Jones v. City of Ridgeland


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Docket Number: 2009-CT-00984-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2009-CT-00984-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 11-18-2010
Opinion Author: Carlson, P.J.
Holding: Court of Appeals vacated; Circuit Court reinstated and affirmed.

Additional Case Information: Topic: DUI & Careless driving - Constitutionality of “three-court rule” - Section 11-51-81 - Probable cause
Judge(s) Concurring: Graves, P.J., Dickinson, Kitchens, Chandler and Pierce, JJ.
Judge(s) Concurring Separately: Randolph, J., Concurs in Part II and in Result Only Without Separate Written Opinion.
Concur in Part, Concur in Result 1: Waller, C.J., Concurs in Part and in Result With Separate Written Opinion
Concur in Part, Concur in Result Joined By 1: Randolph and Lamar, JJ.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - MISDEMEANOR
Writ of Certiorari: yes
Appealed from Court of Appeals

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 04-28-2009
Appealed from: MADISON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
Judge: Samac Richardson
Disposition: Jay Jones entered a plea of nolo contendere in the Municipal Court of Ridgeland for driving under the influence (DUI), possession of an open container of alcohol, and careless driving. Jones appealed to the County Court of Madison County and, after a trial de novo, he was found guilty of DUI and careless driving. Jones then appealed to the Circuit Court of Madison County, which affirmed the judgment of the county court. Jones appealed to us, and we assigned this case to the Court of Appeals. The City of Ridgeland filed a motion to dismiss, and the Court of Appeals granted the motion pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 11-51-81 (Rev. 2002).
District Attorney: MICHAEL GUEST
Case Number: CI-2008-0282

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: Jay Jones




KEVIN DALE CAMP, JOHN MICHAEL DUNCAN



 
  • Supplemental Brief

  • Appellee: City of Ridgeland BOTY McDONALD  

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    Topic: DUI & Careless driving - Constitutionality of “three-court rule” - Section 11-51-81 - Probable cause

    Summary of the Facts: Jay Jones entered a plea of nolo contendere in the Municipal Court of Ridgeland for driving under the influence, possession of an open container of alcohol, and careless driving. Jones appealed to the County Court of Madison County and, after a trial de novo, he was found guilty of DUI and careless driving. Jones then appealed to circuit court which affirmed the judgment of the county court. Jones appealed, and the Court of Appeals granted the motion to dismiss filed by the City of Ridgeland. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

    Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Three-court rule The City of Ridgeland’s motion to dismiss was based on the “three-court rule” contained within section 11-51-81. Upon granting certiorari, the Supreme Court entered an order allowing the parties to brief the issue of the constitutionality of the “three-court rule” in section 11-51-81 and inviting the Attorney General of Mississippi to submit a brief on this issue. Section 11-51-81 prohibits defendants who are aggrieved by a decision originating in justice or municipal court, and who have appealed to both county court and circuit court, from successfully appealing to this Court unless two requirements are met: the appeal must involve a federal or state constitutional question, and either the circuit court judge or a Supreme Court justice must allow the appeal. Of the eighty-two counties in Mississippi, twenty counties have county courts. The litigants in these twenty counties whose cases originate in justice or municipal court and are appealed to county court and then to circuit court may not appeal to this Court unless their cases concern a constitutional question and the circuit judge or a supreme court justice allows the appeal. On the other hand, litigants in the sixty-two counties that do not have county courts may appeal to this Court when their cases originate in justice or municipal court and are appealed to circuit court, which conducts a trial de novo. The effect of this statute is that it prevents this Court from hearing appeals from cases originating in the justice or municipal courts of the twenty counties having county courts; thus, the statute usurps this Court’s constitutional power to establish procedural rules. Accordingly, the “three-court rule” in section 11-51-81 is unconstitutional and void, and this Court has jurisdiction to hear the merits of Jones’s appeal. Issue 2: Probable cause As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred. The test for determining probable cause in Mississippi is the totality of the circumstances. Probable cause arises when the facts and circumstances within an officer’s knowledge, or of which that officer has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient in themselves to justify a person of average caution in the belief that a crime has been committed and that a particular individual committed it. While Jones makes a lack-of-probable-cause-to-stop argument, he likewise argues that the stop was illegal because the events causing the officer to stop Jones occurred on private property and were not a violation of any law. The two City of Ridgeland police officers were dutifully patrolling the city streets of Ridgeland when they observed a disturbance in the private parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings, a business open to the general public and situated within the corporate limits of the City of Ridgeland. Police officers may enter private property that is open to the general public to investigate criminal activity. The officers subsequently stopped Jones on a public road. Additionally, based on the totality of the circumstances, the officer did have probable cause to stop Jones. He testified that Jones had been arguing with another man in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot, had nearly collided with his patrol car, had appeared intoxicated, and was not wearing a seatbelt. He decided to stop Jones and watched as he exited the parking lot and entered a public road. Upon exiting the parking lot, Jones made an unusually wide turn on to a public road and failed to stop at a red light. The officer testified that, based on these observations, he formed the opinion that Jones was driving under the influence. The evidence also revealed that Jones ran the red light at the Lake Harbour Drive/Old Canton Road intersection and proceeded north on Old Canton Road. Likewise, even though the officers had activated the blue lights and siren of their police cruiser, Jones still failed to stop as he traveled north on Old Canton Road. Only after a second patrol car pulled alongside Jones’s vehicle, did Jones finally stop on Old Canton Road. As he approached Jones’s car, the officer observed Jones passing a beer bottle to his passenger, and once he arrived at the driver’s side door of Jones’s vehicle, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. He administered to Jones a field-sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test which was positive for the presence of alcohol. These circumstances are sufficient in themselves to justify a person of average caution in the belief that a crime has been committed and that Jones committed it. Thus, the county court did not err in denying Jones’s motion to dismiss.


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