Tipton v. State

• Decision Date: 30 October 2014
• Docket Number: No. 2013–CA–00415–SCT.,2013–CA–00415–SCT.
• Parties: Frank Sanders TIPTON v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

150 So.3d 82

Frank Sanders TIPTON

v.STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2013–CA–00415–SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Oct. 30, 2014.

Thomas M. Fortner, Jackson, Ross Parker Simons, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Malissa Winfield, John R. Henry, Jr., attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

Opinion

KITCHENS, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. The motion for rehearing is granted. The original opinions are withdrawn, and these opinions are substituted therefor.

¶ 2. Frank Tipton was wrongfully convicted of extortion and was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of house arrest in Mississippi's Intensive Supervision Program (ISP). After his conviction and sentence were vacated by this Court,¹ Tipton brought this civil action seeking compensation for the 300 days he served in prison and the two years he served under house arrest in the ISP. The State has agreed that Tipton is entitled to compensation for the 300 days spent in prison, but argues that the time he spent in the ISP is not compensable. We find that an inmate who serves time under house arrest in the ISP and later is determined to have been wrongfully convicted is entitled to compensation for that time under our wrongful conviction compensation statutes.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 3. Frank Tipton was convicted of extortion under Mississippi Code Section 97–11–33.² Tipton's circuit court sentencing order required him to spend one year in a Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison facility and two years in the ISP house arrest program. The remainder of his sentence was suspended followed by two years of post-release supervision. Due to his trusty status, Tipton was released from the prison facility with sixty days deducted from his original sentence.

¶ 4. Following the ISP guidelines for house arrest, Tipton was required to establish a residence approved by his correctional officer, pay monthly fees, submit to inspection of his residence, and submit to testing for drugs and alcohol at the field officer's discretion. See Miss.Code Ann. § 47–5–1013 (Rev. 2011). While under house arrest, Tipton was confined to his home unless attending work, school, community service, or given explicit permission by his correctional field officer. See Miss.Code Ann. § 47–5–1013(d) (Rev. 2011). Had Tipton failed to complete the ISP house arrest program to the satisfaction of his field officer, he would have been returned to an MDOC prison facility.³ See Miss.Code Ann. § 47–5–1003 (Rev. 2011).

¶ 5. While serving his sentence, Tipton appealed his conviction. This Court reversed and vacated Tipton's conviction, holding that he was not guilty of the crime for which he had been convicted. Tipton v. State, 41 So.3d 679, 682–83 ( ¶ 14) (Miss.2010). Tipton filed a civil complaint for compensation under Mississippi Code Section 11–44–3 for his time served in the MDOC prison facility and under house arrest in the ISP.⁴ The State made an offer of judgment in the amount of $41,666 for the time Tipton had served in the MDOC prison facility, which he rejected. Tipton argued that he was entitled to $141,666, which included $100,000 for the time he had served in the ISP. After hearing motions for summary judgment from both parties, the trial court rejected Tipton's compensation claim for his time served under house arrest in the ISP and granted the State's motion for summary judgment, which Tipton appeals.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6. The decision of a circuit court to grant or deny a summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Poppenheimer v. Estate of Coyle, 98 So.3d 1059, 1062 ( ¶ 7) (Miss.2012) (citing Whitaker v. Limeco Corp., 32 So.3d 429, 433–34 ( ¶ 10) (Miss.2010)). Statutory interpretation is a question of law subject to de novo review. Arceo v. Tolliver, 19 So.3d 67, 70 ( ¶ 9) (Miss.2009). The State argues that Tipton should be compensated for the 300 days that he served in the prison facility operated by the MDOC, and that his confinement under house arrest in the ISP should not be compensable. Tipton contends that he should be compensated for his full sentence, which included the 300 days spent in a MDOC prison facility, and in addition, the two years that he spent under house arrest in the ISP.

¶ 7. We must determine whether a person wrongfully confined under house arrest in the ISP is “imprisoned” such that he or she may be compensated under Mississippi's wrongful conviction compensation statutes. This is a question of law. This Court does not engage in statutory interpretation if a statute is plain and unambiguous. Miss. Methodist Hosp. & Rehab. Ctr., Inc. v. Mississippi Div. of Medicaid, 21 So.3d 600, 607 ( ¶ 18) (Miss.2009); (citing In re Guardianship of Duckett, 991 So.2d 1165, 1181 (Miss.2008) ). However, statutory interpretation is appropriate if a statute is ambiguous or is silent on a specific issue. Methodist Hosp., 21 So.3d at 607 ( ¶ 18). The ultimate goal of the Court is to determine legislative intent. Id. (citing Allred v. Yarborough, 843 So.2d 727, 729 (Miss.2003) ). This Court consistently has held that if a statute is ambiguous, the Court must “carefully review statutory language and apply its most reasonable interpretation and meaning to the facts of a particular case.” Caldwell v. N. Miss. Med. Ctr., 956 So.2d 888, 891 ( ¶ 10) (Miss.2007) (quoting Pope v. Brock, 912 So.2d 935, 937 (Miss.2005) ). In establishing the meaning of an ambiguous statute, this Court also may look to the historical background, its subject matter, and the purposes and objects to be accomplished. In re Guardianship of Duckett, 991 So.2d at 1182 ( ¶ 37).

¶ 8. The question of whether a wrongfully convicted inmate who served time in the ISP is entitled to compensation is an issue of first impression for this Court. To be eligible for compensation, a claimant must have (1) been charged with a felony; (2) been sentenced; (3) served either the full or a partial amount of that sentence; (4) and been released on grounds not inconsistent with innocence. Miss.Code Ann. § 11–44–3 (Rev. 2012). To be awarded compensation, Tipton must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) that he was convicted of one or more felonies and sentenced to a period of imprisonment which he has served in full or in part; (2) and that his judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated. Miss.Code Ann. § 11–44–7 (Rev. 2012). Tipton clearly has satisfied all of the requirements of compensation with one possible exception: whether he was sentenced “to a period of imprisonment” while under house arrest. Accordingly, the success of his claim turns on the interpretation of what it means to be subjected to a period of imprisonment, and whether someone under house arrest can be said to have been imprisoned during that period.

¶ 9. The purpose of the compensation statutes is to compensate innocent persons who have been uniquely victimized because they were wrongly convicted of felonies and subsequently imprisoned. Miss.Code Ann. § 11–44–1 (Rev. 2012). The definition of “imprisonment” is not limited to addressing only imprisonment in “brick and mortar” prisons. Webster's Dictionary defines “imprison” as “to confine in or as if in prison. ” Webster Random House Dictionary 963 (2001) (emphasis added). Black's Law Dictionary defines “imprisonment” as “[t]he act of confining a person, esp. in a prison,” or “[t]he state of being confined; a period of confinement.” Black's Law Dictionary 825 (9th ed. 2009). Accordingly, imprisonment may occur in an actual prison, but it also can include a state of confinement, which can occur anywhere and vary widely in degree. Indeed, this Court has long recognized that false imprisonment, compensable in tort, can occur in places as innocuous as a second-hand store,⁵ a casino,⁶ or even a field.⁷ So long as a person is confined “within boundaries fixed by the defendant,” that person is subject to imprisonment for the purposes of a false imprisonment claim. State for Use of Powell v. Moore, 252 Miss. 471, 478, 174 So.2d 352, 355 (1965) (quoting Prosser, The Law of Torts § 12 (3d ed. 1964)). The Legislature has recognized that false imprisonment can occur in settings outside of a prison, as it has specifically provided immunity from such a claim to store owners who detain customers whom they suspect of shoplifting. See Miss.Code Ann. § 97–23–95 (Rev. 2014). There was never a requirement in any of these civil cases that the imprisonment occur in an actual prison. Throughout our State's history, if a person was confined within boundaries fixed by another party, that person has been considered to have been imprisoned.

¶ 10. To receive compensation, Tipton was required to show that he was “sentenced to a term of imprisonment.” Since “imprisonment” can mean confinement, and is not specific to being placed in an actual prison, we must look beyond the plain language of the statute to determine whether house arrest should be deemed “imprisonment” for the purposes of compensation. While this is an issue of first impression, there is Mississippi case law interpreting the status of inmates in the ISP as it relates to the MDOC's classification of those inmates.

¶ 11. Although the ISP is called an “alternative to incarceration,” inmates in that program are under the complete jurisdiction of the MDOC. Miss.Code Ann. § 47–5–1003(3) (Rev. 2011). The Mississippi Court of Appeals has found that an inmate “participating in the house arrest program or serving time as an inmate in the general prison population was confined as a prisoner under the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Department of Corrections in the normally understood sense of that term.” Lewis v. State, 761 So.2d 922, 923 ( ¶ 5) (Miss.Ct.App.2000) (emphasis added). The Court of Appeals consistently has sided with the State's argument that the removal of an inmate from the ISP to a prison facility involves no liberty interest, and instead is merely a “change in ... housing assignment and classification, which does not require a hearing since it does not involve a...