Hitt v. State
| Docket Number: | 2006-KA-01474-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-12-2008 Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Simple assault on officer - Weight of evidence - Defective indictment 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: 08-24-2006 Appealed from: NESHOBA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Marcus D. Gordon Disposition: CONVICTED OF SIMPLE ASSAULT UPON A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER AND SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, WITH TWO YEARS TO SERVE AND ONE YEAR SUSPENDED, AND THREE YEARS OF POSTRELEASE SUPERVISION AND A FINE OF $1,500 District Attorney: Mark Sheldon Duncan Case Number: 06-CR-0084-NS-G |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | CHRISTY HITT |
EDMUND J. PHILLIPS, JR.,
CHRISTOPHER A. COLLINS |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: DEIRDRE MCCRORY | ||
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| Topic: | Simple assault on officer - Weight of evidence - Defective indictment |
| Summary of the Facts: | Christy Hitt was convicted of simple assault upon a law enforcement officer. She appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Weight of evidence Hitt argues that the verdict is against the weight of evidence, because the officers' testimonies were not credible and that she struck the officer accidentally. The jury's decision to reject Hitt's version of events and to find her guilty of simple assault of a law enforcement officer was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence such that allowing the verdict to stand would constitute an unconscionable injustice. Issue 2: Defective indictment Hitt argues that the indictment, which charged her with the purposeful and knowing intent to strike Officer Estess, fatally varied from the State's proof that she intended to strike Officer Moore, but actually struck Officer Estess. Under the common law doctrine of transferred intent, the malicious intent of the unlawful act directed toward one person is transferred to the other person. The doctrine is applicable to the crime of assault. The State's proof that Hitt swung the handcuffs with the purposeful and knowing intent to strike Officer Moore, but that she missed Officer Moore and struck Officer Estess, did not fatally vary from the indictment charging that Hitt purposely and knowingly struck Officer Estess. |
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