Young v. State

952 So. 2d 1031, 2007 WL 900792
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 27, 2007
Docket2006-CP-00114-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 952 So. 2d 1031 (Young 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
Young v. State, 952 So. 2d 1031, 2007 WL 900792 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

952 So.2d 1031 (2007)

Jimmy Wayne YOUNG, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-CP-00114-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 27, 2007.

*1032 Jimmy Wayne Young, appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER, ISHEE and CARLTON, JJ.

CARLTON, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Jimmy Wayne Young entered a guilty plea in the Itawamba County Circuit Court for the crimes of burglary of a dwelling and grand larceny. He now challenges the validity of the indictment, his plea, and the effectiveness of his counsel. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On July 20, 2004, an Itawamba County grand jury returned a three count indictment against Young for the crimes of burglary of a dwelling and two counts of grand larceny. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-17-23 (Rev.2006) (burglary of a dwelling statute carrying a maximum imprisonment penalty of twenty-five years); § 97-17-41 (Rev.2006) (grand larceny statute). Due to prior felony convictions, Young was also charged as a recidivist. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-81 (Rev.2000) (requiring a felon convicted for a third time to receive and serve the maximum sentence).

¶ 3. On January 25, 2005, Young entered a guilty plea to the charges of burglary of a dwelling and one count of grand larceny. In exchange for his plea the additional count of grand larceny and the habitual status charges were retired to the files, and the State made a lenient sentence recommendation. The trial judge sentenced Young, according to the recommendation of the State, to twenty years, eight to serve, twelve suspended, for burglary of a dwelling, and ten years suspended for grand larceny. Young is now dissatisfied by the circumstances under which his plea was offered and challenges his conviction and sentence through the arguments itemized and addressed below. His appeal has been assigned to this Court.

DISCUSSION

1. Validity of Indictment

¶ 4. Young argues that the indictment charging him with burglary of a dwelling is faulty because the structure did not qualify as a dwelling. Young reasons that, as a matter of law, the most serious crime for which he could be charged was burglary of *1033 a building other than a dwelling. Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-23 (Rev.2000) (carrying a maximum imprisonment penalty of seven years). He concludes that his plea was invalid because he was unaware that he was charged with the wrong crime and entered a guilty plea for a crime for which he could not be charged. His main contention is that the State never referred to the building as a "dwelling" or "residence." He cites only to the above mentioned statutes in support of his position.

¶ 5. The State contends that this issue is waived assuming Young entered a valid guilty plea. Young's argument that his plea is invalid hinges upon whether the alleged defect in the indictment is actually a defect. To avoid a circular discussion of the issues raised, we first address whether the indictment was defective.

¶ 6. Young argues that the State charged him with the enhanced crime of burglary of a dwelling when he should have been charged with the lesser offense, burglary of a building, other than a dwelling. Of importance is that the State was not required to advance evidence to prove the building was a dwelling. By entering a guilty plea, Young not only confessed to the actions as charged in the indictment but also stipulated that the prosecution did not need to advance evidence of guilt. Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. 175, 187-88, 125 S.Ct. 551, 160 L.Ed.2d 565 (2004) (quoting Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242-43, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969)). Young acknowledged at the plea hearing that he knew his plea would waive the requirement for the State to prove the elements of the charges against him. He also confessed that he did "break and enter a certain dwelling owned and occupied by [the burglary victims]. . . ."

¶ 7. Even so, we read Young's pro se brief broadly and, therefore, conclude that his post-conviction argument fits within the post-conviction relief statute as challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court to accept his plea due to a defective charging document. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-5(1)(a) (Rev.2000); Conerly v. State, 607 So.2d 1153, 1156 (Miss.1992) (entering a guilty plea waives the right to challenge many errors but does not waive subject matter jurisdiction); Jefferson v. State, 556 So.2d 1016, 1021 (Miss.1989) (trial courts obtain subject matter jurisdiction over an offense by the defendant being served with an indictment charging the essential elements of a crime).

¶ 8. The sole question presented under this issue is whether the structure from which items were taken qualifies as a dwelling under Section 97-17-23. Young concedes in his brief that the structure is a "hunting club cabin." Count one of the indictment charged that Young did:

wilfully, feloniously and burglariously break and enter a certain dwelling owned and occupied . . . with the felonious and burglarious intent to take, steal and carry away the goods, chattels and personal property of the said [owners]. . . .

¶ 9. In 2001, the Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed case law in discussing the question of "whether a building [was] characterized as a dwelling." Edwards v. State, 800 So.2d 454, 461-62(¶ 11) (Miss. 2001) (shed attached to carport and house was a dwelling). In Edwards, the court stated that the "intention of the dweller is considered to be material in the Court's determination of whether a building is characterized as a dwelling pursuant to the burglary statute." Id. The court then summarized previously decided cases on this issue, including:

Gillum v. State, 468 So.2d [856, 859 (Miss.1985)] (weekend home where owners spent every second or third weekend *1034 and had food, clothing and other necessities was a dwelling); Course v. State, 469 So.2d 80 (Miss.1985) (home was dwelling house even though victim lived in nursing home for the past few months where she kept personal possessions in the home and intended to return to the home if her health improved); Washington v. State, 753 So.2d 475 (Miss.Ct.App. 1999) (building that owner occupied for ten to fifteen weeks a year to visit family in Mississippi was a dwelling); Wilkerson v. State, 724 So.2d 1089 (Miss.Ct. App.1998) (house was dwelling where owner lived four months a year, received mail and kept personal items). But see Pool v. State, 764 So.2d 440 (Miss.2000) (farmhouse not considered dwelling where owner moved to an apartment four years prior to alleged burglary and there was no evidence that owner intended to return to the farm); Woods v. State, 186 Miss. 463, 191 So. 283 (1939) (newly erected home intended as a dwelling but not yet occupied is not considered a dwelling house).

Id.

¶ 10.

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Bluebook (online)
952 So. 2d 1031, 2007 WL 900792, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/young-v-state-missctapp-2007.