Magee v. State

951 So. 2d 589, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2007 WL 656644
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 6, 2007
DocketNo. 2004-KA-00610-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 951 So. 2d 589 (Magee v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Magee v. State, 951 So. 2d 589, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2007 WL 656644 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

ISHEE, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. Jamieson Yul Magee was indicted on March 17, 2003, by a two count indictment for the transfer of a controlled substance, pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 41—29—139(a)(1) (Supp.2003). Ma-gee was sentenced to serve fifteen years for each count, with both sentences to run consecutively, all in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). He asserts the following issues for this Court’s review:

I. Whether the trial court erred by not granting either a new trial or a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
II. Whether the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
III. Whether the trial court erred in failing to sustain a motion to quash the venire.
IV. Whether the trial court erred in sentencing the defendant as a habitual offender in light of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Jamieson Yul Magee was indicted on March 17, 2003, by a Hancock County grand jury on two counts of transfer of a controlled substance. On October 8, 2003, the jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts and he was sentenced to serve fifteen years for each count. Magee made a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial on December 17, 2003. The court denied this motion on October 19, 2004.

¶ 3. Magee was arrested for the transfer of a controlled substance. Peggy Vaughn, the confidential informant used in the matter, contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and informed the Bureau that she could purchase controlled substances from Magee. Magee was caught selling crack cocaine to Vaughn on two different occasions. Agent Sean Buchannon of the Bureau was in charge of setting up the transaction. He was responsible for securing the funds for the transaction and for coordinating other specifics that went along with the sale. The sales took place [591]*591on September 10, 2002, and September 13, 2002.

¶ 4. In this particular case Vaughn was to buy crack cocaine from Magee. Vaughn made a phone call to Magee in an effort to set up the deal. The call was made from a cell phone that had been provided by the Bay-Waveland Narcotics Task Force. Phone records indicate that the call was made to a phone that was registered to Magee. Vaughn also used a vehicle that had been provided by the task force. Agent Buchannon testified the confidential informant was searched for illegal contraband prior to the transaction. The search did not produce any illegal contraband. The State of Mississippi issued $700 worth of “buy money” to Vaughn so she would be able to consummate the transaction. Additionally, she was given a body transmitter and also a microcassette recorder which allowed agents to hear her conversation with Magee. The transactions were recorded on audio and videotape.

¶ 5. The deals were to take place at a residence at the intersection of Bookter Street and Watts Street. Magee instructed Vaughn to come to Smiley’s house to purchase the crack cocaine. Vaughn went to Smiley’s house and purchased the crack cocaine. After she left the house, she met with Agent Buchannon and gave him the crack cocaine she had purchased and issued a statement to him. Agent Buchan-non then secured the videotapes and audiotapes that were used during the sale. An almost identical series of events transpired for the sale that took place on September 13, 2002.

¶ 6. Magee testified that he was in Jean-erette, Louisiana at the time the sales took place. The defense called witnesses to testify to this alibi. Magee argued that the video footage of the transaction was insufficient to convict him and that the testimony of the confidential informant, Vaughn, should not be believed. He argues that Vaughn’s testimony should not be believed because she is a convicted felon and has admitted to being a user of illegal drugs. He also argues that the trial court erred in failing to sustain his motion to quash the venire and that the trial court was in error when it sentenced him as a habitual offender. Aggrieved, Magee appeals.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

I. Whether the trial court erred by not granting either a new trial or a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

II. Whether the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.

¶ 7. Due to their similarity, we will discuss these two issues together. The standard of review for these two issues is deferential to the trial court. The appellate court must accept as true all evidence which supports the verdict and will reverse only when convinced that the circuit court has abused its discretion in failing to grant a new trial. Swann v. State, 806 So.2d 1111, 1117(¶ 25) (Miss.2002). Somewhat similarly, the court may reverse a denial of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict only when the evidence, considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is such that “reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty.” Franklin v. State, 676 So.2d 287, 288 (Miss.1996) (citing Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987)). On review, the State is given “the benefit of all favorable inferences that may reasonably be drawn from the evidence.” Griffin v. State, 607 So.2d 1197, 1201 (Miss.1992). The appellate court should not reverse a guilty verdict unless failure to do so would sanction an unconscionable injustice. Hilliard v. [592]*592State, 749 So.2d 1015, 1016-17(¶ 10) (Miss.1999). “This Court does not have the task of re-weighing the facts in each case to, in effect, go behind the jury to detect whether the testimony and evidence they chose to believe was or was not the most credible.” Langston v. State, 791 So.2d 273, 280(¶ 14) (Miss.Ct.App.2001).

¶ 8. The State’s evidence indicated that Magee sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant. The Bureau of Narcotics has video and audiotape of the transaction and both suggest that a transfer took place. The informant testified as an eyewitness to the transaction and identified Magee as the seller. Magee alleges that he was in Jeanerette, Louisiana at the time the transaction took place and that he did not make the sale of crack to the confidential informant. Which version of the events to believe was a question of fact that was resolved by the jury. In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the issue is whether the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the state, shows “beyond a reasonable doubt that accused committed the act charged and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed.” Dilworth v. State, 909 So.2d 731, 736(¶ 17) (Miss.2005) (quoting Carr v. State, 208 So.2d 886, 889 (Miss.1968)). The evidence presented was sufficient to deny Magee’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Therefore, this issue is without merit.

¶ 9. “As distinguished from a motion for a directed verdict or a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a motion for a new trial asks to vacate the judgment on the grounds related to the weight of the evidence, not sufficiency of the evidence.” Purnell v. State, 878 So.2d 124, 129(¶ 18) (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (citing Smith v. State, 802 So.2d 82, 85-86(¶ 11) (Miss.2001)).

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Related

Taylor v. Louisiana
419 U.S. 522 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Duren v. Missouri
439 U.S. 357 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Griffin v. State
607 So. 2d 1197 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1992)
Langston v. State
791 So. 2d 273 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2001)
Dilworth v. State
909 So. 2d 731 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2005)
Washington v. State
800 So. 2d 1140 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Robinson v. State
875 So. 2d 230 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2004)
Hilliard v. State
749 So. 2d 1015 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1999)
Franklin v. State
676 So. 2d 287 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1996)
Smith v. State
802 So. 2d 82 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Dudley v. State
719 So. 2d 180 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1998)
Purnell v. State
878 So. 2d 124 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2004)
Swann v. State
806 So. 2d 1111 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2002)
Manning v. State
735 So. 2d 323 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1999)
Carr v. State
208 So. 2d 886 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1968)
Wetz v. State
503 So. 2d 803 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1987)
Walker v. State
881 So. 2d 820 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
951 So. 2d 589, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 123, 2007 WL 656644, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/magee-v-state-missctapp-2007.