James Howard Wordlaw v. State of Mississippi
218 So. 3d 768
| Miss. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- On December 24, 2013, Starkville police stopped a truck driven by James Wordlaw; officers found a small bag of crack cocaine in a cigarette pack in the vehicle and arrested Wordlaw.
- Co-occupant Andrea Middleton had a crack pipe; Roy Bennett testified he sold the truck to Wordlaw in October 2013.
- Wordlaw was tried and convicted in Oktibbeha County for possession of >0.1 g but <2 g of a controlled substance; sentenced as a habitual and subsequent drug offender to six years and a $6,000 fine.
- Wordlaw objected at trial that the court’s principal jury instruction (S-2) omitted the county and state (venue); he proffered a model instruction (D-2) that named Oktibbeha County, but the court refused it as repetitious. The indictment was not given to the jury.
- The court of appeals found the omission of venue from the instructions was plain and reversible error and reversed and remanded for a new trial. The court declined to decide Wordlaw’s circumstantial-evidence-instruction claim.
Issues
| Issue | Wordlaw's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jury instruction omitted venue (county/state) | Instruction S-2 failed to require jury to find crime occurred in Oktibbeha County — plain error requiring reversal | Venue language was unnecessary/repetitious; proof at trial showed crime occurred in Starkville/Oktibbeha County | Reversed and remanded — omission of venue is plain error; jury must be instructed on venue |
| Refusal to give model instruction D-2 (naming county) | D-2 should have been given to cure omission | D-2 was duplicative of S-2; naming county not necessary | Trial court erred in refusing D-2; omission of venue was not cured by other instructions or submission of the indictment |
| Circumstantial-evidence jury instructions | (Raised on appeal) Trial court erred by denying circumstantial-evidence instructions | State opposed; trial court denied | Court declined to address this issue on appeal (no ruling) |
Key Cases Cited
- Rogers v. State, 95 So.3d 623 (Miss. 2012) (failure to instruct jury on venue is plain error requiring reversal)
- Chesney v. State, 165 So.3d 498 (Miss. Ct. App. 2015) (reversible error where jury not instructed that it must find crime occurred in the county of prosecution)
- Rooks v. State, 529 So.2d 546 (Miss. 1988) (defendants not entitled to venue instruction absent some evidence contesting venue; omission of venue not reversible where proof of venue was undisputed)
- Jones v. State, 164 So.3d 1009 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013) (defects in instructions may be harmless where record contains undisputed documentary or testimonial proof of an omitted element and instructions as a whole fairly announce the law)