Young v. State

• Decision Date: 20 January 2005
• Docket Number: No. 2002-CA-01170-SCT.,2002-CA-01170-SCT.
• Citation: 891 So.2d 813
• Parties: Brian Anthony YOUNG v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

891 So.2d 813

Brian Anthony YOUNG v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2002-CA-01170-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

January 20, 2005.

George S. Shaddock, Pascagoula, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

COBB, Presiding Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. The motion for rehearing is denied. The original opinion is withdrawn, and this opinion is substituted therefor.

¶ 2. In this direct appeal from the Jackson County Circuit Court, we consider whether the trial court erred in finding Brian Anthony Young guilty of murder and sentencing him to life in prison. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. Michael Coleman and his wife, Lelie Coleman, were living at the Budget Inn in Pascagoula, Mississippi. According to the testimony of hotel manager Leroy Hyatt, Lelie returned to the Budget Inn at approximately 5:00 a.m. on July 1, 2000. Shortly thereafter, around 7:00 a.m., Hyatt saw Michael leave the hotel room he shared with his wife and begin walking to his job at West Building Supplies. Hyatt further testified that, at approximately 7:15 a.m., he saw Brian Anthony Young arrive at the motel in a brown Cadillac, park in the rear of the motel, and go upstairs to Coleman's room. Approximately one-half hour later, Hyatt saw Young leave in a hurry. When Michael returned to the Budget Inn around 11:30 a.m., he found his wife dead. Testimony at trial established that Young had been involved in an affair with Lelie Coleman.

¶ 4. Young was arrested on July 5, 2000, and charged with Lelie's murder. He was not indicted until one year later, and his trial commenced on April 2, 2002. At the conclusion of the four-day trial, the jury found Young guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Young raises six issues on appeal, including: denial of speedy trial, police officer's improper opinion testimony that Young murdered Lelie, challenges to three jury instructions, and the jury's verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.

ANALYSIS

I. Speedy Trial.

¶ 5. Young argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the charge against him due to denial of his right to a speedy trial, where the one-year delay between his arrest and his indictment was both presumptively and actually prejudicial. A defendant's right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the sixth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution and under Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. The United States Supreme Court, in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972) established the following factors to be considered in determining if the right to a speedy trial has been violated: (1) length of delay, (2) reason for the delay, (3) the defendant's assertion of his right, and (4) prejudice to the defendant. When this Court addressed the question of what length of time must elapse before prejudice will be presumed, in Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 408 (Miss.1989), we determined that while there are some exceptions to the rule, it may generally be said that any delay of more than eight months is presumptively prejudicial. Id. However, the delay factor alone is not sufficient for reversal, but it requires a close examination of the remaining Barker factors. DeLoach v. State, 722 So.2d 512, 517 (Miss.1998). The Court will uphold the trial court's decision based on substantial, credible evidence of a finding of good cause. Folk v. State, 576 So.2d 1243, 1247 (Miss.1991).

¶ 6. Young was arrested on July 5, 2000. Charged with capital murder, he remained in jail, without bail. No mention is made in the record or the briefs that he made any attempt to obtain release, or to request a speedy trial during that time. In June 2001 Young filed a motion for bail, a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a motion to dismiss the charge for denial of his right to a speedy trial. On or about July 1, 2001, at the hearing on these motions, the State announced Young's indictment. Young's motions were then deferred by his attorney, pending a review of the indictment. Young did not pursue these motions to a ruling by the trial court. Instead, defense counsel asked the trial court for a recess so that the State could file the indictment. Young's indictment was filed on July 6, 2001.

¶ 7. On July 24, 2001, Young filed a motion for discovery and demand for a speedy trial, followed by an amended motion to dismiss the charge. It is unclear from the record whether a hearing was held on these motions, but, on August 19, 2001, the trial judge set bond upon the reduced charge of murder and, according to Young's brief, denied the motion to dismiss.¹ However, the trial court failed to enter an order on the original motion to dismiss or the amended motion to dismiss the charge. Young's trial commenced on April 2, 2002, nine months after his indictment.

¶ 8. Young now asserts that he was denied his constitutional and statutory right to a speedy trial and was presumptively and actually prejudiced by the 366 days that he was incarcerated following his arrest.

¶ 9. The State argues that this issue is not properly before the Court because Young failed to pursue his motion to dismiss for denial of a speedy trial, to a ruling by the trial court. The State also argues that there was no oppressive pretrial detention because Young was released on bond on August 19, 2001. Finally, the State argues that Young asked for, and was given two continuances prior to trial, one on August 10, 2001, and another on January 28, 2002.

¶ 10. As to the last two of the State's arguments on the speedy trial issue, those arguments apply only to the post-indictment period prior to Young's trial. We agree that because Young was released on bond shortly after his indictment there was no oppressive pretrial detention after Young was indicted. Further, at least part of the delay to trial, following Young's indictment, is attributable to the two continuances granted at Young's request. We find no merit to Young's denial of a speedy trial claim as to the period of time following his indictment.

A. Length of delay

¶ 11. The 366 days that elapsed between Young's arrest and his indictment is subject to analysis of the denial of his fundamental constitutional right to a speedy trial. Under Barker v. Wingo, until there is some delay which is presumptively prejudicial, there is no necessity for inquiry into the other factors that go into the balance. Nevertheless, because of the imprecision of the right to speedy trial, the length of delay that will provoke such an inquiry is necessarily dependant upon the peculiar circumstances of the case. 407 U.S. at 530-31,92 S.Ct. 2182.

B. Reason for the delay

¶ 12. The record is devoid of anything relevant to this Court's review of Young's constitutional speedy trial claim, other than his motion for continuance filed in October 200l, and an unrelated order of continuance, entered at his attorney's request in January 2002, rescheduling the trial for April, 2002. Young did not pursue his demand for speedy trial, nor his motion to dismiss, to a ruling by the trial court. Because Young failed to raise this issue in his motion for a new trial, there is no trial court order to review, no findings on the record, and no response from the State as to the pre-indictment delay.

C. Assertion of the Right

¶ 13. Under Barker, a defendant's assertion of his speedy trial right is entitled to strong evidentiary weight in determining whether the defendant is being deprived of the right. The U.S. Supreme Court emphasized that failure to assert the right will make it difficult for a defendant to prove denial of a speedy trial. Barker, 407 U.S. at 531-32, 92 S.Ct. 2182. There is nothing in the record or in his brief to indicate that Young made any effort to request an attorney, seek bail or demand a speedy trial prior to June 2001. This Court, in State v. Woodall, 801 So.2d 678, 684 (Miss.2001), determined that a defendant's failure to demand a speedy trial between his arrest and indictment was critical to the analysis of a speedy trial issue. This Court has stressed the importance of a defendant's request for a speedy trial. Perry v. State, 419 So.2d 194, 199 (Miss.1982). We have repeatedly held that a defendant's failure to assert his right to a speedy trial must be weighed against him. Watts v. State, 733 So.2d 214, 236 (Miss.1999).

D. Prejudice to the Defendant

¶ 14. The Barker Court identified three interests protected by the right to a speedy trial that are to be considered when determining whether a defendant has been prejudiced by a delay in bringing him to trial: (1) the interest in preventing oppressive pretrial incarceration, (2) the interest in minimizing anxiety and concern of the accused, and (3) the interest in limiting the possibility that the defense will be impaired. Of these three interests, the last is the most important, and when violated, the most prejudicial to the defendant. Barker, 407 U.S. at 532,92 S.Ct. 2182. There is nothing to indicate that the State delayed bringing Young to trial for any prejudicial or improper reason. Likewise, there is nothing in the record to indicate any prejudice to Young by the delay. Young's motion for discovery and demand for a speedy trial, filed July 24, 2001, consists of only one sentence stating simply that he demands that the State afford him a speedy trial as mandated by constitution and statute. His second motion² to dismiss indictment, filed August 13, 2001, contains only the conclusory statement that Young "has be[sic] greatly prejudiced by his continued confinement." In his motion, Young recites the four Barker factors, but fails to mention any specific fact or detail which links to those factors to his case, other than that it had been "some 400 days since arrest." Interestingly, he also states that "[p]rior to indictment, it is...