Hickman v. State, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 535

Hickman was charged with capital murder with underlying robbery after a mistrial and subsequent retrial.
At retrial, Walls testified about prior conversations with Hickman, including a purported marijuana-related context, which the State sought to exclude.
The trial court limited cross-examination on Walls’ marijuana-related testimony under evidentiary rules.
Other witnesses tied Hickman to Reed’s car, gun, and attempted financial transactions, including surveillance video and at-issue credit card use.
Hickman confessed to Terrell in jail that he shot Reed, and the jury convicted Hickman of capital murder with robbery as the underlying felony.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Confrontation right violated by cross-examination restriction	Hickman argues Walls’ marijuana remark was probative of credibility.	State contends remark was irrelevant and prejudicial.	No error; restriction within trial court discretion.
Verdict against the overwhelming weight of the evidence	Evidence, excluding Terrell’s confession, does not support guilt.	Evidence viewed in light favorable to verdict supports guilt.	No reversal; verdict not against the weight of the evidence.

Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (U.S. 2004) (Confrontation Clause scope in testimonial statements)
Brent v. State, 632 So.2d 936 (Miss. 1994) (Rule 608(b) cross-examination of conduct and truthfulness)
Johnston v. State, 567 So.2d 237 (Miss. 1990) (Rule 608(b) prior similar conduct relevance for credibility)
Havard v. State, 800 So.2d 1193 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001) (Cross-examination admissibility of marijuana use for memory/observation)
Smith v. State, 733 So.2d 793 (Miss. 1999) (Drug-use history admissible when reflecting credibility or mental state)
Williams v. State, 32 So.3d 486 (Miss. 2010) (Accomplice testimony sufficiency considerations)
Blanchard v. State, 55 So.3d 1074 (Miss. 2011) (Weight-of-the-evidence standard; limited physical evidence not determinative)
Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836 (Miss. 2005) (Weight-of-evidence review standard for new trials)