ¶ 6. Also on February 20, 2004, King executed a "Waiver of Right to Preliminary Probation Revocation Hearing." By that document, King waived his "right to have charges heard at an informal Preliminary Hearing" and all the rights that he would have had at that preliminary probation revocation hearing. Those rights included rights "to be allowed to be present, speak, present evidence, and cross-examine any witnesses against [him]." That document stated that, should King insist on his right to a preliminary probation revocation hearing, a hearing officer would determine whether there was probable cause to revoke King's probation. Under those circumstances, if the hearing officer decided that there was probable cause to revoke King's probation, King would be detained and a revocation hearing would be scheduled before the circuit court. However, when he executed that document, King waived his right to the administrative hearing and thereby requested "that [he] be granted a formal Revocation Hearing" before the Pearl River County Circuit Court.

¶ 7. There is no transcript of any probation revocation hearing. However, on February 20, 2004, the very same day King signed both waivers, the circuit court filed an "Order of Revocation of Probation." Accordingly, the circuit court remanded King to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections to serve his fifteen year sentence.

¶ 8. On May 8, 2005, King filed a document titled "Motion for Clarification of Sentence Order `Only.'" By his motion, King submitted that, on February 20, 2004, he appeared before the Pearl River County Circuit Court for a probation revocation hearing. King also submitted that, during that hearing, the circuit court judge stated that "this proceeding will be continued until another day because I don't see anything in the file that shows what this probationer is charged with." Apparently, King asked for clarification of his sentence because he had not attended a probation revocation hearing after the circuit court continued the hearing for a later date.[1]

¶ 9. On June 3, 2005, Henderson Jones, law clerk for the Pearl River County Circuit Court, sent King a letter which stated:

By copy of this letter, the Judge's office is instructing the Circuit Clerk of Pearl River County to file your submission entitled "Motion for Clarification of Sentence Order", as it was found to meet the requirements of Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-9. You are correct in challenging the revocation of your probation in an action for post-conviction collateral relief. See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-5(1)(g) ("... his probation, parole or conditional release unlawfully revoked. . .").
You should be aware, however, that pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-11, the Court has considered your filing and has found it to plainly appear to lack valid grounds for relief. Upon review of your claim of post-conviction relief the Court reviewed your court file, 99-K-675. Inside your court file were two documents entitled "Waiver of Right to Preliminary Probation Revocation Hearing" and "Waiver of Rights to Notice and/or Waiting Period Prior to Probation Revocation Hearing." These two files acted together [to] waive your right to having [sic] a preliminary he

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King v. State, 936 So. 2d 481, 2006 WL 2347880 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

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