Thomas v. State
| Docket Number: | 2011-CT-00840-SCT Linked Case(s): 2011-KA-00840-COA ; 2011-KA-00840-COA ; 2011-CT-00840-SCT ; 2011-CT-00840-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-03-2013 Opinion Author: Kitchens, J. Holding: Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part; Circuit court affirmed in part, reversed in part. |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-02-2012 Opinion Author: Fair, J. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Aggravated assault & Felon in possession of weapon - Sufficiency of evidence - Section 97-37-5 - Prohibited weapon Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Dickinson and Randolph, P.JJ., Lamar, Chandler, Pierce, King and Coleman, 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: 05-03-2011 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: Jeff Weill, Sr. Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, AND COUNT II, FELON IN POSSESSION OF A WEAPON, AND SENTENCED AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO LIFE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE OR PROBATION District Attorney: Robert Shuler Smith Case Number: 06-1-026 |
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| Note: | The original Court of Appeals opinion can be found at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO79631.pdf | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Anthony Tyrone Thomas a/k/a Anthony J. Thomas a/k/a Anthony B. Thomas a/k/a Big Hab a/k/a Anthony Thomas |
OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER: GEORGE T. HOLMES |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: BILLY L. GORE SCOTT STUART |
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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 & Felon in possession of weapon - Sufficiency of evidence - Section 97-37-5 - Prohibited weapon |
| Summary of the Facts: | Anthony Thomas was convicted of aggravated assault (Count I) and of being a felon in possession of a weapon (Count II). He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole as a habitual offender. The Court of Appeals affirmed both convictions. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Thomas argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of being a felon in possession of a prohibited weapon. Section 97-37-5 makes it unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony to possess a list of certain weapons, including “any bowie knife, dirk knife, butcher knife, or switchblade knife.” In Count II of the indictment, the State charged that Thomas “did willfully, unlawfully, knowingly and feloniously have in his possession a certain weapon, to-wit: a knife, he, the said Anthony J. Thomas, having been previously convicted of a felony . . . .” The mere possession of “a knife” is not a crime under the statute; only possession of those knives enumerated in the statute is a crime. An indictment which fails to allege all essential elements of a crime is void. Thus, an indictment charging a defendant with being a felon in possession of a prohibited weapon, without charging all the essential elements of that crime, is void. Thomas’s conviction on Count II is reversed. |
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