Officer not in custody when he gave statement
Facts Jane Smith ran away from home on June 19, 2007. Jane was fourteen years old at the time. Tara Smith, Jane’s mother, discovered that Jane was missing around 4:00 a.m. and called the Greenville Police Department (GPD) to report Jane’s disappearance. Benjamin Roberson, then a patrol officer with the GPD, responded to Tara’s call. Roberson […]
Evidence from an officer accidentally crossing outside of their jurisdiction is admissible
Facts In the late hours of Christmas Eve 2005, the Chief of Police of the Town of Marion, Mississippi, Ben Langston, was on duty in his police cruiser at the entrance of Valley Ridge Apartments, within the Marion city limits. He observed a car drive by at approximately ten miles over the speed limit, traveling east […]
Bumping the fog line constitutes careless driving
Facts In 2007, Tony Martin was pulled over for careless driving by Trooper Robert Hamblin on Mississippi Highway 314 in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Hamblin stopped Martin after observing Martin’s vehicle “kind of bump the fog line, went from the center line to the fog line.” When questioning Martin during the traffic stop, Hamblin noticed the […]
No Mississippi law requires that statements be recorded
Facts In 2007, Ledonna Ellis had two girlfriends over to her apartment. The three girls went to a party and were home by midnight. Ellis went to sleep alone in one room, while the other two girls slept in a second bedroom. At approximately 3:00 a.m., Ellis awoke to a man standing in her bedroom. Her […]
Subject eight feet from rifle found in constructive possession
Facts In 2008, Donnie Adkins, Sheriff of Neshoba County, personally presented an affidavit for a search warrant to Justice Court Judge Steve Cumberland at the judge’s home. The affidavit was in standard form and stated that Sheriff Adkins believed Roy Lee Johnson had committed the crime of possession of controlled substance crack cocaine and marijuana. […]
violation of an internal police operating procedure does not automatically constitute reckless disregard under MTCA
Facts According to her testimony, while patrolling near the “five-points” intersection in Jackson, police officer Miranda Morton received a call informing her that a man was reported lying in the street in the Georgetown area, unresponsive and bleeding. Although Officer Morton knew the dispatcher had called another officer to assist, she understood the call was […]