Ruffin v. State

724 So. 2d 942, 1998 WL 881743
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 18, 1998
Docket97-KA-01642 COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 724 So. 2d 942 (Ruffin 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
Ruffin v. State, 724 So. 2d 942, 1998 WL 881743 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

724 So.2d 942 (1998)

Larry RUFFIN, Jr. a/k/a `Chick' a/k/a Larry Junior Ruffin, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 97-KA-01642 COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 18, 1998.

*943 Treasure R. Tyson, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General By Jean Smith Vaughan, Attorney for Appellee.

BEFORE THOMAS, P.J., COLEMAN, AND HINKEBEIN, JJ.

THOMAS, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Larry Ruffin appeals his conviction on two counts of delivery of cocaine, raising the following issues as error:

I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING CROSS-EXAMINATION OF THE DEFENDANT ON A TOPIC IN WHICH HE WAS INSTRUCTED BY THE TRIAL COURT WOULD NOT BE ADMISSIBLE UNLESS THE DEFENDANT "OPENED THE DOOR," IN ADDITION, ANY EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE STATE IN RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED "OPEN DOOR" WAS IRRELEVANT, THEREBY MAKING IT INADMISSIBLE.
II. THE IMPLICATIONS IN THE PROSECUTION'S CROSS-EXAMINATION AND CLOSING ARGUMENT THAT THE DEFENDANT WAS REQUIRED TO PRODUCE ANY EVIDENCE IN HIS DEFENSE OR THAT IT WAS HIS DUTY TO PROVE HIS INNOCENCE WERE SO PREJUDICIAL THAT THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT AFFORDED A FAIR TRIAL.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On November 5, 1996, the Meridian/Lauderdale County Drug Task Force arranged a pre-buy meeting specifically to target Larry Ruffin and Mae Hodges. Present at this meeting were Karl Merchant, case agent in charge of the operation, Joshua Coleman, an undercover Task Force agent, and Robert Pollard, a confidential informant employed by the Task Force. At this meeting it was arranged that Agent Coleman would accompany Pollard and attempt to purchase crack cocaine at 3901 Paulding Street, Meridian, Mississippi. Agent Coleman was fitted with a wire and given money to make the buy. Agent Coleman was also shown pictures of both Ruffin and Hodges.

¶ 4. At two different times on the night of November 5, 1996, Agent Coleman was able to purchase $40 worth of crack cocaine from Ruffin. Ruffin was eventually indicted on two counts of selling a Schedule II Controlled Substance. After trial of this matter, the jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts, and this appeal ensued.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING CROSS-EXAMINATION OF THE DEFENDANT ON A TOPIC IN WHICH HE WAS INSTRUCTED BY THE TRIAL COURT WOULD NOT BE ADMISSIBLE UNLESS THE DEFENDANT "OPENED THE DOOR," IN ADDITION, ANY EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE STATE IN RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED "OPEN DOOR" WAS IRRELEVANT, THEREBY MAKING IT INADMISSIBLE.

¶ 5. After the close of the State's case, a conference was held outside the presence of *944 the jury. The decision was made that Ruffin would take the stand in his own defense. Defense counsel made a motion in limine to exclude the prosecution from bringing up any mention of a previous possession conviction against Ruffin. The possession conviction was part of a plea bargain where Ruffin plead guilty to possession of cocaine, and a charge of sale of cocaine was dismissed. The trial judge granted the motion under M.R.E. 609, holding that the probative value of admitting this evidence was outweighed by the prejudicial effects. The trial judge felt there were too many similarities between the previous sale of cocaine charge and the instant case since allegedly both took place at 3901 Paulding Street. However, the trial judge warned that if Ruffin "opened the door" and was to say on the witness stand, "I don't live at 3901 Paulding Street," "I have never lived there," "I don't stay there," "I hadn't been there," then the prosecution could call a rebuttal witness to testify that Ruffin was there during the previous sale of cocaine.

¶ 6. On direct examination, Ruffin admitted to being familiar with the house at 3901 Paulding Street, admitted having been there in November 1996, and admitted dating the woman who lived at the address, namely Hodges. Ruffin testified that he visited the house in November of 1996 but could not specifically say where he was on November 5, 1996. Ruffin further testified on direct examination that he observed Marvin Sims at the house in November 1996, someone that Ruffin described looked exactly like him except a few inches taller. On cross-examination, Ruffin was asked if he ever lived at 3901 Paulding Street. Ruffin answered that he never lived at 3901 Paulding Street. Ruffin was then confronted with two prior sworn statements contained in other court petitions in which he gave 3901 Paulding Street as his address. However, Ruffin stated that he sometimes "gave the address out" as his own but that he had not actually lived at the address.

¶ 7. Ruffin argues that to have allowed cross-examination about living at the address during dates not in question and to solicit testimony about prior convictions after granting the motion in limine constituted reversible error and warrants a reversal of the conviction. In addition, Ruffin argues that the questioning was an improper attempt to impeach and discredit him by soliciting testimony that was irrelevant and had no probative value for the case at hand.

¶ 8. We hold that the prosecution's cross-examination of Ruffin dealing with the Paulding Street address was both relevant and proper. We further hold that once Ruffin stated on cross-examination that he had not lived at the Paulding Street address, it was proper to impeach such testimony with Ruffin's own prior inconsistent statements under M.R.E. 613. We also hold the prosecution stayed within the limits set by the trial judge in granting the motion in limine. The prosecution never brought up or attempted to introduce any evidence of the conviction of possession nor solicited any testimony about the sale of cocaine charge that was dismissed nor did the prosecution attempt to put on any rebuttal testimony.

¶ 9. M.R.E. 611(b) sets forth the scope of cross-examination and reads as follows:

Scope of Cross-Examination. Cross-examination shall not be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting the credibility of the witness.

(emphasis added).

However, cross-examination is not without its limits. "M.R.E. 611(b) allows wide-open cross-examination so long as the matter probed is relevant." Zoerner v. State, 725 So.2d 811 (Miss.1998) (citations omitted). M.R.E. 401 defines what is relevant evidence:

"Relevant Evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

¶ 10. The trial judge in granting the motion in limine limited the prosecution in attempting to impeach the credibility of Ruffin with his prior possession conviction. The trial judge did not limit the prosecution in its questioning of Ruffin about the Paulding *945 Street address. The testimony against Ruffin alleged he sold crack cocaine from the Paulding Street address. If Ruffin was presently living at 3901 Paulding Street or had ever lived there, that fact would make it more probable that Ruffin was there on November 6, 1996, the day the buy took place. Clearly, such testimony is relevant. M.R.E. 611 allows wide open cross-examination that is relevant. Therefore, it was well within the province of the prosecution on cross-examination to explore why Ruffin was there and what was his connection to the Paulding Street address. Furthermore, Ruffin admitted on direct examination to having been to the Paulding Street address in November 1996.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
724 So. 2d 942, 1998 WL 881743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ruffin-v-state-missctapp-1998.