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


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  •         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
    2
    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
    1
    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[.]”
    3
    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.
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2014-KA-00773-COA

Citation Numbers: 164 So. 3d 519, 2015 Miss. App. LEXIS 269

Judges: Irving, Barnes, Fair, Lee, Griffis, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton, Maxwell, James

Filed Date: 5/19/2015

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024