Roles v. State
| Docket Number: | 2005-KA-00362-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 03-27-2007 Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Statutory rape - Search warrant - Sufficiency of evidence - Batson hearing Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-21-2003 Appealed from: Hancock County Circuit Court Judge: Jerry O. Terry, Sr. Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT II - STATUTORY RAPE - SENTENCED TO SERVE A TERM OF TWENTY YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF MDOC. District Attorney: CONO A. CARANNA, II Case Number: B2301-02-0081 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | HERBERT G. ROLES, III |
HARRY B. WARD |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. DANIEL HINCHCLIFF |
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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: | Statutory rape - Search warrant - Sufficiency of evidence - Batson hearing |
| Summary of the Facts: | Herbert Roles, III, was convicted of statutory rape and sentenced to twenty years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Search warrant Roles argues that the victim’s undergarments which were found in his car were illegally obtained without a search warrant and should not have been admitted into evidence. Because Roles did not make a timely objection to the admission of the undergarments as evidence, he is procedurally barred from appealing this issue. Issue 2: Sufficiency of evidence Roles argues that the State failed to prove the essential element of “sexual intercourse,” because the victim’s testimony at trial differed from the statements she gave to a police investigator, and medical evidence was not used to corroborate her version of events. While the victim’s trial testimony may have been inconsistent with her initial statements to the police, her credibility was a matter for the jury to decide. Moreover, the State offered the necessary evidence to meet its burden of proof for “sexual intercourse.” The State established through the victim’s testimony that she and Roles engaged in the act of sexual intercourse. In addition, two officers testified that Roles admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim. Issue 3: Batson hearing Roles, an African-American, argues that a Batson challenge should have been raised when the State used three peremptory challenges to strike prospective jurors. The State accepted one black male to the jury, but struck another black male, one black female and one female of undetermined race. Each of the stricken jurors stated in voir dire that they either knew Roles personally or knew of him through a friend. Because Roles failed to raise a Batson challenge at trial, the court did not have the opportunity to make any findings necessary to preserve this issue for appellate review. Accordingly, Roles’s Batson challenge is without merit. |
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