Ross v. Epps


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Docket Number: 2005-CP-00430-COA

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 02-28-2006
Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Post-conviction relief - Ex post facto law - Section 47-5-138.1
Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., SOUTHWICK, IRVING, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS, JJ.
Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - STATE BOARDS AND AGENCIES

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 02-03-2005
Appealed from: Greene County Circuit Court
Judge: Kathy King Jackson
Disposition: ORDER AFFIRMING DECISION OF MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO DENY TRUSTY TIME ALLOWANCE
Case Number: 2004-12-145(2)

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: ALAN ROSS




ALAN ROSS (PRO SE)



 

Appellee: CHRISTOPHER EPPS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JANE L. MAPP  

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Topic: Post-conviction relief - Ex post facto law - Section 47-5-138.1

Summary of the Facts: Alan Ross was convicted of the sale of cocaine in 1998 and was sentenced to twenty years. Ross entered trusty status under section 47-5-138.1 which stated that an offender awarded trusty time would be allowed ten days’ reduction of sentence for each thirty days of participation. Additionally, the statute stated that offenders who were not eligible for earned time pursuant to section 47-5-139 were not eligible for trusty status. The trusty time exclusions in section 47-5-139 did not include offenders convicted of trafficking in controlled substances. Effective April 28, 2004, section 47-5-138.1 was amended to allow a trusty time allowance of thirty days’ reduction of sentence for thirty days of participation. However, under the amendment, an offender is not eligible for trusty status if the offender was convicted of trafficking in controlled substances. In 2004, Ross filed a petition with the MDOC Administrative Remedy Program arguing that section 47-5-138.1, as amended, was an unconstitutional ex post facto law as applied to offenders who committed the crime of sale or manufacture of a controlled substance prior to the effective date of the amendment. The MDOC Administrative Remedy Program responded that the amendment specifically excluded offenders convicted of the sale or transfer of a controlled substance from being eligible for the increased time allowance. Ross filed a petition in circuit court seeking judicial

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Ross argues that the amended statute is an unconstitutional ex post facto law as applied to him. An ex post facto law is one which creates a new offense or changes the punishment, to the detriment of the accused, after the commission of the crime. Ross claims that he was disadvantaged by the new restrictions in the trusty time statute. However, the amendment to the statute does not, in any way, disadvantage Ross. The ex post facto clause is designed to prevent the legislature from increasing punishment beyond what was prescribed when the crime was committed. Ross remains in the same position regardless of the amendment to the statute. Since Ross entered trusty status in 2002, he continues to receive the ten days for thirty days trusty time benefit under the prior statute.


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