Williams v. State

970 So. 2d 727, 2007 WL 2472904
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided September 4, 2007·No. 2006-KA-01850-COA·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

970 So.2d 727 (2007)

Danny Lee WILLIAMS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-01850-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 4, 2007.
Rehearing Denied December 11, 2007.

*728 David L. Walker, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., ISHEE, ROBERTS and CARLTON, JJ.

ROBERTS, J., for the Court.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE

¶ 1. A jury sitting before the Panola County Circuit Court found Danny Lee *729 Williams guilty of three counts of fondling a child and six counts of sexual battery. The circuit court sentenced Williams as follows:

Fifteen years for count I;
Five years for count II, to run concurrently with count I;
Five years for count III, to run concurrently with counts I and II;
Five years for count IV, to run consecutively to counts I, II, and III;
Five years for count V, to run concurrently with count IV;
Five years for count VI, to run concurrently with counts IV and V;
Five years for count X, to run concurrently with counts IV, V, and VI;
Five years for count XI, to run concurrently with counts IV, V, VI, and X, and;
Five years of post-release supervision for count XII, to run consecutive to counts IV, V, VI, X, and XI.

Following unsuccessful post-trial motions for JNOV or, alternatively, for a new trial, Williams appeals and raises four issues, listed verbatim:

I. THAT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE APPELLANT'S OBJECTION TO TESTIMONY FROM TOMIKO MACKEY CONCERNING THE BELIEVABILITY OF [JANE].
II. THAT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE APPELLANT'S OBJECTION TO THE INTRODUCTION INTO EVIDENCE OF THE VIDEO TAPE RECORDING OF [JANE] AND TOMIKO MACKEY.
III. THAT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE APPELLANT'S OBJECTION TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF TOMIKO MACKEY AS AN EXPERT WITNESS IN THE FIELDS OF FORENSIC INTERVIEWING, USING FINDING WORDS TECHNIQUE AND CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE.
IV. THAT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL AND IN THE ALTERNATIVE FOR A JUDGMENT NOT [SIC] WITHSTANDING THE VERDICT.

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. This case centers on a stepfather's inappropriate conduct with his stepdaughter. Danny Lee and Sandra Williams married in 2002. Sandra had a daughter, Jane, from a previous relationship.[1] Williams worked two jobs. At nights, he worked as a police officer with the Lambert Police Department.

¶ 3. On February 19, 2006, Sandra and Jane dropped Williams off at work. During the return trip, Sandra and Jane discussed Jane's cell phone use. Jane had been borrowing Sandra's cell phone and Sandra wanted to know why. Additionally, Sandra wanted to know why Jane was using the phone late at night. It was then that Jane told Sandra that Williams had been touching her inappropriately for some time.

¶ 4. Sandra did not immediately notify anyone in law enforcement. However, Sandra contacted authorities the very next day. Sandra first spoke with Officer Michael Harden of the Batesville Police Department. *730 She gave the following statement:

Yesterday, February 19, my daughter, [Jane], informed me that my husband, Danny Lee Williams, has been molesting her while I was asleep. This, of course, disturbed me and I asked her to tell me details. Slowly she has been telling me that when he would get off work from his second job that he would come into her room and touch her breast and private area. She also said that he said, "This is how you do your boyfriend." She had to rub on his penis and even stick it in her mouth. He would lay on her and play his penis around her vagina. He would even cum but not in her. He would only leave her alone if he thought her period was on. He said, "This is our secret, don't tell mom or anybody else."

¶ 5. On February 22, 2006, Captain Paul Shivers, a detective with the Batesville Police Department, visited Sandra's home. Captain Shivers gave Sandra equipment by which she could record phone conversations. Captain Shivers taught Sandra how to use the equipment. The intended goal was to record Williams's phone conversations with Jane.

¶ 6. Based on the record, it appears that Sandra and Jane recorded more than one of Williams's phone calls. During those phone calls, at Sandra's instruction, Jane hinted to Williams that she was pregnant. According to trial testimony, Williams became "nervous." Sandra later returned the equipment and the taped conversations to Captain Shivers.

¶ 7. Captain Shivers referred Sandra and Jane to the Department of Human Services office in Sardis, Mississippi. There, they met with Bonnie Jean Rogers, a social worker who investigates child neglect and child abuse. Because the Panola County Department of Human Services did not have the required video and audio setup, Rogers referred Sandra and Jane to the Family Crisis Center in Oxford, Mississippi.[2]

¶ 8. At the Family Crisis Center, Jane met with Tomiko Mackey, a "forensic interviewer." Mackey interviewed Jane pursuant to a particular method designed to determine whether Jane's version of events was consistent with a child who had suffered sexual abuse. Mackey recorded the forensic interview on audio and video equipment. Additionally, four people watched the interview through a two-way mirror. Those four people included Rogers and Captain Shivers, as well as additional staff members of the Panola County DHS and the Family Crisis Center. After the interview, Mackey concluded that Jane's version of events was consistent with that of children who suffered sexual abuse.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 9. On April 26, 2006, the Panola County grand jury returned an indictment against Williams and charged Williams with three counts of gratification of lust and nine counts of sexual battery. Williams pled not guilty and proceeded to trial.

¶ 10. Williams's trial commenced on August 21, 2006. The prosecution called Sandra, Jean Rogers, and Tomiko Mackey during the first day of trial. As will be discussed, Williams takes issue with the circuit court's decision to allow the prosecution to call Mackey as an expert witness. Additionally, the prosecution submitted Jane's taped interview during Mackey's *731 testimony. Williams objected on the basis that he did not have an opportunity to confront Jane during the forensic interview. The next morning, the prosecution called Jane and Captain Shivers. The prosecution rested after Captain Shivers testified.

¶ 11. At that point, Williams moved to dismiss counts seven, eight, and nine of the indictment. Those counts alleged that Williams digitally penetrated Jane's vagina. However, Jane testified that Williams never digitally penetrated her. The circuit court granted Williams's motion to dismiss counts seven, eight, and nine. Accordingly, Williams faced nine counts, rather than twelve.

¶ 12. Williams proceeded to present his case-in-chief. Williams first called Jane. After brief testimony from Jane, Williams took the stand.

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Williams v. State, 970 So. 2d 727, 2007 WL 2472904 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

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