White v. State

962 So. 2d 728, 2007 WL 2303942
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in White v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 964 So. 2d 1181
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided August 14, 2007·No. 2006-KA-00988-COA·Published

Opinion

962 So.2d 728 (2007)

James WHITE, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-00988-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 14, 2007.

*730 M.A. Bass, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Stephanie B. Wood, attorney for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., IRVING and CHANDLER, JJ.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. James White was convicted by a jury of manslaughter and was sentenced by the Jefferson County Circuit Court to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved, White appeals his conviction, alleging that there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction and that his conviction is against the weight of the evidence, and that the court improperly allowed the State to question him about a prior conviction and an alleged prior bad act.

¶ 2. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On July 12, 2003, Dorothy Bell, White's sister, was having a birthday party at her home in Jefferson County. Numerous people were there, including White and Terrell Ellis, Bell and White's nephew. At some point during the day, Ellis got into a dispute with his father over whether Ellis's mother, Bertha, should stay at the party.[1] White intervened and apparently attempted to convince Ellis to stay out of the disagreement between his parents. The exchange between White and Ellis grew heated, and according to some accounts, Ellis then pushed White onto the back of a car. Regina Thomas, Ellis's girlfriend, testified that White pushed Ellis during the altercation and denied that Ellis pushed White over a car. Thomas indicated that White was significantly larger than Ellis, a fact that White also admitted on the stand. The dispute ended when Bell came over and asked those involved to leave before they ruined her party.

¶ 4. After Bell's warning, Ellis and Thomas walked some distance away, while White left and drove away from the party. Thomas testified that she worked to calm Ellis and get him to leave the party, which he eventually agreed to do. White testified that he drove some distance away from Bell's house before he decided to return and apologize to Bell and her husband for creating a disturbance at the party. He then returned to Bell's house, where he allegedly apologized to Bell and her husband. It was after his return that a second fight broke out between Ellis and White.

¶ 5. It is not clear who instigated the second conflict between Ellis and White. Thomas testified that she and Ellis were walking back to the house when White yelled at Ellis, and that Ellis then took off his shirt, presumably in preparation for an altercation with White. Bell also testified that White called out to Ellis, although she stated that Ellis's shirt was already off prior to White's shout. To the contrary, White claimed that Ellis approached him and started the altercation. What is undisputed is that the two men approached each other and began wrestling on the *731 ground. Thomas, who was close enough to observe the fight, testified that Ellis tackled White to the ground. Eventually, after what Thomas stated was a short amount of time, Ellis and White broke apart and stood up. Thomas testified that Ellis took a few steps toward her before collapsing to the ground, bleeding from a stab wound to the chest. White immediately left the scene in his car. Betty Segrest, White's sister who testified on his behalf, admitted that Ellis was not bleeding before the second altercation, and that she knew of no cuts on him prior to the fight with White.

¶ 6. After the second fight, Bell went into the house and dialed 911, but she, Thomas, and some other individuals left to take Ellis to the hospital before any emergency personnel arrived at the house. Ellis was conscious when he arrived at the hospital, but died several hours later from blood loss. Dr. Steven Hayne, a forensic pathologist, testified that his post-mortem examination revealed one fatal stab wound to Ellis's chest, and several non-fatal cuts. Dr. Hayne also testified that the fatal stab wound pierced Ellis's heart and caused him to suffer massive internal blood loss, eventually resulting in his death.

¶ 7. After questioning pointed to White as a likely suspect, he was arrested at his mother's home. An ensuing search of White's possessions uncovered no weapon that could be positively identified as the knife that killed Ellis.[2] Thomas testified that she was certain that Ellis did not have a knife in his possession, because she felt around in his pocket while she was getting the car keys from him shortly before the incident, and there was no knife in his pocket at that time. Thomas also testified that she saw White pull out something like a knife during the first altercation between Ellis and White.

¶ 8. White was charged with murdering Ellis. At trial, White testified that he did not stab Ellis, but indicated that Ellis did have a knife out during their fight. This testimony did not match White's statement to police, which was given within a few days of the fight, wherein White said nothing about Ellis having a knife. In that statement, he admitted to fighting with Ellis, although he denied stabbing Ellis. The officer who took White's statement testified that White was given ample opportunity to relate any information that he wanted to share with the officers. At trial, White denied knowing that Ellis was injured at the time that he left Bell's house. White intimated that Ellis might have been injured when he came at White with a knife and that White deflected the attack in an attempt to defend himself.

¶ 9. During cross-examination, White testified that he is a peaceful person who does not get angry with people he loves. In response to this testimony, the State requested to introduce evidence that White had previously been convicted of shooting into the occupied dwelling of his ex-girlfriend, who was also the mother of his child. In addition, the State sought to question White about an incident where the same ex-girlfriend was slashed across the face with a knife during an argument between White and another individual. After considering the probative and prejudicial value of the prior bad acts, the court allowed the State to question White about both incidents. At the close of all the evidence, the jury was instructed that it could find White guilty of either murder or the lesser-included offense of manslaughter. Thereafter, the jury found White *732 guilty of manslaughter, and the court sentenced him to twenty years imprisonment.

¶ 10. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our analysis and discussion of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Sufficiency and Weight of the Evidence

¶ 11. White alleges that "[t]he trial Court erred in not granting [his] Motion for Directed Verdict at the end of the State's case and at the end of the Defendant's case because the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and was a result of bias, prejudice and passion." White then goes on to discuss the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, although he also makes arguments contesting the weight of the evidence.

¶ 12. Motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a directed verdict challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction. Duncan v. State, 939 So.2d 772, 782-83(¶ 36) (Miss. 2006). By contrast, a motion for a new trial challenges the weight of the evidence supporting a conviction. Jenkins v. State, 947 So.2d 270, 278(¶ 24) (Miss.2006).

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White v. State, 962 So. 2d 728, 2007 WL 2303942 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

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