Rainey v. State
| Decision Date | 16 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2019-KA-01651-COA,2019-KA-01651-COA |
| Parties | COURTNEY L. RAINEY APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Mississippi |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: BARBARA WAKELAND BYRD
BEFORE BARNES, C.J., McDONALD AND LAWRENCE, JJ.
McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Courtney Rainey appeals from her July 2019 jury conviction of felony witness intimidation and subsequent sentence of fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with three years suspended and five years of supervised probation or post-release supervision. Rainey was originally indicted on two counts—Count I (voter fraud) for influencing the vote of Emma Ousley when Rainey allegedly registered Ousley to vote and bought her beer in exchange; and Count II (witness intimidation) for allegedly encouraging Ousley to provide false information when the District Attorney's office began investigating voter fraud in Canton municipal elections. The jury could not reach a verdict on Count I but found Rainey guilty of Count II. On appeal, Rainey argues that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict on Count II, that the witness intimidation statute, as applied in this case, deprived her of her constitutional right to free speech, and that the circuit court's sentence was grossly disproportional and violated Rainey's Eighth Amendment right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. After reviewing the record, the arguments of counsel, and relevant precedent, we reverse and render, finding the evidence insufficient to support the jury's verdict.
Facts
¶2. In March 2017, Courtney Rainey, a Canton, Mississippi, resident and city employee, was actively supporting a candidate in the upcoming Canton municipal election. She also sought to register voters, and in this effort, Rainey encountered Emma Ousley at Ousley's apartment. Ousley, her boyfriend, Marvin Cain, and a neighbor named Red were on the porch drinking beer when Rainey met them. Rainey asked if everyone was registered to vote, and Cain said he was not. So Rainey helped both him and Ousley fill out the voter registration forms.1 She asked each of them the questions on the forms, allowed them to read over their answers, and they signed them. Thereafter, Rainey said that she would buy them a round of beer and gave $10 to Red who went to purchase it.
¶3. As the election neared, Rainey called Ousley and offered to take her to City Hall to vote by absentee ballot. Ousley agreed, went with Rainey, and voted. After she voted, Ousley testified that Rainey gave her $10 to get something to eat.
¶4. In early 2018, the Madison County District Attorney's office began an investigation into potential voter fraud in the May 2 and May 16, 2017 Canton municipal primaries and the June 2017 general election. To assist its in-house investigators, Carroll Phelps and Samuel Goodman, the District Attorney contracted with an independent investigator, Max Mayes.
¶5. Mayes and Phelps contacted Ousley in June 2018 and questioned her about Rainey. Ousley told them about Rainey's voter registration visit. A statement that Mayes wrote and Ousley signed that day revealed that Rainey had come to the apartments, called out for anyone who wanted to vote, and asked if anyone wanted to make some money. The statement also revealed that Rainey had given both Marvin and Ousley ten dollars each for beer after she registered them.
¶6. It is unknown how Rainey found out about the investigation, but sometime after it had begun, Rainey visited Ousley again at her apartment. Rainey asked Ousley about what Ousley had told the investigators. Rainey told Ousley to tell the investigators the truth of what happened between them.
¶7. On October 17, 2018, a Madison County, Mississippi grand jury returned an indictment against Rainey concerning her interactions with Ousley. Rainey was charged withviolating Mississippi Code Annotated section 23-15-753 (Rev. 2018) by attempting to "procure or influence the vote of Emma Ousley by the payment of money in exchange for [sic] his vote" (Count I-Voter Fraud). Rainey was also charged with attempting "to solicit, encourage or request a witness to provide false information intended to defeat or defend against an existing criminal charge . . . to wit: Emma Ousley (a witness to a crime purportedly committed by the Defendant) at her home . . . by requesting Ms. Ousley to change her story that she provided to investigators so the defendant would not get in trouble," in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-9-113(d) (Rev. 2020) (Count II-Witness Intimidation).
¶8. A week before the start of the jury trial, Ousley admitted to the prosecutor that parts of the statement that Mayes wrote for her were untrue and that she had said these things because she was scared and nervous because the "police" had come to her house. Apparently either Mayes or Phelps had a gun and a badge when they met with her.
¶9. Trial began on July 30, 2019.2 Ousley testified about Rainey's visit to her apartment and the events surrounding her registration and voting which are related above. Ousley then testified that Rainey came back several months later after the investigation into the election had begun. Ousley said that Rainey specifically asked if Ousley had told the investigators about the money Rainey had given her. At trial, Ousley described this meeting as follows:
Ousley said that Rainey was not attempting to intimidate her:
¶10. If Ousley felt uneasy with anyone, it appears to have been Mayes because Ousley testified that Mayes and Phelps scared her:
¶11. At trial, Ousley also said Rainey did not buy her vote:
¶12. Ousley testified that on two other occasions, Rainey went to Ousley's workplace, the Holiday Inn, but Ousley was not working on those days. Ousley guessed that Rainey was there to talk to her.
¶13. Ousley said that she knew Rainey was active in the community and had an annual turkey give-away. Ousley attended and saw Rainey, but Rainey did not try to talk to her about the investigation or get her to change her story at that time either.
¶14. Marvin Cain also testified at trial. He said that in March 2017, Rainey came around asking people if they were registered to vote. He told her that he had just moved from Jackson and needed to transfer his registration to Canton. Cain explained that Rainey filled out the form with the answers he gave to the questions. When Rainey offered to buy them a round of beer, Red jumped up and volunteered to go. So Rainey gave Red the money. Cain was emphatic that Rainey did not suggest that they vote for Eric Gilkey as Phelps or Mayes put in the statement that they prepared for Cain to sign during their investigation. Nor did he tell them that Rainey gave each of them (Cain and Ousley) $10 for registering as is also stated in his written statement. Cain testified that when he signed the statement, he told Mayes and Phelps that the information was incorrect and they said they would re-write it.
¶15. After presenting Ousley and Cain's testimony, the State rested. The circuit court denied Rainey's motion for a directed verdict and instructed Rainey on her right to testify.
Rainey decided not to testify and proceeded to present testimony from Briseida Rios Castillo.
¶16. Castillo is the daughter of a friend of Rainey, and Castillo would help Rainey register legal Hispanics to vote. Castillo...
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