Rambus v. State

804 So. 2d 1052, 2001 WL 537893
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 22, 2001
Docket1999-KA-02104-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 804 So. 2d 1052 (Rambus 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
Rambus v. State, 804 So. 2d 1052, 2001 WL 537893 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

804 So.2d 1052 (2001)

Carl RAMBUS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 1999-KA-02104-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 22, 2001.
Rehearing Denied August 7, 2001.
Certiorari Denied January 17, 2002.

*1055 Mark Andrew Cliett, Cliett, Witthauer & McRae, PLLC, West Point, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, Jr., Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.

Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., BRIDGES, and LEE, JJ.

BRIDGES, J., for the court:

¶ 1. This case comes from the Circuit Court of Clay County, Honorable Lee J. Howard presiding. Carl Rambus was tried and convicted of the sale of a controlled substance within 1500 feet of a church. Rambus comes to this Court appealing his conviction on the basis of several issues:

1. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR A MISTRIAL AND SUBSEQUENTLY OVERRULING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR JNOV BASED UPON THE IMPROPER STATEMENTS ELICITED FROM DEPUTY JOE HUFFMAN?

2. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING THE ENTIRE VIDEOTAPE TO COME INTO EVIDENCE ON REBUTTAL?

3. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED IN REFUSING TO ALLOW JURY INSTRUCTION D-1 AND FURTHER ERRED IN ALLOWING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR JNOV OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE A NEW TRIAL AS THE VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE?

4. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE DEFENDANT'S OBJECTION TO THE STATE'S MOTION TO AMEND THE INDICTMENT TO REFLECT HABITUAL OFFENDER STATUS UNDER MISSISSIPPI CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 99-19-83?

5. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING THE STATE TO MAKE AN IMPROPER CLOSING ARGUMENT?

6. WHETHER THE REPRESENTATION OF THIS DEFENDANT BY HIS TRIAL ATTORNEY WAS INEFFECTIVE?

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On April 29, 1997, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics conducted an operation *1056 in Clay County in which a confidential informant was to purchase cocaine. Craig Taylor of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics conducted the operation's surveillance while the confidential informant, a man named LaKota Whitefoot, purchased the cocaine. Whitefoot had worked for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics as a buyer before. Joe Huffman, a sheriff's deputy from Clay County, was also involved in the operation. Upon arrival, Whitefoot and his car were searched. Whitefoot was then wired for audio transmission and his car was equipped with video recording equipment. Whitefoot was given money with which to make the buy, and then he headed out to Cottrell Street to make the buy. Whitefoot was to buy forty dollars worth of crack cocaine. The law officers monitored Whitefoot from a grocery store at the intersection of Highway 50 and Cottrell Street.

¶ 3. While searching for a seller on Cottrell Street, Whitefoot met Carl Rambus. Whitefoot purchased forty dollars worth of crack cocaine from Rambus. Whitefoot made several other purchases, and after making the purchases Whitefoot met with the officers. Whitefoot gave the officers the crack cocaine and the video tape from his car. At trial, Whitefoot testified he had bought no marijuana that night, only cocaine. Whitefoot further testified the purchase he made from Rambus was near a church. Whitefoot also identified the video taken of the purchases he made on the night in question.

¶ 4. Besides Whitefoot, the State presented several other witnesses. Edwina Ard, who works for the Tupelo crime lab, verified the substance Rambus sold was indeed cocaine. Tim Hamilton, who works for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, testified he delivered the substance given to him by Joe Huffman to the crime lab. In addition, Tim Hamilton and Joe Huffman testified to the events they observed on the night in question.

¶ 5. The defense called three witnesses: Ronnie Dean Bennett, Frederick Vance, and Taveris Collins. Bennett testified he was standing in the background and saw Rambus sell Whitefoot marijuana, not cocaine. Vance and Collins testified to the same thing. All three were serving jail time when they testified. Collins and Vance both admitted they were friends with Rambus, and neither one of them could testify to what either Rambus or Whitefoot were wearing on the night in question. Vance could not identify the truck Whitefoot was driving, and Collins admitted they were on Cottrell Street on the day in question to sell cocaine. On rebuttal, the State proved Bennett had previously stated he did not know anything about the sale, but Bennett claimed those statements were lies. During rebuttal, the State offered into evidence the video tape of all the purchases Whitefoot made to prove Whitefoot did not buy anything but crack cocaine on the night in question.

STATEMENT OF THE LAW

STANDARD OF PROOF

¶ 6. The decision to grant a mistrial is solely in the sound discretion of the trial judge, and to prove a mistrial should have been granted one must prove failure to grant a mistrial was an abuse of this discretion. Cook v. State, 728 So.2d 117, (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.1999).

¶ 7. "Evidentiary rulings are within the broad discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion." Dobbs v. State, 726 So.2d 1267(¶ 25) (Miss.Ct.App.1998).

¶ 8. A motion for a directed verdict and a motion for JNOV challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. The standard of review for a challenge to the sufficiency *1057 of the evidence is stated in McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993):

In appeals from an overruled motion for JNOV, the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law is viewed and tested in a light most favorable to the State. The credible evidence ... consistent with guilt must be accepted as true. The prosecution must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. Matters regarding the weight and credibility of the evidence are to be resolved by the jury. We are authorized to reverse only where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty.

(citations omitted); see also Williams v. State, 595 So.2d 1299, 1302 (Miss.1992); Heidel v. State, 587 So.2d 835, 838 (Miss. 1991); Roberts v. State, 582 So.2d 423, 424 (Miss.1991).

¶ 9. A motion for a new trial is left to the circuit court's discretion and raises issues regarding the weight of the evidence. Jackson v. State, 551 So.2d 132, 148 (Miss.1989). The standard of review for a challenge to the weight of the evidence is found in Thornhill v. State, 561 So.2d 1025, 1030 (Miss.1989):

In determining whether or not a jury verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, this Court must accept as true the evidence which supports the verdict and will reverse only when it is convinced that the circuit court has abused its discretion in failing to grant a new trial.

See also Isaac v. State, 645 So.2d 903, 907 (Miss.1994); Newsom v. State, 629 So.2d 611, 615 (Miss.1993); Burrell v. State, 613 So.2d 1186, 1190-91 (Miss.1993); Nicolaou v. State, 612 So.2d 1080, 1083 (Miss.1992); Parker v. State, 606 So.2d 1132, 1139-40 (Miss.1992).

¶ 10. An indictment can be amended when the amendment goes to form and not to substance. Burson v. State, 756 So.2d 830 (¶ 14) (Miss.Ct.App.2000).

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Bluebook (online)
804 So. 2d 1052, 2001 WL 537893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rambus-v-state-missctapp-2001.