Duckworth v. State
| Docket Number: | 2006-KA-01996-COA Linked Case(s): 2006-KA-01996-COA ; 2006-CT-01996-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-11-2007 Opinion Author: LEE, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Sale of controlled substance - Challenge for cause - Improper opinion evidence - Lesser-included offense instruction Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., MYERS, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, 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: 09-14-2006 Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court Judge: Roger T. Clark Disposition: CONVICTED OF TRANSFER OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AND SENTENCED AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS District Attorney: Cono A. Caranna, II Case Number: B2401-2005-458 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | ELNORSH DUCKWORTH |
GEORGE T. HOLMES |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. GLENN WATTS | ||
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 controlled substance - Challenge for cause - Improper opinion evidence - Lesser-included offense instruction |
| Summary of the Facts: | Elnorsh Duckworth was convicted of sale of a controlled substance. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to serve twenty-five years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Challenge for cause Duckworth argues that the court erred in not striking a juror for cause since the juror was a Gulfport police officer and admitted to knowing most all of the witnesses. However, the officer did not serve as a juror because Duckworth’s counsel used a peremptory challenge to strike him from the jury before it was empaneled. Prerequisite to presenting a claim on appeal that a juror should have been struck for cause is a showing that the challenging party had exhausted all of his peremptory challenges and that the incompetent juror was forced upon him by the trial court’s erroneous ruling. Issue 2: Improper opinion evidence Duckworth argues that inconsistent rulings by the court on opinion evidence confused the jury. However, the court instructed the jury to disregard the testimony and no objection was made at trial regarding the rulings being inconsistent. The assertion on appeal of grounds for an objection which was not the assertion at trial is not an issue properly preserved on appeal. Issue 3: Lesser-included offense instruction Duckworth argues that he was entitled to a lesser-included offense instruction for simple possession because another person told the arresting officer that the drugs were hers. Given Duckworth’s argument at trial that he had nothing to do with the drugs, a jury instruction on simple possession was not warranted. |
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