Spontaneous Statements made by arrestees before miranda are admissible
Facts In 2003, Officer Samuel Gardner of the Jackson Police Department (JPD) responded to the home of Janice Cotton in a call for assistance. When he arrived, he saw Adrian Williard dragging Crystal Latham, Cotton’s daughter, across the street. Gardner stated that when he exited his vehicle and attempted to separate Williard from Latham, Williard […]
Violation of the 48 hour rule does not automatically render a confession inadmissible
Facts In 2019, Johnny Hollingsworth discovered his tiller was missing from his property and called police. A few days later his trailer also went missing. He then got a call from Sheriff’s Investigator Kevin Baysinger to inform him that both his tiller and trailer had been located at a local pawn shop. Tadise Seales was then […]
Statements before arrest are non custodial
Facts On February 20, 2009, shortly after midnight, Mississippi Highway Patrol Officer Willie Triplett responded to a dispatch call for a one-vehicle accident on Highway 19 in Neshoba County. Upon arriving at the scene, he found a vehicle that had apparently left the highway, overturned, and ended up back on the highway facing the wrong […]
Smelling alcohol from the vehicle provides reasonable suspicion that driver is under the influence
Facts In 2008, Fredrick Watts, driving his red Ford Mustang, was stopped at a roadblock manned by officers of the Marion Police Department and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department. One of the officers asked Watts for his driver’s license and commented that he smelled the aroma of alcohol coming from the vehicle. According to the […]
upon search incident to arrest, a subject is charged with a new crime
Facts In 2005, Chad Bell, a deputy with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, observed a vehicle accelerating onto Lehmberg Road in Lowndes County, Mississippi, at a high rate of speed. Bell followed the vehicle and noticed the vehicle did not have a working light illuminating the license tag. Bell determined the vehicle was driving 52 […]
Community caretaking exception will work for some traffic stops but not here
Facts Officer Chris Picou was traveling North on I-55 at approximately 1:17 a.m. when he came upon a red Chevrolet SUV with a Texas license plate traveling in the left hand or inside lane. The SUV was traveling approximately 58-60 miles per hour in an area where the minimum posted speed limit is 45 miles […]