Marquez Hickenbottom v. State of Mississippi

223 So. 3d 805, 2017 WL 2794220, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 373
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 27, 2017
DocketNO. 2016-CP-00033-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 223 So. 3d 805 (Marquez Hickenbottom v. State of Mississippi) 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
Marquez Hickenbottom v. State of Mississippi, 223 So. 3d 805, 2017 WL 2794220, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 373 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

WESTBROOKS, J.,

FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. Marquez Hickenbottom pleaded guilty to strong-arm robbery in the Circuit Court of Scott County. He was sentenced to fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, followed by five years of probation. Hicken-bottom was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,500. Hickenbottom filed a motion for postconviction relief (PCR). The circuit court “denied and dismissed” his motion by order. Hickenbottom timely appeals. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. In April 2013, Hickenbottom was indicted on one count of armed robbery. 1 The circuit court ordered an independent mental evaluation and hearing to determine Hickenbottom’s competency to stand trial or plead guilty, after Hickenbottom’s trial counsel alerted the court of his client’s possible mental deficiencies. Dr. Mark Webb, a psychiatrist with the State of Mississippi, performed a psychological evaluation on Hickenbottom. He concluded that Hickenbottom was competent to stand trial or plead guilty.

¶ 3. In January 2014, at the competency hearing, the trial court adopted Dr. Webb’s findings, and Hickenbottom entered his plea of guilty of strong-arm robbery. The circuit court accepted Hicken-bottom’s guilty plea and sentenced him to fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with five years of probation. Hickenbottom was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,500. Further, the court maintained jurisdiction over the matter for a period of one year, reserving the right to vacate the sentence if Hicken-bottom failed to truthfully testify against Anderson if called to do so.

¶4. In December 2015, Hickenbottom filed a PCR motion. He alleged he was not competent to plead guilty, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court entered an order denying and dismissing Hickenbottom’s PCR motion. Hickenbottom timely appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. “We review the dismissal or denial of a PCR motion for abuse of discretion.” Hughes v. State, 106 So.3d 836, 838-39 (¶ 4) (Miss. Ct. App. 2012). “We will only reverse if the trial court’s decision is clearly erroneous.” Id. “When reviewing questions of law, our standard is de novo.” Id. (citations omitted). “This [Cjourt will affirm the summary dismissal of a PCR motion if the movant fails to demonstrate a claim procedurally alive substantially showing the denial of a state or federal *807 right.” Id. at 839 (¶ 4) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

DISCUSSION

I. Guilty Plea

¶ 6. Hickenbottom asserts the trial court’s determination of the facts was unreasonable. He claims his guilty plea was not voluntarily given, because he was not competent to understand the nature of the charges against him or the consequences of his plea. Hickenbottom further asserts that the trial court overlooked the seriousness of his mental state at the time the crime was committed, and the State-appointed psychiatrist did not review all of his medical records to make a determination of competency. Further, Hicken-bottom argues that Dr. Webb failed to support his finding of competency with reliable evidence. We disagree.

¶ 7. In the trial court’s order denying Hickenbottom’s PCR motion, it is noted that the court was made aware through defense counsel that Hickenbottom may have had some mental deficiencies. As a result, the trial judge ordered that Hicken-bottom undergo a mental evaluation. 2 “Under [Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court] 9.06, the circuit court must order a mental evaluation and conduct a competency hearing if it has reasonable ground to believe that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial.” Watson v. State, 100 So.3d 1034, 1039 (¶ 14) (Miss. Ct. App. 2012) (citation and quotation marks omitted). “What constitutes ‘reasonable ground’ rests largely within the discretion of the trial judge.” Id. “On review, the pertinent question is whether the trial judge received information which, objectively considered, should reasonably have raised a doubt about the defendant’s competence and alerted the judge to the possibility that the defendant could neither understand the proceedings, appreciate their significance, nor rationally aid his attorney in his defense.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).

¶8. The following is an excerpt from Hickenbottom’s guilty plea:

COURT: And you’ve just entered a plea of guilty to the crime that requires that you be sentenced to the penitentiary? Are you aware of that?
HICKENBOTTOM: Yes, sir.
COURT: And do you understand that this is a hearing here to accept your plea?
HICKENBOTTOM: Yes, sir. ■
[[Image here]]
COURT: Are you under the influence of drugs or alcohol at this time?
HICKENBOTTOM: No, sir.
COURT: Do you know what you’re doing?
HICKENBOTTOM: Yes, sir.
[[Image here]]
COURT: Do you understand that you are going to be sentenced to the penitentiary?
HICKENBOTTOM: Yes, sir.

¶ 9. “When reviewing the volun-tariness of [a] guilty plea, we will not set aside findings of a trial court sitting without a jury unless such findings are clearly erroneous.” Funchess v. State, 202 So.3d 1286, 1289 (¶ 7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2016) (citations and quotation marks omitted). “Addi-tipnally, the burden of proving that a guilty plea is involuntary is on the defendant and must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.” Id. (quotation marks *808 omitted). “To determine whether the plea is voluntarily and intelligently given, the trial court must advise the defendant .of his rights, the nature of the .charge against him, as well as the consequences pf the plea.” Id, (citation omitted).

¶ 10. Dr. Webb, a psychiatrist for the State, examined Hickenbottom and determined he was competent to stand 'trial or plead guilty and evaluated his criminal insanity at the time the crime was committed. At the competency hearing, Dr. Webb 'testified he reviewed Hickenbot-tom’s offense reports and the information Hickenbottom brought with him during the examination. Dr. Webb further testified that 'Hickenbottom was very intelligent, and did a great job of explaining to him everything that was .going on regarding the charges he faced. He stated Hick-enbottom was aware that he had been charged with armed robbery, and concluded that Hickenbottom was competent to assist his attorney in his defense. Additionally, Hickenbottom’s trial counsel had the opportunity to cross-examine Dr. Webb during the hearing. The trial court adopted Dr. Webb’s findings.

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223 So. 3d 805, 2017 WL 2794220, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marquez-hickenbottom-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2017.