Jenkins v. State, 48243

Decision Date20 January 1975
Docket NumberNo. 48243,48243
Citation308 So.2d 95
PartiesCharles A. JENKINS v. STATE of Mississippi.
CourtMississippi Supreme Court

Bidwell Adam, Gulfport, David E. Holderfield, Jackson, for appellant.

A. F. Summer, Atty. Gen., by Wayne Snuggs and Karen Gilfoy, Sp. Asst. Attys. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before GILLESPIE, C.J., and INZER and BROOM, JJ.

BROOM, Justice.

Appellant, Charles A. Jenkins, was convicted of the sale of Demerol and sentenced to seven years in the state penitentiary and fined $2,000. Trial was in the Circuit Court of Forrest County, Mississippi. We affirm.

Whether or not the indictment is void on its face for vagueness is the dispositive issue, and, therefore, the factual details need not be narrated.

By indictment it was charged that appellant on January 15, 1974, 'did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell a quantity of a controlled substance, to-wit, Demerol.' No demurrer to the indictment was filled although Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-7-21 (1972), requires that objections to an indictment for a defect appearing on its face should be made by demurrer before the jury is empaneled. Appellant's contention is that the indictment was fatally defective because it did not charge to whom the sale was made, and relies upon Umphress v. State, 295 So.2d 735 (Miss.1974).

There were four indictments in Unphress, supra, charging the defendant with two offenses of delivery of an amphetamine on December 20, 1971, and two other like offenses on December 30, 1971. In reversing Umphress' conviction the court pointed out that the statute (Miss.Code.Ann. § 41-29-105(g) (1972)), under which those indictments were drawn defines 'deliver' as 'the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer from one person to another of a controlled substance.' (Emphasis added.) In the present case the appellant was indicted under Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-105(aa) (Supp.1974), which defines 'sale' as 'the actual, constructive or attempted transfer or delivery . . . for remuneration . . ..'

The statutory definition of 'sale' under Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-105(aa) (Supp.1974), does not require that there be a transfer from one person to another as is required in the delivery statute (Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-105(g) (1972), (Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-105(h) (Supp.1974)), referred to in Umphress, supra. Proof of the offense of 'sale' under the definition before us requires a showing that a transfer or delivery for renumeration occurred. Upon the record before us, and absent any multiplicity of charges against the appellant, we hold that the identity of a person to...

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5 cases
  • Hollingsworth v. State, 52302
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • January 7, 1981
    ...Umphress, and he does not have the difficulty here in determining and knowing the details of the charge as in Umphress. See Jenkins v. State, 308 So.2d 95 (Miss.1975). We are of the opinion that the demurrer was properly Did the lower court err in permitting introduction of the physical evi......
  • Davis v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • January 27, 2015
    ...has held that “the identity of a person to whom contraband is delivered is not essential to an indictment for a sale.” Jenkins v. State, 308 So.2d 95, 96 (Miss.1975). Furthermore, when a defendant pleads guilty, he waives the right to confront adverse witnesses. Alexander v. State, 605 So.2......
  • Davis v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • February 13, 2014
    ...has held that "the identity of a person to whom contraband is delivered is not essential to an indictment for a sale." Jenkins v. State, 308 So. 2d 95, 96 (Miss. 1975). Furthermore, when a defendant pleads guilty, he waives the right to confront adverse witnesses. Alexander v. State, 605 So......
  • Jones v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Court of Appeals
    • April 4, 2017
    ...(Miss. Ct. App. 2012) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Davis , 171 So.3d at 541 (¶ 15) (quoting Jenkins v. State , 308 So.2d 95, 96 (Miss. 1975) ("[T]he identity of a person to whom contraband is delivered is not essential to an indictment for a sale.")).¶ 12. The t......
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