Walters v. State
| Docket Number: | 2008-CP-01780-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-19-2009 Opinion Author: Randolph, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Revocation of post-release supervision Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Dickinson, Lamar, Kitchens, Chandler and Pierce, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: Graves, P.J. Procedural History: PCR; Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST CONVICTION RELIEF |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 10-09-2008 Appealed from: Lauderdale County Circuit Court Judge: Lester F. Williamson Disposition: Christopher Wayne Walters pleaded guilty to "purchase, possession, transfer or distribution of listed chemical or drug with intent to unlawfully manufacture controlled substance" and was sentenced to serve fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (“MDOC”), with all but one day of the sentence suspended and five years of post-release supervision. In 2007, Walters was arrested and charged with grand larceny. Based thereon, MDOC sought revocation of Walters’s post-release supervision. Thereafter, the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County entered an “Agreed Order of Revocation of Post Release Supervision,” signed by Walters, in which Walters agreed that he had violated conditions of his post-release supervision. According to the order, the State of Mississippi agreed not to present the grand-larceny charge, Walters’s post-release supervision was revoked, and he was ordered to serve the remaining time on his fifteen-year sentence. In July 2008, Walters filed a “Motion to Reinstate Probation” based upon the dismissal of the grand-larceny charge. The circuit court denied Walters’s motion. Case Number: 073-04 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | CHRISTOPHER WAYNE WALTERS |
CHRISTOPHER WAYNE WALTERS (PRO
SE) |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JOHN R. HENRY, JR. | ||
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| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Revocation of post-release supervision |
| Summary of the Facts: | Christopher Walters pled guilty to purchase, possession, transfer or distribution of listed chemical or drug with intent to unlawfully manufacture controlled substance and was sentenced to fifteen years with all but one day of the sentence suspended and five years of post-release supervision. When Walters was later arrested and charged with grand larceny, MDOC sought revocation of Walters’s post-release supervision. The circuit court entered an Agreed Order of Revocation of Post Release Supervision, signed by Walters, in which Walters agreed that he had violated conditions of his post-release supervision. According to the order, the State of Mississippi agreed not to present the grand-larceny charge, Walters’s post-release supervision was revoked, and he was ordered to serve the remaining time on his fifteen-year sentence. Walters filed a Motion to Reinstate Probation based on the dismissal of the grand-larceny charge. The court denied the motion, and Walters appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The circuit court should have construed Walters’s “Motion to Reinstate Probation” as a motion for post-conviction relief over which it retained jurisdiction. Therefore, the circuit court’s basis for denying post-conviction relief, insofar as it was based upon the lack of jurisdiction, was contrary to the law. However, the error was harmless. Whether Walters’s post-release supervision was lawfully revoked hinges upon whether there was a sufficient showing that Walters had violated a condition thereof. In making that determination, Walters’s arrest alone is insufficient, rather there must be proof of an actual conviction, or that a crime has been committed and that it is more likely than not that Walters committed the offense. Based on Walters’s admission within the Agreed Order, there was a sufficient showing that Walters had violated a condition of his post-release supervision. |
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