Glidden v. State
| Docket Number: | 2009-CT-01061-SCT Linked Case(s): 2009-KA-01061-COA ; 2009-CT-01061-SCT ; 2009-CT-01061-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-06-2011 Opinion Author: Carlson, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Possession of controlled substance - Sufficiency of evidence - Constructive possession Judge(s) Concurring: Randolph, Lamar and Pierce, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): King, J. Dissenting Author : Kitchens, J. Dissent Joined By : Waller, C.J., Dickinson, P.J., and Chandler, J. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY Writ of Certiorari: Granted Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-18-2008 Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court Judge: Roger T. Clark Disposition: Appellant was convicted of one count of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to serve a term of four years as a habitual offender. District Attorney: Cono A. Caranna, II Case Number: B-2401-2007-00528 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Gary Allen Glidden |
OFFICE OF INDIGENT APPEALS: LESLIE S. LEE |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: DEIRDRE MCCRORY |
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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: | Possession of controlled substance - Sufficiency of evidence - Constructive possession |
| Summary of the Facts: | Gary Glidden was convicted of one count of possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to four years as a habitual offender. Glidden appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The issue in this case is whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support the verdict. When, as here, a defendant does not physically possess the illegal drugs, the State must prove constructive possession of the drugs in order to prevail. There must be sufficient facts to warrant a finding that the defendant was aware of the presence and character of the particular substance and was intentionally and consciously in possession of it. During his case-in-chief, Glidden, over objection of the State, was able to get before the jury, via the testimony of a deputy circuit clerk, that a man named Joseph Buckner had nine prior convictions for sale of a controlled substance. Over the objection of the State, the trial judge allowed nine certified copies of the sentencing orders to be received into evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit number one. Thus, Glidden was able to argue his theory to the jury that the 450 grams of marihuana found in Buckner’s pickup truck that Glidden claimed to have borrowed belonged to a nine-time convicted drug dealer, Joseph Buckner. In appropriately applying the jury instructions given by the trial judge to the evidence in today’s case, the jury was more than justified in finding Glidden guilty of possession of marihuana. The jury had every right to consider all the evidence and conclude that Glidden was not telling the truth when he testified he had no idea the marihuana was in the truck he had been driving for thirty minutes. |
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