Corbin v. State
| Docket Number: | 2010-KA-00678-SCT Linked Case(s): 2010-KA-00678-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-22-2011 Opinion Author: Pierce, J. Holding: Affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Murder, Aggravated assault & Felony fleeing the scene - Right to confrontation - Doctrine of plain error - Testimonial statement of witness - Harmless error Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Randolph and Lamar, JJ. Concur in Part, Dissent in Part 1: Kitchens, J., Concur in Part, Dissent in Part Joined By 1: Dickinson, P.J., Chandler and King, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 03-05-2010 Appealed from: Washington County Circuit Court Judge: Betty W. Sanders Disposition: Appellant was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and felonly fleeing the scene. District Attorney: Willie Dewayne Richardson Case Number: 2009-0301 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Jules Corbin |
OFFICE OF INDIGENT APPEALS: JUSTIN TAYLOR COOK
LESLIE S. LEE |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: W. GLENN WATTS SCOTT STUART |
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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: | Murder, Aggravated assault & Felony fleeing the scene - Right to confrontation - Doctrine of plain error - Testimonial statement of witness - Harmless error |
| Summary of the Facts: | Jules Corbin, Tammy Louis, and James Henry, Jr. were involved in an automobile wreck that left Louis dead and Henry severely injured. Corbin was indicted for capital murder, aggravated assault, and felony fleeing the scene of an accident. However, he was convicted of the lesser-included offense of murder, as well as aggravated assault and felony fleeing the scene. Corbin was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, ten years for aggravated assault, and three years for felony fleeing. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Corbin argues that his Sixth-Amendment right to confrontation was violated when the trial court allowed the State to play the recorded statement by Henry, who died six months after the wreck occurred. Corbin’s trial counsel failed to make an objection regarding the admission of the statement. Under the doctrine of plain error, the Court can recognize obvious error which was not properly raised by the defendant on appeal, and which affects a defendant’s fundamental, substantive right. A violation of the Confrontation Clause is a violation of a fundamental, substantive right. The admission of a testimonial statement of a witness who does not appear at trial is barred, unless that witness is unavailable, and the defendant has had a prior opportunity for cross-examination. Testimony is typically a solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact. This necessarily includes, among others, police interrogations and statements that were made under circumstances which would lead an objective witness reasonably to believe that the statement would be available for use at a later trial. Henry’s statement to a police officer implicating Corbin as the driver who hit the Expedition and the person responsible for the wreck certainly qualifies as testimonial. The statement was such that an objective witness would reasonably believe that the statement would be available for use at a later trial. Because Henry’s statement was made for the purpose of assisting police with its investigation, the purpose was prosecutorial. Thus, the statement was testimonial, and should have been excluded. Moreover, Corbin did not have a prior opportunity to cross-examine Henry before his death. Confrontation and the ability to cross-examine witnesses are fundamental elements of a fair trial. In order for the violation of Corbin’s constitutional right to confrontation to be considered harmless, the admission must be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Henry’s recorded statement was the only piece of evidence at trial that accused Corbin of purposely or knowingly hitting the Expedition and causing the wreck. Such evidence was vitally important to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Corbin purposely or knowingly had used the car as “a deadly weapon,” and that he had killed a human being “without the authority of law by any means or in any manner.” No other witness provided similar testimony. And Corbin denied hitting the car and causing the wreck in his statement to the police. Thus, admission of the statement was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. However, with regard to the charge of felony fleeing the scene of an accident, the error is harmless. An eyewitness testified that he had seen Corbin get out of the Marquis, walk to the passenger side of the Expedition, “get a purse” from the vehicle, and drive off. He testified that he had seen the man’s face, and he gave a description to police. The witness made an in-court identification of Corbin as the person he had witnessed leaving the scene of the wreck. Another eyewitness also testified that he had seen a man get out of the Marquis, walk to the passenger side of the Expedition, take a dark-colored object with straps from the vehicle, and drive off. Thus, in light of this evidence, Henry’s recorded statement was circumstantial evidence that Corbin fled the scene and was cumulative to the testimony of the two eyewitnesses. Because the admission of Henry’s unconfronted statement resulted in the violation of Corbin’s constitutional right to confrontation, impeding his right to a fair trial, the convictions for murder and aggravated assault are reversed and remanded for a new trial. Corbin’s conviction for felony fleeing the scene of an accident is affirmed. |
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