Miller v. State
| Docket Number: | 2010-CT-00901-SCT Linked Case(s): 2010-KA-00901-COA ; 2010-KA-00901-COA ; 2010-CT-00901-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-09-2012 Opinion Author: Carlson, P.J. Holding: Reversed both the Court of Appeals and the Circuit Courtand Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Aggravated assault & Forcible rape - Recusal of judge - Participation in youth-court shelter hearing Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Dickinson, P.J., Randolph, Lamar, Kitchens, Chandler, Pierce and King, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY Writ of Certiorari: Granted Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 03-05-2010 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: Malcolm Harrison Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I, FORCIBLE RAPE, AND SENTENCED TO THIRTY YEARS; AND COUNT II, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, AND SENTENCED TO TWENTY YEARS, ALL IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WITH THE SENTENCES TO RUN CONSECUTIVELY District Attorney: Robert Shuler Smith Case Number: 08-0519 1-2 |
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| Note: | The Supreme Court found reversible error in the trial judge’s failure to recuse himself after having served as the county prosecuting attorney in an earlier youth-court shelter hearing regarding the minor victim’s custody as a result of the events giving rise to the criminal charges which were the subject of this appeal. The Court of Appeals opinion can be found at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO73440.pdf . | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Matthew Miller |
MARCIE TANNER SOUTHERLAND |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: STEPHANIE BRELAND WOOD |
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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: | Aggravated assault & Forcible rape - Recusal of judge - Participation in youth-court shelter hearing |
| Summary of the Facts: | Matthew Miller was convicted of aggravated assault and forcible rape. The Court of Appeals affirmed Miller’s conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | In his petition for writ of certiorari, Miller raises the sole issue of whether Judge Harrison abused his discretion by failing to recuse himself. Miller had made an ore tenus motion for Judge Harrison’s recusal four days before trial, noting that, before his appointment to the circuit court, Judge Harrison had served as Hinds County prosecuting attorney. In that capacity, Judge Harrison had appeared as a youth-court prosecutor in the shelter hearing in which the victim was removed from her mother’s care (the victim’s mother was still living with Miller). A judge is required to disqualify himself if a reasonable person, knowing all the circumstances, would harbor doubts about his impartiality. Where one actively engages in any way in the prosecution and conviction of one accused of a crime, he is disqualified from sitting as a judge in any matter which involves that conviction. The Court of Appeals found that, since the youth-court hearing was a civil matter and Miller was not a party to it, Judge Harrison’s participation as a county prosecutor did not amount to active participation in Miller’s criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeals found that Judge Harrison did not serve as a lawyer in the matter in controversy under the meaning of the Code of Judicial Conduct. However, Judge Harrison, as county prosecutor, participated in the youth-court shelter hearing involving the same abuse, victim, and perpetrator at issue in the subject criminal trial, to the extent that he signed an order finding jurisdiction and removing the child. The trial judge in today’s case erred in concluding that the youth court considers only the best interest of the child. Mississippi statutes require youth courts to make various factual adjudications in child-protection proceedings, and the matters before the youth court in a shelter hearing for child protection concerns much more than just the issue of the child’s best interest. The youth court must find jurisdiction to exist, and jurisdiction existed in this case upon the determination of the child as an abused child in accordance with section 43-21-105(m). This issue went to the heart of the substantive issue of Miller’s guilt. After the court determined that the child fell within the court’s jurisdiction as an abused child at the hands of someone responsible for her care, then the youth court had to address whether it was in the child’s best interest to place her in foster care. Today’s appeal involves the same matter in controversy in which Judge Harrison served as a lawyer. Furthermore, Judge Harrison may also have personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding, due to his participation in the youth-court shelter hearing addressing the same facts. As a result, Judge Harrison has manifestly abused his discretion by failing to recuse himself. |
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