Ousley v. State


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Docket Number: 2004-CT-01716-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2004-KA-01716-COA ; 2004-KA-01716-COA ; 2004-CT-01716-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 06-26-2008
Opinion Author: DICKINSON, J.
Holding: Affirmed; The Judgment of the Court of Appeals is Affirmed. Count I: Conviction of murder and sentence of life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Affirmed. Count II: Conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sentence of three (3) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Affirmed. Sentence in Count II shall run consecutively with the sentence in Count l.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Murder - Conflict of interest
Judge(s) Concurring: SMITH, C.J., WALLER AND DIAZ, P.JJ., CARLSON, RANDOLPH AND LAMAR, JJ.
Concur in Part, Concur in Result 1: EASLEY, J.
Concurs in Result Only: GRAVES, J.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY
Writ of Certiorari: yes
Appealed from Court of Appeals

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 07-21-2004
Appealed from: WASHINGTON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
Judge: W. Ashley Hines
Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I MURDER AND COUNT II POSSESSION OF A FIREARM BY A CONVICTED FELON, SENTENCED TO LIFE AND THREE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. Sentence in Count II shall run consecutively with the sentence in Count l.
District Attorney: Joyce Ivy Chiles
Case Number: 2003-260

Note: This opinion affirms a previous opinion by the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals opinion may be found at http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO49218.pdf

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: HAROLD OUSLEY




STEPHEN NICK



 

Appellee: STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JACOB RAY  

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Topic: Murder - Conflict of interest

Summary of the Facts: After Harold Ousley’s lawyer, a public defender, accepted employment as an assistant district attorney, Ousley moved for disqualification of the entire district attorney’s office. The trial court refused to disqualify, and Ousley was convicted of murder and of being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon. Ousley appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: A conflict of interest will exist for a prosecutor who previously represented a particular defendant in a particular case. This is particularly true where the prosecutor gained actual knowledge of the defendant’s confidential information. Under such circumstances, the lawyer has a conflict of interest and may not, after changing employment, begin to prosecute the former client. The problem becomes more difficult, however, where the lawyer had no involvement in a particular case either while with the public defender’s office or after joining the district attorney’s office. Under the facts of this case, disqualification of the entire district attorney’s office is required, unless the State demonstrates that the former public defender had absolutely no participation in the case; divulged no confidential information; and notified the other party promptly upon becoming aware of the conflict of interest. The uncontradicted evidence in the record is that, after joining the district attorney’s office, the former public defender had no participation in, and divulged no information concerning, Ousley’s case. Ousley’s motion to disqualify – which was filed more than two months prior to trial – is ample evidence that he received the required notice of the potential conflict. Thus, the trial judge was correct in denying Ousley’s motion to disqualify the district attorney’s office.


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