Bell v. State
| Docket Number: | 2012-KA-01144-COA Linked Case(s): 2012-TS-01144-COA ; 2012-TS-01144-COA ; 2012-KA-01144-COA ; 2012-CT-01144-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 04-01-2014 Opinion Author: Maxwell, J. Holding: Affirmed. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Sale of methamphetamine - Prison clothing - Motion to dismiss Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Fair and James, JJ. Concur in Part, Concur in Result 1: Irving, P.J., Without Separate Written Opinion Concurs in Result Only: Carlton, J., Without Separate Written Opinion Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-15-2012 Appealed from: SCOTT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: MARCUS D. GORDON Disposition: Convicted of Count I, sale of methamphetamine, and sentenced to forty years as a habitual offender, and Count II, sale of methamphetamine, and sentenced to forty years as a habitual offender, with the sentences to run consecutively in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, without eligibility for parole, pardon, or suspension or reduction of sentence District Attorney: Mark Sheldon Duncan Case Number: 11-CR-068-SC-G |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Timothy Lavon Bell a/k/a Timothy L. Bell |
EDMUND J. PHILLIPS JR., CHOKWE LUMUMBA, IMHOTEP ALKEBU-LAN |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JOHN R. HENRY JR. |
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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: | Sale of methamphetamine - Prison clothing - Motion to dismiss |
| Summary of the Facts: | Timothy Bell was convicted of two counts of selling methamphetamine. He was sentenced to two consecutive forty-year sentences, totaling eighty years, as a habitual offender and second drug offender. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Prison clothing Bell argues that it was unfair for the jury to see him in prison clothing during the trial. To establish a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, a defendant must object to being tried in prison clothing. Because Bell concedes he did not object, there is no constitutional violation. Issue 2: Motion to dismiss Bell argues that the court erred in denying the State’s motion to dismiss Count I of the two-count indictment. Specifically, he argues that by refusing the State’s motion to nolle pros Count I, the trial court impermissibly “abdicat[ed] its role as an impartial arbitrator and assumed the hat of the prosecutor.” This is the first time Bell has raised this particular argument. In addition, Bell did not join in the State’s motion to dismiss Count I. And, his argument lacks merit because of the discretion given Mississippi’s trial judges in deciding to refuse or grant a prosecutor’s motion to dismiss an indictment. Mississippi’s trial judges need only provide a reasonable basis to grant or deny a prosecutor leave to dismiss or nolle pros an indictment. Here, the circuit judge’s denial of the State’s motion to dismiss was reasonable under the circumstances. |
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