Administrative Office of Courts
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Court of Appeals to visit three college campuses in November October 29, 2019 The Mississippi Court of Appeals will convene on three college campuses in November. Three-judge panels will hear oral arguments at Mississippi State University on Nov. 6, at the Utica Campus of Hinds Community College on Nov. 13, and at Rust College in Holly Springs on Nov. 19. It will be the Court’s first visit to Hinds Community College in Utica. The Court of Appeals’ Court on the Road program schedules oral arguments on college campuses as a teaching tool to give students and the public opportunities to watch proceedings in cases on appeal. Court on the Road offers a unique learning experience for students with an interest in law, government, journalism and a variety of other fields. The general public also may attend so that they may gain a better understanding of appellate court proceedings. In each case on appeal, attorneys for both sides will have 30 minutes to make their arguments and answer questions from the judges. Judges talk with students after each oral argument and answer students’ questions, although they won’t talk about the pending cases. Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks is one of several judges who are working to expand the venues of the Court on the Road program. Judge Westbrooks said, “The Court on the Road program offers the opportunity for transparency and education. Because there are no witnesses and no jury, it will transform and elevate their understanding of Mississippi's judicial system. It encourages the public to be civically engaged. It also exposes the public to the court and judges in a way that is not adversarial.” The Court of Appeals usually hears cases in its courtroom in Jackson. The Court heard cases at other locations for the first time in 1996, convening at the University of Mississippi School of Law and at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach. The Court of Appeals began the Court on the Road program as a part of its regular calendar for oral arguments in 2005. People wishing to watch an oral argument are asked to be seated 15 minutes before a proceeding is scheduled to begin. Any media organization which may wish to photograph or videotape the arguments must file a Camera Coverage Notice. Camera Coverage Notices should be directed to Clerk of the Court Jeremy Whitmire, e-mail jwhitmire@courts.ms.gov, fax 601-359-2407; and to Assistant Court Administrator Camille Henick Evans, e-mail cevans@courts.ms.gov, fax 601-576-4708. The Camera Coverage Notice form is at this link: https://courts.ms.gov/news/forms/camnotice.pdf. Times and locations for the court proceedings are: • 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Hunter Henry Center, 100 Hunter Henry Boulevard on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. Two criminal appeals are scheduled to be heard by the Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 at MSU. At 1 p.m., the Court will hear the appeal of Joshua Charles Miller v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 2018-CA-1355. At 2:30 p.m., the Court will hear the appeal of William Ervin Edwards v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 2018-KA-1341. Miller was convicted of murder in the Aug. 18, 1996, shooting death of Kristin Aultman. Aultman was shot in the head on the parking lot of Oloh Baptist Church in Lamar County. At issue in Miller’s appeal is whether his sentence of life in prison should be without or with parole eligibility. Miller was 14 at the time of the shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1997. He was granted a new sentencing hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court in the unrelated case of Miller v. Alabama held that a mandatory sentence of life without parole violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles convicted of homicide. Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell held a new sentencing hearing, ruled that Miller was no entitled to parole eligibility, and resentenced him to life without parole. The appellant’s brief filed on behalf of Miller is at this link: The appellee’s brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office is at this link: Edwards, a political activist who utilized social media, was convicted on June 12, 2018, in Madison County Circuit Court of posting messages through electronic media for the purpose of causing injury. At issue were three Facebook Live videos which Edwards posted in October and November 2016 regarding pastor Roderick Richardson. Circuit Judge Steve R. Ratcliff III sentenced Edwards to five years in prison. The appellant’s brief filed on behalf of Edwards is at this link: The appellee’s brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office is at this link: When the Court of Appeals convenes on Nov. 13 in Utica at the HCC campus, the Court will hear the post-conviction appeal of Augusta Hughes v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 2018-CA-1506. Hughes and a co-defendant were convicted of armed robbery in Lee County in 2000. Hughes was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The charge involved the July 5, 1997, attempted robbery of the manager of the Sonic Drive-In in Nettleton. The Court of Appeals affirmed Hughes’ conviction in 2002. The Supreme Court on May 17, 2017, granted Hughes’ request to proceed in the trial court with a post-conviction hearing. Hughes claimed newly discovered evidence, failure to disclose a key witness statement and ineffective assistance of counsel. Attorneys with the Innocence Project presented testimony that two other people – not Hughes and his co-defendant – had attempted to rob the restaurant manager. Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner III denied Hughes’ post-conviction petition after conducting a hearing in July 2018. Hughes appealed. The appellant’s brief filed on behalf of Hughes is at this link: The appellee’s brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office is at this link: When the Court of Appeals convenes on Nov. 19 at Rust College, the panel will hear the criminal appeal of Cordarryl Lamond Bell v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 2018-KA-1763. Bell was convicted of manslaughter in the Nov. 2, 2015, shooting death of Aquarius Nelson and of aggravated assault of Joshua Cole in Brookhaven. Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Michael M. Taylor sentenced Bell to 20 years on the manslaughter conviction and 20 years with 10 years suspended on the aggravated assault, with the sentences to run consecutively. The appellant’s brief filed on behalf of Bell is at this link: The appellee’s brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office is at this link: The oral arguments will not be broadcast via the court’s Internet website, since the Court of Appeals is convening in special sessions away from its camera-equipped courtroom. Media photographers and videographers must be familiar with and follow the Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings. The camera coverage rules are available at #### |
