Chaddy Brooks v. State of Mississippi, 203 So. 3d 1134

On Nov. 22, 2013, Chaddy Brooks discovered texts on her boyfriend Danielle Gore’s phone, a confrontation ensued, and Brooks stabbed Gore in the neck with a kitchen knife.
Brooks called 911 and admitted she grabbed a knife and that it “swung” into Gore’s neck while he tried to take it from her.
At booking Brooks gave varying accounts: she described being pushed and grabbed, said she retrieved the knife to keep Gore from hurting her, and later testified she got the knife to force him to leave.
Brooks admitted she was the initial aggressor, Gore had no weapon, and she had no visible injuries; police found a large kitchen knife near Gore’s body.
A jury convicted Brooks of second-degree murder; she was sentenced to 40 years and appealed, arguing (1) insufficient evidence for second-degree murder and (2) ineffective assistance because counsel failed to renew a directed-verdict motion at trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for 2nd-degree murder (depraved-heart)	Brooks: evidence insufficient; she acted defensively, turned her back to avoid stabbing, and Gore approached to take knife.	State: introducing a deadly weapon into an unthreatened dispute and being initial aggressor supports depraved-heart murder.	Affirmed: evidence, viewed in State’s favor, supported conviction for second-degree murder.
Ineffective assistance for failing to renew directed verdict	Brooks: counsel’s failure to renew denied a preserved challenge to sufficiency and was constitutionally deficient.	State: counsel moved for directed verdict after State’s case and filed post-trial JNOV/new-trial motions, giving court opportunity to review sufficiency.	Affirmed: no ineffective assistance; post-trial motions cured any procedural lapse per Simon.

Weathersby v. State, 165 So.2d 207 (Miss. 1964) (defendant’s account must be accepted if sole eyewitness and not materially contradicted)
Fairley v. State, 871 So.2d 1282 (Miss. 2004) (Weathersby inapplicable when defendant presents conflicting statements)
Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836 (Miss. 2005) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence: view evidence in light most favorable to prosecution)
Kirk v. State, 160 So.3d 685 (Miss. 2015) (denial of JNOV reviewed de novo)
Warren v. State, 187 So.3d 616 (Miss. 2016) (quoting sufficiency review standard)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two‑part test for ineffective assistance: deficient performance and prejudice)
Holland v. State, 656 So.2d 1192 (Miss. 1995) (failure to move or preserve sufficiency challenge can constitute ineffective assistance)
Simon v. State, 857 So.2d 668 (Miss. 2003) (post‑trial motions challenging sufficiency can cure failure to renew directed verdict)
Dartez v. State, 177 So.3d 420 (Miss. 2015) (discussing the presumption of reasonable professional assistance)