A car stop based on reasonable suspicion for a misdemeanor does not require the officer to personally observe the violation
Facts In 1997, Officer Gerome Leflore of the Crystal Springs Police Department was off duty when a citizen approached him at a gas station on Mississippi Highway 27 and reported to him that there was a person in an antique model, red Mustang convertible driving at a high rate of speed in a reckless manner […]
Inconsistent verdicts are legal
Facts In 1995, James Lockhart was walking along West Tallahatchie Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi with Frederick Jones and Sean Jones when a car drove by. Several shots were fired from the car and Frederick and Sean Jones were able to escape; James Lockhart did not. Lockhart died as a result of a 9mm bullet wound […]
Intent to distribute not sufficient when small quantity of drugs and priors are only evidence presented
Facts Deputy Leonard Bentz of the Harrison County Sheriffs Department went to the W.A. Ladner Apartments in Gulfport and spoke with Natasha Porter in response to a domestic violence call. Porter said that she and her boyfriend, David Mitchell, had been involved in an altercation and that Mitchell was on the other side of the […]
A momentary handling does not constitute actual possession of drugs here
Facts Derward Mauldin was employed by Lady Luck Casino in Coahoma County, Mississippi as a black jack dealer. On May 23, 1997, while on break, Mauldin encountered Stephanie Coley and had a conversation with her. During the conversation Mauldin picked up her cigarette case, reached into it, pulled out some lip balm, used it, and […]
Statement taken at hospital was admissible
Facts Neil Kircher was a voluntarily admitted patient at COPAC, an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment center located in Rankin County. In 1995, Kircher, along with other COPAC members, was taken to the Jitney Jungle grocery store on Spillway Road in Rankin County. While at the Jitney Jungle, Kircher noticed a vehicle in the parking […]
Photo lineup where length of hair was different was not suppressed
Facts In 1990, three-year-old Courtney Smith was taken from her bed. Two days later, Courtney was found dead in a pond near her home in Noxubee County. Levon “Tytee” Brooks, an ex-boyfriend of Courtney’s mother, was convicted of Courtney’s murder after Ashley Smith, Courtney’s five-year-old sister, identified Brooks as the man who took Courtney from […]