Jordan v. State, No. 2007-KA-01177-SCT.

• Decision Date: 02 October 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2007-KA-01177-SCT.
• Citation: 995 So.2d 94
• Parties: Montrell JORDAN v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

995 So.2d 94

Montrell JORDAN v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2007-KA-01177-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 2, 2008.

Rehearing Denied December 11, 2008.

Bill Waller, Sr., attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

Before DIAZ, P.J., CARLSON and GRAVES, JJ.

GRAVES, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Montrell Jordan ("Jordan") was tried and convicted of depraved heart murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Following his conviction, Jordan unsuccessfully sought a new trial. Aggrieved by the judgment rendered against him, Jordan raises fourteen claims on appeal. Finding all claims to be without merit, this Court affirms Jordan's conviction.

FACTS

¶ 2. On April 27, 2005, a dance was held at the Holmes Community College ("HCC") student union, commonly referred to as the Canteen. The record reflects that on the night of the dance, a fight broke out between some members of the HCC football team and eight individuals who did not attend HCC. The fight began inside the Canteen and later moved outside. There was testimony that after the fight moved outside, two gunshots were fired. As a result, Dwaentre Davis, also known as DeeDee, was killed.

¶ 3. Shaghana Simpson, an HCC student, and Joey Netherland, the security guard at the dance, testified that the shooter left the scene in a tan Chevrolet Suburban (the "Suburban"). Simpson testified that the shooter was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. She also reported to police officers that the Suburban belonged to Montrell, whose last name she could not remember at the time. Netherland testified that he had unsuccessfully attempted to stop the shooter from driving away by stepping in front of the Suburban. He supplied police officers with a partial license plate number for the Suburban. Arlena Shaw, an HCC student, testified that she saw the shooter leave the scene in a silver Kia Sephia, and that three or four other people were in the car with the shooter.

¶ 4. Following the shooting, Officers Kenneth Wilson and John Newton of the Holmes County Sheriff's Department arrived and spoke to individuals at the scene. The police did not find any bullet shell casings on the ground. After their initial investigation, Officers Wilson and Newton proceeded to Jordan's home in Pickens, Mississippi, where they were met by Officer Fred Coats. At Jordan's home, Officer Wilson, who was previously acquainted with Jordan, saw Jordan and his father, Walter Jordan, enter the home through the back entrance. The officers saw a tan Suburban parked behind a shed behind the home. The officers knocked on the back door, and Walter Jordan let them into the house.

¶ 5. The officers told Walter Jordan that they needed to speak with his son. Officer Wilson then told Montrell Jordan that he was under arrest "for investigation of a shooting at Holmes Community College," and advised him of his Miranda rights. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Officers Wilson and Newton testified that they asked to search Jordan's vehicle and that Jordan consented. A brown leather holster and four .357 bullets were recovered from inside the vehicle. Officer Newton testified that he returned to Jordan's home at a later time to retrieve the clothing that Jordan was wearing at the dance. When he asked Walter Jordan for the clothing, Mr. Jordan gave Officer Newton a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

¶ 6. Officer A.C. Hankins of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation ("MBI") testified that he performed a gunshot residue test on Jordan's hands at 1:25 a.m. on April 28, 2005, approximately four hours after the shooting. The test from Jordan's hands and a test performed on the inside of the Suburban were both negative. In the early morning hours of April 28, 2005, Officer Hankins and Captain Sam Chambers of the Holmes County Sheriff's Department interviewed Jordan after he was read his Miranda rights. Officer Hankins reported that Jordan stated that he had attended the party at the HCC canteen on April 27, 2005, that a fight broke out, and that someone started shooting a gun. Jordan reported that after the shooting, he went to his Suburban and drove home. He stated that he had been wearing "a white tee shirt and some [Girbaud jeans]" at the dance. Jordan denied owning a handgun. Later in the morning of April 28, 2005, Jordan gave a similar statement to Detective Lacarus Oliver.

¶ 7. On April 28, 2005, Simpson reported to the police that she had previously observed a gun under a seat in Jordan's vehicle, and that Jordan told her that it was a .357. Later on in the investigation, Netherland and Carlton Brown, an HCC student, identified Jordan as the shooter from a photographic lineup. Jordan was charged with murder, and was tried in the Holmes County Circuit Court from February 14, 2007 to February 16, 2007. The jury found him guilty of depraved heart murder. He now raises fourteen issues on appeal.

ANALYSIS

1. Whether the Defendant's Constitutional Rights Were Violated by a Failure to Voir Dire the Jury Regarding Bias

¶ 8. Jordan argues that his constitutional rights to a fair trial were violated because the court, the prosecution, and defense counsel at trial failed to voir dire the jury regarding their prior knowledge of the case from community discussion and the media. Jordan asserts that the entire jury pool was biased because of the pretrial publicity surrounding the killing of Davis, who was a freshman football player at HCC, a school supported by tax dollars and located in a very small community.

¶ 9. Jordan concedes that jurors were asked general questions regarding their prior knowledge of the case, but argues that the trial court and counsel "failed to follow up with proper questioning." He asserts that there was no questioning of the jury pool regarding bias, ill-will, or prejudicial feelings against Jordan, as a non-student accused of shooting an HCC student at a social event. Furthermore, Jordan argues that it was error for the trial court and defense counsel not to ask potential jurors about their affiliation with HCC.

¶ 10. In his appellate brief, Jordan cites United States v. Parker, 877 F.2d 327 (5th Cir.1989) and Mississippi Code Annotated Section 13-5-79 (Rev.2007), which describes when a potential juror may serve despite having an impression as to guilt or innocence. Jordan also cites Mississippi Code Annotated Section 99-15-35 (Rev. 2007), which sets out the grounds for change of venue. To the extent that Jordan is raising a claim regarding venue, defense counsel never moved for a change of venue, nor did the trial court rule on this issue. Therefore, this claim is procedurally barred. Dedeaux Util. Co. v. City of Gulfport, 938 So.2d 838, 846 (Miss.2006) (citation omitted).

¶ 11. When reviewing the conduct of voir dire, this Court applies an abuse of discretion standard. Jackson v. State, 791 So.2d 830, 835 (Miss.2001). Moreover, "abuse of discretion will only be found where a defendant shows clear prejudice resulting from undue lack of constraint on the prosecution or undue constraint on the defense." Id. at 835-36 (citation omitted). A jury selection procedure is proper if it "gives the defendant a fair opportunity to ask questions of individual jurors which may enable the defendant to determine his right to challenge that juror." Stevens v. State, 806 So.2d 1031, 1062 (Miss.2001) (citations omitted). Furthermore, "[i]t is well founded that the trial judge has the discretion to excuse potential jurors for cause if the court believes the juror could not try the case impartially." Woodward v. State, 533 So.2d 418, 424 (Miss.1988) (citing Burt v. State, 493 So.2d 1325, 1327 (Miss. 1986)).

¶ 12. The record reflects that defense counsel was not restricted in examining the venire. Defense counsel did not move to quash the venire, and did not object to the jury that was impaneled. During the trial court's voir dire of the jury, Judge Lewis informed the venire that they must ignore information relating to the case that they gained outside the courtroom. Defense counsel followed up by questioning potential jurors individually at the bench to determine what knowledge they had regarding the case in order to determine whether they could be fair and impartial.

¶ 13. The trial court did not abuse its discretion regarding jury selection. Judge Lewis questioned jurors about their ability to be fair and impartial before impaneling the jury, and there is no indication that defense counsel was restricted during jury selection. Therefore, we find this issue to be without merit.

2. Whether the Defendant's Constitutional Rights Were Violated by the Verdict Reached by a Biased Jury

¶ 14. This issue is essentially a restatement of the first and has been addressed above. To the extent it is not addressed above, the issue is procedurally barred. It is a longstanding principle of law that "[i]f an appellant fails to support her allegation of error with argument or authority, this Court need not consider the issue." Pierre v. State, 607 So.2d 43, 48 (Miss.1992) (citations omitted). In raising this issue on appeal, Jordan's appellate counsel cites no authority, nor does he direct the Court to any objection by defense counsel at trial or ruling of the trial court that would constitute reversible error. The issue is completely devoid of any specific allegation of error by Jordan. This Court presumes that the judgment of the trial court is correct and the appellant must "demonstrate some reversible error to this Court." Edlin v. State, 533 So.2d 403, 410 (Miss.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1086, 109 S.Ct. 1547, 103 L.Ed.2d 851 (1989). Thus, we find this issue to be without merit.

3. Whether the Defendant Was Denied a Fair Trial Because Four Jurors Were Openly Biased

¶ 15. Jordan asserts that he was denied his right to a fair trial because four of the jurors that were impaneled were unable to fairly and...