Beecham v. State


<- Return to Search Results


Docket Number: 2009-KA-00251-COA
Linked Case(s): 2009-KA-00251-COA ; 2009-KA-00251-COA ; 2009-CT-00251-SCT ; 2009-CT-00251-SCT
Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 10-18-2011
Opinion Author: Lee, C.J.
Holding: Reversed and remanded
Additional Case Information: Topic: DUI death - Absence at trial of person who prepared death certificate - Hearsay - Cause of death - Testimonial statement - M.R.E. 803(9)
Judge(s) Concurring: Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Myers, Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton and Russell, JJ.
Concurs in Result Only: Maxwell, J.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY
Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 12-16-2008
Appealed from: DeSoto County Circuit Court
Judge: Robert P. Chamberlin
Disposition: CONVICTED OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE CAUSING DEATH AND SENTENCED TO TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Case Number: CR2007-955-CD
Note: The motion for rehearing is granted. The previous opinion of this Court is withdrawn, and this opinion is substituted in lieu thereof. The judgment of the DeSoto County Circuit Court is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: Jeffrey Dale Beecham




 JOHN D. WATSON



  
  • Appellant #1 Brief
    		•
    Appellee: State of Mississippi BILLY L. GORE  
    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.
    Topic: DUI death - Absence at trial of person who prepared death certificate - Hearsay - Cause of death - Testimonial statement - M.R.E. 803(9)
    Summary of the Facts: The motion for rehearing is granted, and this opinion is substituted for the previous opinion. Jeffrey Beecham was convicted of driving under the influence, causing death. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to twenty-five years. He appeals.
    Summary of Opinion Analysis: In this case, the absence at trial of the person who prepared the death certificate is the central issue. The defense objected to the statement on the death certificate that the cause of death was complications of blunt-force injuries to head and chest sustained in an automobile accident in Horn Lake, Mississippi, on March 27, 2007. When hearsay is characterized as nontestimonial, it may be introduced in a criminal trial, but when hearsay is characterized as testimonial, the Confrontation Clause bars the introduction of hearsay. Statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of police interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the circumstances objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing emergency, and that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later criminal prosecution. Here, the information Beecham objected to was the cause of death, which was not determined until nearly six weeks after the automobile accident. At the time the death certificate was prepared, Beecham had already been indicted for driving under the influence. After the victim died and the death certificate was prepared, the indictment was amended. The death certificate in this case listed the date of injury and location at which it was sustained. It is most probable that the person who prepared the death certificate was not present at this location on this date. The State argues that the death certificate was admissible as a hearsay exception under the vital-records exception in M.R.E. 803(9). However, any record or report made under circumstances which would lead an objective witness reasonably to believe that the statement would be available for use at a later trial must be subjected to cross-examination to be admissible at trial. The physician who signed the death certificate knew the victim’s injuries stemmed from an automobile accident because this information was on the death certificate itself. When nearly a third of all traffic fatalities involve driving under the influence, any objective witness preparing a death certificate in a traffic death should reasonably expect a criminal prosecution could ensue. Therefore, the death certificate’s statement as to the cause of death was testimonial in nature and subject to the Confrontation Clause. Therefore, the case is reversed and remanded.


    Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court