Mark Matthews v. City of Madison, Mississippi

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

WALLER, Chief Justice, for the Court:

. ¶ 1. Mark Matthews was convicted of simple assault and disorderly conduct in Madison County Municipal Court. The decision subsequently was affirmed on appeal by the County Court of Madison County and the Madison County Circuit Court. The Court of Appeals found no error and also affirmed. Matthews v. City of Madison, 143 So.3d 579, 582-83, 2013 WL 5184708, *2 (¶ 11) (Miss.Ct.App. Sept.17, 2013). While the result reached by the Court of Appeals is correct, we granted certiorari to clarify the proper burden of proof when the Castle Doctrine is asserted as a defense.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. The following facts are taken from the Court of Appeals opinion:

¶ 2. Matthews and Brittany Sullivan had a daughter, Macy Kate, in 2008. Because they were not married, custody arrangements were established by a final judgment of filiation and support filed in Madison County Chancery Court, granting joint legal and physical custody to both parents. The custody agreement provided that Matthews had custody of Macy Kate on Wednesday nights and was to return her “the next morning at 7:30 a.m. or such time [that accommodated] both [parents’] travel to work.”

¶ 3. On the morning of Thursday, May 26, 2011, Matthews arrived at Brittany’s residence, which was also the residence of her mother, Pam Sullivan, to drop off Macy Kate. Matthews parked his vehicle at the curb, because he was required to park on the street and stay off the Sullivans’ property as a result of a trespassing conviction from a year earlier. Pam exited the house, and Matthews asked Pam where Brittany was. Pam testified that she told him that Brittany had spent the night at her grandparents’ house because she did not want to see Matthews. Pam walked to the rear passenger door of the vehicle and opened it to unbuckle Macy Kate from her car seat. Matthews, who had exited the vehicle, slammed the door on Pam, pinning her in the door. After a struggle, Pam freed herself from the door, removed Macy Kate, and walked onto her property, where Matthews was not allowed to go....

¶ 5. Pam filed an affidavit against Matthews for assault. Matthews was convicted of simple assault and disorderly conduct in the City of Madison Municipal Court.

¶ 6. Matthews appealed to the County Court of Madison County. After a bench trial de novo, Matthews was found guilty of simple assault under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-7(l)(a) (Rev. 2006) and disorderly conduct for refusing to comply with a police officer’s request under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-35-7(1) (Rev. 2006).

Matthews v. City of Madison, 143 So.3d 579, 581-82, 2013 WL 5184708, *1-2 (Miss.Ct.App. Sept.17, 2013).

¶ 3. The Madison County Circuit Court affirmed the county court and found, in part, that the Castle Doctrine did not apply, therefore, Matthews was not entitled to the statutory presumption. On appeal to the Court of Appeals, Matthews argued that the county court had erred because it had failed to apply the Castle Doctrine. Id. at 582-83, 2013 WL 5184708, at *2. Specifically, Matthews asserted “that under the Castle Doctrine, the assault was justified to prevent Pam from kidnaping his child.” Id. The Court of Appeals stated that “[t]he statute requires that the ‘person who uses defensive force shall be presumed to have reasonably feared imminent death or great bodily harm....’” Id. (quoting Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-15(3) (Rev. 2006)). “No evidence was presented that Matthews had feared imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or Macy Kate.” Id. at 583, 2013 WL 5184708, at *2. Therefore, the Court of Appeals found the county court did not err in refusing to apply the doctrine. Id. at 583-84, 2013 WL 5184708, at *3.

DISCUSSION

¶ 4. When reviewing the findings of a county-court judge sitting in a bench trial without a jury, we will reverse only if his or her findings are manifestly in error or clearly wrong. Pride Oil Co., Inc. v. Tommy Brooks Oil Co., 761 So.2d 187, 193 (Miss.2000) (quoting Amerson v. State, 648 So.2d 58, 60 (Miss.1994)). “The trial judge has sole authority to determine the credibility of a witness when sitting as the trier of fact in a bench trial.” Pride Oil Co., 761 So.2d at 193. We will affirm a trial judge sitting without a jury on a question of fact unless substantial evidence shows the trial judge was manifestly wrong. Id.

¶ 5. In his petition for certiorari, Matthews argues the Court of Appeals findings regarding the application of the Castle Doctrine are in conflict with this Court’s prior decisions. Matthews states that the statute’s presumption justifying defensive force has no requirement for proof that he be in “reasonable fear” before using defensive force. See, e.g., Newell v. State, 49 So.3d 66, 68-69 (Miss.2010).

¶ 6. The City of Madison argued in its supplemental brief that the Castle Doctrine does not apply to this case because it deals with “justifiable homicide.” Whether the Castle Doctrine may be applied as a defense to a charge of simple assault is a matter of first impression for this Court. The Legislature adopted the Castle Doctrine in 2006, and it was codified at Mississippi Code Section 97 — 3—15(3)—(4),¹ See Miss. Laws 2006, Ch. 492, § 1 (eff. July 1, 2006). Since the passage of the law, we have had the occasion to interpret the Castle Doctrine only when deadly force was used. See White v. State, 127 So.3d 170 (Miss.2013); Sanders v. State, 77 So.3d 484 (Miss.2012); Maye v. State, 49 So.3d 1124 (Miss.2010); Newell v. State, 49 So.3d 66 (Miss.2010). Interpreting the doctrine for the first time, this Court stated that there are two prongs to Mississippi’s Castle Doctrine. See Newell, 49 So.3d at 74. In the case before us, subsection (4) does not apply because it deals with the use of “deadly force under subsection (l)(e) or (f).... ” Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-15(4) (Rev. 2006).

¶ 7. The other prong requires the trier of fact to look to the circumstances listed in subsection (3), which states in pertinent part that an individual “who uses defensive force shall be presumed to have reasonably feared ... the commission of a felony upon him ... against a vehicle which he was occupying ... if the person against whom the defensive force was used, was in the process of forcibly entering ... [an] occupied vehicle.... ” Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-15(3) (Rev. 2006) (emphasis added). Thus, the presumption in subsection (3) applies to any use of defensive force if it is under one of the circumstances listed in that subsection, not only deadly force.

¶ 8. Matthews argues that the felony being committed was kidnapping; he was in a place he had a right to be and was not the initial aggressor and was not engaged in any unlawful acts; therefore, the lower court should have applied the statutory presumption to justify Matthews’s reaction.² The Court of Appeals found the presumption did not apply to Matthews because there was no evidence that Matthews was in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm to him or Macy Kate. Matthews, 143 So.3d at 582-84, 2013 WL 5184708, at ⅝2-3. The language used by the Court of Appeals is in error. We find the application of the presumption does not depend on the existence of reasonable fear in the defendant; rather, the presumption applies if one of the circumstances in subsection (3) is met. See Newell v. State, 49 So.3d 66 (Miss.2010).

¶ 9. In Newell, this Court found the defendant was entitled to a jury instruction on the Castle Doctrine’s statutory presumption. Newell, 49 So.3d at 78. There, Newell claimed that he had shot the victim after the victim threatened him, tried to remove him from his truck, threatened to stab him, and then reached for a knife. Id. at 68-69. In interpreting Section 97-3-15(3), we found that, if the occupant of a vehicle is still in danger after exiting the vehicle and is “still in the immediate premises thereof, he should be allowed to use reasonable force to defend against the danger and still be presumed to have acted in reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily danger.” Id. at 76-77. This Court held further that, if the trier of fact believed Newell’s story of the circumstances that led to the shooting, “he would have been entitled to the presumption in Section 97-3-15(3).” Id. at 77.

¶ 10. The in Newell was then faced with the task of deciding whether a jury instruction that was denied properly defined the statutory presumption in Section 97-3-15(3). Id. The Court found that the second paragraph of the proposed instruction properly tracked the language of the Castle Doctrine’s new presumption. Id. In so finding, the Court held that “the jury should have been instructed that, if it believed Newell’s version of the events surrounding the altercation ... then it should presume that Newell used defensive force ... because he reasonably feared ... the commission of a felony upon ... the vehicle which he was occupying.” Id. at 78 (quoting Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-15(3) (Rev. 2006)) (emphasis added). Importantly, the Court went on to note that, if the jury had been instructed properly, “the jury may have come to a different conclusion regarding the reasonableness and necessity of Newell’s action ... which would have given more weight to [his] self-defense claims.” Id. (emphasis added). Thus, the holding implies that, although Newell should have been entitled to a presumption if the jury believed him, this presumption could have been rebutted, as the trier of fact must still weigh the reasonableness of the action in light of the presumption.

¶ 11. The Matthews/Pam altercation before us obviously differs from Newell. We find the Castle Doctrine defense does not apply to the facts presented here. The Final Judgment entered by the chancery court, which set out Matthews’s and Brittany’s obligations regarding child support, custody, and visitation, stated that on Wednesdays, Mark was to pick up his daughter “from day care or Brittany’s place of residence” and return her the next morning. The chancery court’s order stated Brittany’s place of residence was Pam’s home. Pam testified that she had Brittany’s permission to get the child and that this had occurred on multiple occasions. She alleged that she approached the car, opened the door to take the child following Matthews’s scheduled visitation, and this is when the incident occurred. Pam was within her right, as the county-court judge found, to retrieve Macy Kate from Matthew’s car. Thus, under these facts, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding Matthews guilty of simple assault.

¶ 12. The trial-court judge, as trier of fact, noted on the record that he found Pam’s testimony to be more credible than Matthews’s, and that, based on the evidence, “the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that Matthews committed simple assault upon Pam. We do not find any abuse of discretion on the part of the trial judge. Matthews is correct, insofar as the Court of Appeals’ language incorrectly states that the Castle Doctrine’s presumption justifying defensive force requires proof that he be in “reasonable fear” before using defensive force. This Court finds that Matthews was not entitled to the presumption.

CONCLUSION

¶ 13. We find that the result reached by the Court of Appeals and the trial court is correct. However, we write only to correct the language used in the Court of Appeals opinion and to clarify the proper burden of proof when a defendant asserts the Castle Doctrine as a defense. The judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Madison County Circuit Court are affirmed.

If 14. CONVICTION OF SIMPLE ASSAULT AND SENTENCE OF 180 DAYS, WITH THIRTY (30) DAYS TO SERVE AND 150 DAYS SUSPENDED FOR TWO (2) YEARS, WITH CONDITIONS, AND PAY A FINE OF $190, AFFIRMED. CONVICTION OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND SENTENCE OF 180 DAYS, WITH FIVE (5) DAYS TO SERVE AND 175 DAYS SUSPENDED FOR TWO (2) YEARS, WITH CONDITIONS, AND PAY A FINE OF $160, AFFIRMED. SENTENCES SHALL RUN CONSECUTIVELY, ALL IN THE CUSTODY OF THE SHERIFF OF MADISON COUNTY.

DICKINSON, P.J., LAMAR, KITCHENS, CHANDLER AND PIERCE, JJ., CONCUR. KING, J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY DICKINSON AND RANDOLPH, P.JJ., LAMAR, KITCHENS AND CHANDLER, JJ. COLEMAN, J„ CONCURS IN RESULT ONLY WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. RANDOLPH, P.J., CONCURS IN RESULT ONLY WITHOUT SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION.

1 . Subsection (1) and (2) of Section 97-3-15 deal with the ‘‘killing of a human being” and are inapplicable to the case sub judice. As discussed infra, subsection (4) is inapplicable because it relates to the "use of deadly force under subsection (l)(e) or (f).“ In addition, subsection (5) is inapplicable because it deals with civil cases. See Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-15 (Rev. 2006).

2 . We note that Matthews’s argument is misplaced in that he quotes the language in subsection (4) regarding who was the initial aggressor and whether he or she was engaged in unlawful activity. See supra note 1.