Vaughn v. State

111 So. 3d 1289, 2013 WL 1800045, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 225
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 30, 2013
DocketNo. 2011-KA-01777-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 111 So. 3d 1289 (Vaughn 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
Vaughn v. State, 111 So. 3d 1289, 2013 WL 1800045, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 225 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

FAIR, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Xavier Vaughn was convicted of manslaughter for the death of Billy Ray Miller. He was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment, with fifteen to serve and five years suspended. On appeal, Vaughn raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred by denying his motion for a new trial based upon juror misconduct; and (2) whether the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On March 24, 2007, Vaughn shot and killed Miller. That day, Miller attended a repast,1 uninvited, with seven or eight friends. Around two hundred other people were present. Miller went in search of Vaughn because, earlier that day, the two had a heated argument at Miller’s home, which had ended with Vaughn allegedly vandalizing Miller’s car. When Miller arrived at the repast, he moved through the large crowd and found Vaughn. The two began another heated argument. As a woman moved between the two men to break up the fight, a gunshot was fired and Miller fell to the ground.

¶ 3. The autopsy revealed that Miller died from a gunshot wound to the head. The bullet entered Miller’s head from behind his right ear, exiting through the left side of his head. Several witnesses testified that when Miller was shot, he was facing away from Vaughn and was pushing the woman who had gotten in between him and Vaughn. There was conflicting testimony on whether Miller was armed at the time of the shooting, but Vaughn’s 9mm handgun was the only weapon found on the premises. After four days of testimony from twenty-nine witnesses, the jury found Vaughn guilty of manslaughter.

DISCUSSION

1. JUROR MISCONDUCT

¶ 4. A juror who has withheld information or misrepresented material facts at voir dire is disqualified from service. Miss.Code Ann. § 13-5-67 (Rev. 2012); Myers v. State, 565 So.2d 554, 558 (Miss.1990). This Court uses the analysis set out in Odom v. State, 355 So.2d 1381, 1383 (Miss.1978), to determine whether to grant a new trial on the basis of a juror’s [1292]*1292failure to disclose information during voir dire. Logan v. State, 465 So.2d 339, 340 (Miss.1985). Odom held:

[W]here ... a prospective juror in a criminal ease fails to respond to a relevant, direct, and unambiguous question presented by defense counsel on voir dire, although having knowledge of the information sought to be elicited, the trial court should, upon motion for a new trial, determine whether the question propounded to the juror was (1) relevant to the voir dire examination; (2) whether it was unambiguous; and (3) whether the juror had substantial knowledge of the information sought to be elicited. If the trial court’s determination of these inquiries is in the affirmative, the court should then determine if prejudice to the defendant in selecting the jury reasonably could be inferred from the juror’s failure to respond. If prejudice reasonably could be inferred, then a new trial should be ordered.

Odom, 355 So.2d at 1383(footnote omitted). Odom further held that the trial court’s judgment on whether the jury could be fair and impartial will not be disturbed unless clearly wrong. Id.

¶ 5. “It is readily evident that no firm, unbending rule can be laid down that would control every situation that might arise on the voir dire of prospective jurors. Therefore, each case must be decided on an ad hoc basis considering the facts then before the court.” Id. Here, Vaughn claims juror 35, Elvreen Martin, did not answer the relevant questions asked during voir dire. Further, Vaughn asserts that Martin had “substantial knowledge of the information sought,” and therefore her failure to disclose that information warrants a new trial. See id. at 1383. During voir dire, the jury panel was asked whether anyone was related by blood or marriage to Vaughn. Martin did not respond to the question. The potential jurors were also asked if they lived “in the areas of Timberlane Road or anywhere near Savannah Lane or close to the Copiah County end of Timberlane Road.” Martin stated that she lived on Timberlane Road and that her house was closer to Sontag than the Copiah County line. Martin was later selected as a juror. At the hearing on Vaughn’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, Martin testified she was related to Vaughn by blood through her grandchild. When asked why she did not disclose this information during voir dire, Martin stated that she did not learn of the relationship to Vaughn until after the trial. Martin also testified regarding her residence on Timberlane Road. The transcript reflected the following:

Q. And you remember me asking [during voir dire] do you live closer to Sontag or to Wesson, and you told me that you live closer to Sontag, didn’t you?
A. I think so. I believe I did. I haven’t measured it.

Vaughn claims he should be awarded a new trial because Martin had “substantial knowledge of the information sought to be elicited.” But Martin testified that she did not have any of this information prior to trial or during voir dire. The record before this Court does not contradict her account. We cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion, and we find this argument to be without merit.

2. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

¶ 6. We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005). We have stated:

Upon reviewing a denial of the motion for judgment notwithstanding the ver-[1293]*1293diet, this Court will consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee (the [S]tate), giving that party the benefit of all favorable inference[s] that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. If the facts so considered point so overwhelmingly in favor of the appellant (the defendant) that reasonable [jurors] could not have arrived at a contrary verdict, we are required to reverse and render. On the other hand if there is substantial evidence in support of the verdict, that is, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fairminded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment might have reached different conclusions, affirmance is required. The above standard of review, however, is predicated on the fact that the trial judge applied the correct law.

Woods v. State, 19 So.3d 817, 819 (¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2009) (quoting Moore v. State, 873 So.2d 129, 132 (¶ 13) (Miss.Ct.App.2004)).

¶ 7. Vaughn admitted to shooting Miller, but he claimed it was in self-defense. The trial court submitted the case to the jury with instructions on murder, manslaughter, and self-defense. The jury found Vaughn guilty of manslaughter, as defined by Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-35 (Rev.2006): “[t]he killing of a human being without malice, in the heat of passion, but in a cruel or unusual manner, or by the use of a dangerous weapon, without authority of law, and not in necessary self-defense[.]” On appeal, Vaughn argues that the verdict of manslaughter was against the weight of the evidence and contrary to the law given in the provided instructions.

¶ 8.

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Related

Woods v. State
19 So. 3d 817 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Bush v. State
895 So. 2d 836 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2005)
Logan v. State
465 So. 2d 339 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1985)
Odom v. State
355 So. 2d 1381 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1978)
Myers v. State
565 So. 2d 554 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1990)
Moore v. State
873 So. 2d 129 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
111 So. 3d 1289, 2013 WL 1800045, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaughn-v-state-missctapp-2013.