White v. State
| Docket Number: | 2006-KA-00988-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-14-2007 Opinion Author: IRVING, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Manslaughter - Sufficiency of evidence - Prior bad acts - M.R.E. 609 Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., 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: 06-30-2004 Appealed from: Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge: Lamar Pickard Disposition: CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER AND SENTENCED TO TWENTY YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. District Attorney: Alexander C. Martin Case Number: 2004-02KR |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | JAMES WHITE |
M. A. BASS |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: STEPHANIE B. WOOD |
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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: | Manslaughter - Sufficiency of evidence - Prior bad acts - M.R.E. 609 |
| Summary of the Facts: | James White was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Sufficiency of evidence There was testimony from multiple witnesses, including White himself, that he was engaged in a fight with the victim shortly before the victim died. Multiple witnesses also testified that the victim was bleeding heavily from a previously non-existent stab wound after the “scuffle” with White. This evidence is sufficient to sustain White’s conviction. Although White related a version of events to the jury that conflicted with the version told by the State’s witnesses, the jury is the ultimate judge of the credibility of witnesses. Issue 2: Prior bad acts White argues that the court erred in admitting two prior bad acts, one of which resulted in a conviction. Under M.R.E. 609, a prior conviction may be used to impeach a witness so long as the crime was punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year, its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect to the party, and it is less than ten years old. White’s conviction was in 2002, within ten years of the incident in this case. White’s prior crime, shooting into an occupied dwelling, carried a maximum penalty of up to ten years imprisonment. White made himself out to have qualities that his prior conviction indicated that he does not have. As such, White opened the door to the State’s questions about his prior conviction, and the court did not err in not finding that the prejudice outweighed the probative value. With regard to the court’s decision to allow the State to question White regarding the prior incident that did not result in a conviction, because White was arrested as a result of the incident, the court did not err in allowing the State to question White about the incident, as the arrest indicates that the incident was in fact a bad act. |
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