Devin Ladarious Arrington v. State of Mississippi, 267 So. 3d 753

Devin L. Arrington was indicted for armed robbery after Janauris Blanch reported that a stranger pointed a gun at him, robbed him, and fled; police later found firearms, a black duffle bag, a mask, a hoodie, and a Dillards bag with a Polo shirt in Arrington’s trunk.
At trial Arrington claimed a scuffle ensued, he gained control of the gun and fled with it and the bag; Blanch testified Arrington approached, pointed a gun, and robbed him.
After several continuances, on the day of trial Arrington requested another continuance to retain new counsel (alleging counsel had failed to hire an investigator and was unprepared); the trial court denied the request.
During counsel’s opening, Arrington interrupted and said he did not want his attorney to continue representing him; the court did not declare a mistrial.
A jury convicted Arrington of armed robbery. He moved for J.N.O.V. or new trial and appealed raising multiple issues; the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, finding most arguments waived or without merit.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Arrington)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Denial of J.N.O.V. / new trial (weight of evidence, directed verdict, self-defense)	Verdict was against overwhelming weight; trial court erred in denying directed verdict and self-defense instruction	Claims not argued in appellate brief and lack authority; alternatively meritless	Waived for failure to brief; meritless if considered
Denial of continuance to obtain new counsel / investigator	Needed time to retain new counsel because current counsel failed to hire investigator and was unprepared	No authority from Arrington; trial court acted within discretion; no manifest injustice shown	Waived for lack of citation; denial not an abuse of discretion
Ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to investigate; unprepared counsel)	Counsel failed to hire an investigator and was not prepared for trial	Issues not identified in statement of issues and not fully developed on record; such claims often belong in post-conviction proceedings	Waived/abandoned; if reached, record insufficient—deny without prejudice to PCR
Failure to declare mistrial after defendant’s courtroom outburst	Court should have sua sponte declared mistrial when Arrington rejected counsel in open court	No manifest necessity for mistrial; outburst not comparable to recognized bases for mistrial	Waived for lack of authority; no abuse of discretion in refusing mistrial

Johnson v. St. Dominics–Jackson Mem’l Hosp., 967 So. 2d 20 (Miss. 2007) (standard of review for denial of J.N.O.V.)
Collins v. City of Newton, 240 So. 3d 1211 (Miss. 2018) (points not argued in brief are abandoned)
Byrom v. State, 863 So. 2d 836 (Miss. 2003) (failure to cite authority limits appellate review)
Ferguson v. State, 507 So. 2d 94 (Miss. 1987) (counsel’s duty to investigate witnesses and facts)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (ineffective-assistance-of-counsel standard)
Dartez v. State, 177 So. 3d 420 (Miss. 2015) (appellate limits on ineffective-assistance claims; PCR often appropriate)
Ladnier v. State, 273 So. 2d 169 (Miss. 1973) (continuance decisions vested in trial court discretion)
Miles v. State, 249 So. 3d 367 (Miss. 2018) (denial of continuance reversible only if manifest injustice)
Younger v. State, 931 So. 2d 1289 (Miss. 2006) (mistrials sua sponte only when manifestly necessary)
Spann v. State, 557 So. 2d 530 (Miss. 1990) (examples of manifest necessity for mistrial)
Thermon Arrington v. State, 77 So. 3d 542 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) (defendant outbursts do not automatically require mistrial)