Ellis v. State
| Docket Number: | 2002-KA-00266-COA Linked Case(s): 2002-KA-00266-COA ; 2002-CT-00266-SCT ; 2002-CT-00266-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-20-2003 Opinion Author: Thomas, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Capital murder - Past conduct of witness - Newspaper article - Lesser-included offense instruction - Sufficiency of evidence Judge(s) Concurring: McMillin, C.J., King and Southwick, P.JJ., Bridges, Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-13-2012 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: W. Swan Yerger Disposition: SENTENCED TO SERVE A TERM OF LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MDOC. District Attorney: Eleanor Faye Peterson Case Number: 98-1-042 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Antwon Leshay Ellis |
DAN W. DUGGAN |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: BILLY L. GORE |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Capital murder - Past conduct of witness - Newspaper article - Lesser-included offense instruction - Sufficiency of evidence |
| Summary of the Facts: | Antwon Ellis was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Past conduct of witness Ellis argues that his defense was hampered by the judge's grant of the State's motion in limine regarding a police detective's prior arrest for allegedly accepting money from drug dealers. Procedurally, before counsel attempts an inquiry on cross-examination as to specific acts of past conduct not resulting in a conviction he should inform the judge that he intends to do so. The judge can then conduct a hearing outside the presence of the jury to determine if the conduct reflects upon the witness's honesty and weigh the probative value against the danger of unfair prejudice and whether admission of the evidence will advance the ascertainment of the truth in the case. Here, the questions regarding the detective's alleged prior bad acts were too far removed to be relevant. Issue 2: Newspaper article Ellis argues that he was not afforded a fair trial as the jury was tainted by a newspaper article reporting that Ellis was on trial for a second time regarding this murder and that the jury returned a guilty verdict in the first trial but it was being retried. A jury's verdict must be based upon the evidence and not affected by extraneous influences. Here, the judge polled the jury as a group regarding the newspaper article and not one of them had read it or knew anything about it. Issue 3: Lesser-included offense instruction Ellis argues that the evidence supported a lesser-included offense instruction of manslaughter. A court may refuse an instruction when it incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is without evidentiary foundation. Ellis presented no evidence in support of any lesser offense or any possible defenses to his actions. He intentionally killed the victim during the commission of an armed robbery which is capital murder. Issue 4: Sufficiency of evidence Ellis argues that the court should have directed a verdict in his favor. The evidence presented by the State was more than sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict. |
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