Buggs v. State
| Decision Date | 20 April 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-KA-00075-COA.,98-KA-00075-COA. |
| Citation | 738 So.2d 1253 |
| Parties | Leon BUGGS, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee. |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
Walter E. Wood, Ridgeland, Attorney for Appellant.
Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, Attorney for Appellee.
BEFORE KING, P.J., BRIDGES, AND LEE, JJ.
LEE, J., for the Court:
¶ 1. Leon Buggs was found guilty of possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver by a Madison County Circuit Court jury. Aggrieved of this judgment, Buggs raises the following issues as error: 1) whether the court erred in denying defendant's motion to hold the search invalid; 2) whether the court erred in failing to dismiss the case for a violation of the "270 day rule;" 3) whether the court erred in allowing the State to introduce cocaine and other drug paraphernalia into evidence with which the defendant was not charged; 4) whether the court erred in allowing the State to argue that the defendant was in possession of the cocaine because it was found in his home. Because the third and fourth issue are interrelated, we will combine the issues for clarity. Finding no error occurred, we affirm.
FACTS
¶ 2. On July 28, 1995, the Madison County Sheriffs Department served a search warrant on Buggs's home in Flora, Mississippi. At Buggs's residence, the officers discovered three matchboxes containing crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. There were three other individuals at the house when the warrant was executed. Buggs was indicted for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. At the end of Buggs's trial on September 24, 1997, the jury convicted him of possession of cocaine. Buggs was sentenced to serve three years. Subsequent to his imprisonment, Buggs has been released from incarceration on earned probation.
ANALYSIS
¶ 3. In his first assignment of error, Buggs argues that the search warrant served on his home was invalid due to summary conclusions stated in the underlying facts and circumstances without sufficient facts to support a finding of probable cause. He states that his motion to suppress should have been granted by the trial court.
¶ 4. The determination of whether probable cause supports the issuance of a search warrant requires that we consider the "totality of the circumstances." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 237, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). We adopted the "totality of the circumstance" approach in Lee v. State, 435 So.2d 674, 676 (Miss. 1983).
The task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, commonsense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the "veracity" and "basis of knowledge" of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. And the duty of a reviewing court is to simply ensure that the magistrate had a "substantial basis for ... conclud[ing] that probable cause existed...."
Id. (citation omitted). "Objectivity is the key, for the information supporting probable cause must be such that would lead a reasonably competent issuing magistrate to believe that evidence will be found." Williams v. State, 583 So.2d 620, 622 (Miss.1991) (citation omitted).
¶ 5. "In reviewing the magistrate's finding, we do not determine de novo whether probable cause existed." Smith v. State, 504 So.2d 1194, 1196 (Miss.1987) (citations omitted). "Rather, our task as a reviewing court is to insure that there was a substantial basis for the magistrate's determination of probable cause." Id. (citations omitted).
¶ 6. Judge Goza held a hearing on Buggs's motion to suppress. The record in this case indicates that Deputy Sheriff Hubert Roberts received information from a "reliable source that has prove[n] to be reliable in the past" stating that within the "last forty-eight hours numerous drug transactions are occurring at 106 Woodville Drive, Flora, Madison County, Mississippi." After hearing all the evidence, Judge Goza found that the underlying facts and circumstances found in the affidavit were sufficient for the basis of probable cause. Based upon these facts, this Court finds that Judge Goza had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed for the issuance of a search warrant.
¶ 7. Buggs waived arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty on September 15, 1995. He first went to trial on October 3, 1996, which ended in a mistrial after the defense attorney announced that he was ill and unable to proceed. Buggs was retried on September 24, 1997.
¶ 8. Our speedy trial statute states "[u]nless good cause is shown, and a continuance duly granted by the court, all offenses for which indictments are presented to the court shall be tried no later than two hundred seventy (270) days after the accused has been arraigned." Miss. Code Ann. § 99-17-1 (Rev.1994). "The statutory 270 day rule is satisfied once the defendant is brought to trial, even if that trial results in a mistrial." Handley v. State, 574 So.2d 671, 674 (Miss.1990) (citing Kinzey v. State, 498 So.2d 814, 816 (Miss.1986); State v. Thornhill, 251 Miss. 718, 723, 171 So.2d 308, 310 (1965)). "Thereafter, the time of retrial is within the discretion of the trial court." Handley, 574 So.2d at 674 (citing Kinzey, 498 So.2d at 816; Thornhill, 251 Miss. at 723, 171 So.2d at 310). "This Court utilizes the Barker factors in determining whether the discretionary length of time between trials violated the defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial." Handley, 574 So.2d at 674 (citing Kinzey, 498 So.2d at 816).
¶ 9. Therefore, in this case we are concerned with the calculation of two time periods, the time between arraignment and first trial for statutory purposes, and the time between mistrial and retrial for constitutional purposes.
¶ 10. Buggs's arraignment was September 15, 1995, and he was tried the first time on October 3, 1996. This was 382 days. There was a defense continuance from March 4, 1996, until July 29, 1996, 91 days. This leaves 291 days attributed to the State.
¶ 11. During the hearing, the State announced that some of the delay was attributed to crowded dockets. The trial court asked the State if each continuance due to crowded docket was supported by an order, the State responded that they were.
¶ 12. Crowded dockets are considered "good cause" under Miss.Code Ann. § 99-17-1; however, a crowded docket will not automatically suffice to establish good cause. McGee v. State, 608 So.2d 1129, 1132 (Miss.1992). "[U]pon the proper showing by the State in response to a defendant's timely motion for dismissal because of an alleged 270 day violation, docket congestion can be a proper basis for good cause when supported by the facts of the particular case." Walton v. State, 678 So.2d 645, 648 (Miss.1996).
¶ 13. Taking into consideration the good cause delays due to crowded dockets supported by court order and the continuance granted the defense, we find that no violation of the 270 day rule occurred in this instance.
¶ 14. The constitutional right to a speedy trial, which exists separately from the statutory right, "attaches at the time of the accused's arrest...." Ross v. State, 605 So.2d 17, 21 (Miss.1992) (citation omitted). Once this right has attached this Court will follow the test laid out by the Supreme Court in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 515, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). The Barker test consists of four factors: (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) whether the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial; and (4) whether the defendant has been prejudiced by the delay. Id. at 533, 92 S.Ct. 2182.
¶ 15. The time between Buggs's mistrial and trial was 353 days. "[A]ny delay of eight (8) months or longer is presumptively prejudicial." Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 408 (Miss.1989) (citation omitted). This factor standing alone is insufficient for reversal, but requires a close examination of the remaining factors. Handley, 574 So.2d at 676.
¶ 16. "The [S]tate bears the risk of non-persuasion regarding the reasons for delay and must show whether that the defendant caused the delay or that good cause existed for the delay." Fleming v. State, 604 So.2d 280, 299 (Miss.1992) (citations omitted). A Madison County printout shows the activities regarding Buggs's case. This shows that Buggs's case was set for trial four separate times. The record also indicates that Buggs's case was not tried and orders were entered each time for continuances by the court. This delay was in no way a deliberate attempt to harm the defense and, therefore, weighs less heavily against the State. State v. Magnusen, 646 So.2d 1275, 1281 (Miss. 1994).
¶ 17. Buggs filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice on October 3, 1996. This was the date of his first trial which ended in a mistrial. "[A] demand for dismissal coupled with a demand for an instant trial [i]s insufficient to weigh this factor in favor of the defendant, where the motion came after the bulk of the entire period of delay had elapsed." Perry v. State, 637 So.2d 871, 875 (Miss.1994) (citing Adams v. State, 583 So.2d 165, 169 (Miss.1991)). Under the circumstances of this case, Buggs's assertion of his speedy trial right affords him little because of the manner and the time in which it was raised.
¶ 18. There is no statement of prejudice to Buggs included in his motion to dismiss, nor is there any indication in the record of...
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