Ables v. State
| Docket Number: | 2001-KA-01637-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 07-15-2003 Opinion Author: Chandler, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Murder - Sufficiency of evidence - Self-defense - Section 97-3-15 - Juror misconduct Judge(s) Concurring: McMillin, C.J., King and Southwick, P.JJ., Bridges, Thomas, Lee, Irving, Myers and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-21-2001 Appealed from: Yazoo County Circuit Court Judge: Jannie M. Lewis Disposition: DEFENDANT FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER AND SENTENCED TO SERVE A SENTENCE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. Case Number: 20-8660 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Jon Jeffery Ables |
GODFREY RONALD TILLMAN |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JOHN R. HENRY |
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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 - Sufficiency of evidence - Self-defense - Section 97-3-15 - Juror misconduct |
| Summary of the Facts: | Jon Ables was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Sufficiency of evidence Ables argues that the State submitted insufficient evidence that Ables did not act in self-defense. Section 97-3-15 provides that the killing of a human being is justifiable when committed in the lawful defense of one's own person or any other human being, where there shall be reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do sure great personal injury, and there shall be imminent danger of such design being accomplished. Ables argues that the victim placed him in reasonable fear for his life, because he outweighed Ables by over a hundred pounds and had a reputation for aggressiveness. However, the State’s evidence was uncontradicted that the victim was in fact unarmed, and no one other than Ables saw the victim reach for a weapon before Ables shot him. The jury reasonably could have inferred from the evidence that Ables formed a deliberate design to kill the victim and did not do so in self-defense. Issue 2: Juror misconduct Ables argues that he was entitled to a mistrial on the grounds of juror misconduct because one of the jurors failed to disclose her relationships with the victim's family and her knowledge of the case during voir dire. Where a prospective juror fails to respond to a relevant, direct, and unambiguous question presented by defense counsel on voir dire, the court should determine whether the question propounded to the juror was relevant to the voir dire examination, whether it was unambiguous, and whether the juror had substantial knowledge of the information sought to be elicited. The court should then determine if prejudice to the defendant in selecting the jury reasonably could be inferred from the juror's failure to respond. Here, the juror’s misconduct came to light prior to deliberations, at a time when the jurors had been instructed to refrain from discussing the case amongst themselves. Since deliberations had not yet begun, and there was no showing that the juror ever discussed the case with other jurors, the court was not clearly wrong in finding that the jury could be fair and impartial notwithstanding the misconduct. |
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