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962 So. 2d 87

Docket No. 2006-CP-00149-COA.

Johnson v. State

Sammie JOHNSON a/k/a Sammie Lee Johnson, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

Decided July 17, 2007.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi · decided 2007-07-17

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently October 2017

12 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“The order as provided in subsection (5) of this section or any order dismissing the petitioner’s motion or otherwise denying relief under this article is a final judgment and shall be conclusive until reversed. It shall be a bar to a second or successive motion under this article. Excepted from this prohibition is a motion filed under Section 99-19-57(2), raising the issue of the convict’s supervening mental illness before the execution of a sentence of death. A dismissal or denial of a motion relating to mental illness under Section 99-19-57(2) shall be res judicata on the issue and shall likewise bar any second or successive motions on the issue. Likewise excepted from this prohibition are those cases in which the petitioner can demonstrate either that there has been an intervening decision of the Supreme Court of either the State of Mississippi or the United States which would have actually adversely affected the outcome of his conviction or sentence or that he has evidence, not reasonably discoverable at the time of trial, which is of such nature that it would be practically conclusive that, if it had been introduced at trial, it would have caused a different result in the conviction or sentence. Likewise excepted are those cases in which the petitioner claims that his sentence has expired or his probation, parole or conditional release has been unlawfully revoked. Likewise excepted are those cases in which the petitioner has filed a prior petition and has requested DNA t”

quoted by 2 later decisions, including 39 So. 3d 963 - Johnson v. State, 19 So. 3d 140 - Robinson v. State

Relies on Stone v. State · 909 So. 2d 135 - Penn v. State · 934 So. 2d 326 - Hoskins v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2007-07-17

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*88 Sammie Johnson. Appellant, pro se.

¶2Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, Attorney for Appellee.

¶3BEFORE KING, C.J., IRVING and ROBERTS, JJ.

¶4KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶5¶ 1. Sammie Johnson appeals the Marshall County Circuit Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. This Court finds that Johnson's claims are procedurally barred and therefore, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

¶6

FACTS

¶7¶ 2. A Marshall County Grand Jury indicted Sammie Lee Johnson on a multi-count indictment for one count of capital murder, in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-19(2)(d) (Rev. 2006), and two counts of accessory after the fact, in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-1-5 (Rev.2006). A plea hearing was held on August 19, 2002, at which time Johnson entered a guilty plea. The trial court sentenced Johnson to a term of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, without the possibility of parole.

¶8¶ 3. Subsequent to his plea of guilty, Johnson sought post-conviction relief in the Marshall County Circuit Court. The trial court denied that relief on November 26, 2003, and Johnson did not seek appellate review of that denial.

¶9¶ 4. On July 7, 2005, Johnson filed a second request for post-conviction relief, which was denied on August 30, 2005.

¶10¶ 5. On September 12, 2005, Johnson filed a motion to clarify the August 30, 2005 judgment, which the trial court treated as Johnson's third motion for post-conviction relief. The trial court denied Johnson's third request for post-conviction relief on December 2, 2005.

¶11¶ 6. On January 24, 2006, Johnson filed a notice of appeal of the circuit court's December 2, 2005 decision denying his requested relief. In the meantime, Johnson sought to have his conviction vacated by filing an Application for Vacation of Petitioner's Conviction or, in the Alternative, Remand to the Circuit Court for an Evidentiary Hearing on the Petitioner's Motion to Vacate Conviction. This Court denied the application on March 8, 2006.

¶12¶ 7. We find Johnson's claims are not properly before this Court because (1) the filing of the appeal is untimely and (2) the claims are barred by successive writ.

¶13

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶14¶ 8. This court will not disturb the trial court's decision to deny post-conviction relief unless the trial court's decision *89 proves to be clearly erroneous. Arnold v. State, 912 So.2d 202, 203(¶ 2) (Miss.Ct.App. 2005). The Court, however, reviews questions of law de novo. Hoskins v. State, 934 So.2d 326, 328(¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2006)

¶15

ANALYSIS

¶16Whether Johnson's claims are properly before this Court.

¶17¶ 9. Parties seeking appeals from judgments have thirty days from the date of judgment entry to file a notice of appeal with the trial court clerk. M.R.A.P. 4(a). See also Pearson v. State, 906 So.2d 788, 790(¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2004). The State argues Johnson's appeal was untimely filed and, therefore, improperly before the Court. The trial court denied Johnson's third request for post-conviction relief on December 2, 2005. Johnson did not file a notice of appeal until January 24, 2006. He does not present any evidence of a court order extending the time period in which he could file an appeal. Pursuant to Rule 2(a)(1) of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure, Johnson's appeal shall be dismissed for failure to timely file his appeal. Penn v. State, 909 So.2d 135, 136(¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App.2005).

¶18¶ 10. Johnson's claims are also procedurally barred as successive writ. The State legislature has provided for post-conviction relief in Mississippi Code Annotated Sections 99-39-1 to -29 (Supp. 2006). Pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 99-39-23(6) (Supp.2006), the denial of post-conviction relief is a final judgment, which is a bar to a subsequent request for post-conviction relief unless (1) there has been an intervening decision of the United States Supreme Court or of the Mississippi Supreme Court, which would require a different outcome or sentence, (2) there is newly discovered evidence, which was not previously discoverable, which would have been practically conclusive if available at trial or (3) the defendant claims that this sentence has expired or his probation, parole or conditional release has been unlawfully revoked.

¶19¶ 11. The circuit court dismissed Johnson's post-conviction motion on December 5, 2005, finding it was the third motion Johnson filed for post-conviction relief. Because it was a subsequent request for post-conviction relief, Johnson had the burden of proving that he fit within at least one of the exceptions to Section 99-39-23(6). Should Johnson not provide proof that his claims satisfy a statutory exception to the successive writ bar and the trial court has not previously rendered a decision on the merits of the claims, then those claims are barred from consideration by the Court. Stone v. State, 872 So.2d 87, 89(¶ 13) (Miss.Ct.App.2004).

¶20¶ 12. Johnson has failed to provide this Court with any facts that would satisfy any of the exceptions to the successive writ bar. This Court's review of the record placed before it also does not suggest the existence of any such exception to the successive writ bar. Accordingly, this Court finds that Johnson's request for post-conviction relief is untimely filed and procedurally barred as a successive writ, and the denial of post-conviction relief is affirmed.

¶21¶ 13. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MARSHALL COUNTY DENYING POST-CONVICTION RELIEF IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO MARSHALL COUNTY.

¶22LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ., CONCUR.

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