Terrance Richard Campbell v. State of Mississippi , 2015 Miss. App. LEXIS 269 ( 2015 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2014-KA-00773-COA
TERRANCE RICHARD CAMPBELL A/K/A APPELLANT
TERRANCE CAMPBELL A/K/A TERRENCE
CAMPBELL A/K/A TERRENCE R. CAMPBELL
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/26/2014
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. LAWRENCE PAUL BOURGEOIS JR.
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HARRISON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER
BY: W. DANIEL HINCHCLIFF
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: LAURA HOGAN TEDDER
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: JOEL SMITH
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: CONVICTED OF FELONY DRIVING
UNDER THE INFLUENCE AND
SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN THE
CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED: 05/19/2015
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
BEFORE IRVING, P.J., BARNES AND FAIR, JJ.
FAIR, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. A Harrison County jury found Terrance Richard Campbell guilty of driving under the
influence (DUI). The court sentenced Campbell to five years in the Mississippi Department
of Corrections’ custody. On appeal, Campbell argues that the jury’s general verdict is
reversible error because it did not specify whether the jury found him guilty of “common
law” DUI and/or “per se” DUI. Finding no error, we affirm Campbell’s conviction and
sentence.
FACTS
¶2. On September 27, 2012, Deputy Pablo De La Cruz responded to a domestic-violence
call. He arrived on scene and spoke with the woman involved. She said she was fighting
with Campbell, and he left. While Deputy De La Cruz was at the scene, Campbell returned
in a black Nissan Maxima. Deputy De La Cruz tried to wave him down, but he refused to
stop. He drove across a ditch and into a yard. Deputy De La Cruz testified that Campbell
was belligerent. He had red eyes and slurred speech, and he smelled of alcohol. The deputy
asked Campbell to exit his car, but he was uncooperative.
¶3. Deputy Caleb Mitchell of the DUI unit responded to the scene. He, too, noticed
Campbell had lowered inhibitions and smelled of alcohol. When he offered Campbell a field
sobriety test, he refused and asked to go to jail. Mitchell testified that Campbell was upset
and used profanity. After Deputy Mitchell arrested Campbell, he discovered that Campbell
had two previous DUI convictions within the last two years. So he obtained a warrant to
have Campbell’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) tested at Garden Park Hospital. Deputy
Mitchell logged the DUI kit at the sheriff’s office. Duriel McKinsey, a forensic toxicologist,
testified that he examined the kit and found it to be in good condition. After testing,
Campbell’s BAC was determined to be .14%.
¶4. A grand jury indicted Campbell on two counts. Count I of his indictment charged him
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with a violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-30(1)(a) (Supp. 2014), or
“common-law DUI.”1 Count II charged him with violating section 63-11-30(1)(c), referred
to as “per-se DUI.”2 At trial, the jury received the following instruction:
If you unanimously find the defendant, TERRANCE RICHARD CAMPBELL,
guilty of Count I, driving under the influence which impaired his ability to
drive and you further find that he had been twice previously convicted under
the Implied Consent Law within five (5) years of September 27, 2012, OR if
you unanimously find the defendant, TERRANCE RICHARD CAMPBELL,
guilty of Count II, driving at a time while he had an alcohol concentration of
eight one[-]hundredths percent (.08%) or more in his blood and you further
find that he had been twice previously convicted under the Implied Consent
Law within five (5) years of September 27, 2012, [the] form of your verdict
shall be:
“We the jury find the defendant TERRANCE RICHARD
CAMPBELL guilty of FELONY DRIVING UNDER THE
INFLUENCE.”
If you find the defendant, Terrance Richard Campbell, not guilty of Count I,
driving under the influence [,] AND not guilty of Count II, driving at a time
while he had an alcohol concentration of eight one-hundredths percent (.08%)
or more in his blood on September 27, 2012, the form of your verdict shall be:
“We, the jury find the defendant TERRANCE RICHARD
CAMPBELL not guilty of FELONY DRIVING UNDER THE
INFLUENCE.”
¶5. The jury found Campbell guilty of felony driving under the influence without
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Section 63-11-30(1)(a) provides: “It is unlawful for any person to drive or otherwise
operate a vehicle within this state who . . . is under the influence of intoxicating liquor[.]”
2
Section 63-11-30(1)(c) provides: “It is unlawful for any person to drive or otherwise
operate a vehicle within this state who . . . has an alcohol concentration of eight
one-hundredths percent (.08%) or more for persons who are above the legal age to purchase
alcoholic beverages under state law[.]”
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specifying whether the verdict was for common-law DUI or for per se DUI.
DISCUSSION
¶6. Campbell argues one issue on appeal — that the jury’s verdict was insufficient and
did not specify whether it was for Count I, Count II, or both. We presume that jurors follow
the court’s instructions. Stubbs v. State, 878 So. 2d 130, 137 (¶19) (Miss. Ct. App. 2004).
“[A] jury’s verdict will not be reversed for “mere want of form,” so long as the “jury’s intent
can be understood in a reasonably clear manner.” Jordan v. State, 912 So. 2d 800, 814 (¶35)
(Miss. 2005) (citing Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-9 (Rev. 2007)). See also Coles v. State, 756
So. 2d 12, 14 (¶12) (Miss. Ct. App. 1999).
¶7. In this case the jury’s verdict stated: “We, the jury, find the [d]efendant, Terrance
Richard Campbell[,] guilty of Felony Driving Under the Influence” — as did the jury in
Oatis v. State, 146 So. 3d 1015, 1021 (¶22) (Miss. Ct. App. 2014), a case directly on point
in which we specifically held:
Since the jury could have convicted Oatis of either common-law DUI or per
se DUI, and the evidence was legally sufficient for either crime, the jury's
return of a general verdict is of no significance.
¶8. We find the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict under either count.
¶9. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HARRISON COUNTY OF
CONVICTION OF FELONY DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE AND
SENTENCE OF FIVE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS
APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO HARRISON COUNTY.
LEE, C.J., IRVING AND GRIFFIS, P.JJ., BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS,
CARLTON, MAXWELL AND JAMES, JJ., CONCUR.
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