Christopher L'Amont Little v. State of Mississippi
| Docket Number: | 2003-KA-00885-COA Linked Case(s): 2003-CT-00885-SCT2003-KA-00885-COA |
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| Oral Argument: | 03-11-2004 | |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Murder & Aggravated assault - Constructive amendment of indictment - Section 97-3-19(1) - Judicial bias |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Christopher L'Amont Little |
William B. Jacob; Joseph A. Kieronski, Jr.; Daniel P. Self, Jr. |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | Jeffrey A. Klingfuss; Charles W. Maris, Jr.; Jim Hood |
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| Topic: | Murder & Aggravated assault - Constructive amendment of indictment - Section 97-3-19(1) - Judicial bias |
| Summary of the Facts: | Christopher Little was convicted of murder and aggravated assault. He was sentenced to a term of life in prison for the murder charge and ten years for the aggravated assault, to run consecutively with the life sentence. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Constructive amendment of indictment Little argues that the court erred in granting a jury instruction because by doing so, the State was allowed to improperly amend the indictment. Every murder committed with deliberate design is by definition done in the commission of an act imminently dangerous to others, evincing a depraved heart. Thus the two types of murder integrate so that section 97-3-19(1)(b) subsumes section (1)(a). Therefore, the depraved heart murder instruction did not constructively amend the indictment. Issue 2: Judicial bias Little argues that during the questioning of one of the State's witnesses, the judge stopped the State's questioning and improperly gave the State a new strategy thereby depriving him of his chosen defense. However, the judge was prohibiting the parties from introducing hearsay into evidence, and there was no bias toward the prosecution in so ruling. |
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