Background

• Johnson was convicted of possession of cocaine by a Marion County jury, with a 16-year sentence, 9 years suspended, 5 years post-release supervision, and a $3,000 fine.
• MBN narcotics agents conducted a buy-bust operation targeting Teddy; cocaine was purchased by an informant from Teddy at a store.
• Johnson arrived at the scene during Teddy's arrest, was detained near the car, and a search of the car led to a 0.7 gram cocaine rock.
• Johnson moved to suppress the cocaine as the result of an illegal search; the circuit court denied the suppression motion but granted a motion in limine to exclude prior conviction references.
• At trial, Johnson challenged the evidence’s sufficiency for constructive possession and later sought JNOV or a new trial, which the court denied.
• The Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the vehicle search reasonable and the evidence sufficient for constructive possession.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Baker v. State, 991 So. 2d 185 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008) (standard for reviewing suppression rulings)
• Qualls v. State, 947 So. 2d 365 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007) (credibility/appellate review of evidence)
• Simmons v. State, 805 So. 2d 452 (Miss. 2001) (abuse of discretion in evidentiary rulings)
• Taylor v. State, 733 So. 2d 251 (Miss. 1999) (weight of the evidence review framework)
• McLendon v. State, 945 So. 2d 372 (Miss. 2006) (Fourth Amendment application to seizures)
• Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47 (Supreme Court 1979) (detention without arrest; ambiguous situations)
• Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court 1968) (stop-and-frisk safety rationale)
• Dees v. State, 758 So. 2d 492 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (officer safety in investigations)
• United States v. Sanders, 994 F.2d 200 (5th Cir. 1993) (handcuffing and safety considerations)
• Ferrell v. State, 649 So. 2d 831 (Miss. 1995) (search incident to arrest; owner/possession nuances)
• Gant, U.S. _, 129 S. Ct. 1710 (Supreme Court 2009) (vehicle search incident to arrest requirements)
• Harris v. State, 977 So. 2d 1248 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008) (ownership/possession linkage in constructive possession cases)
• Barnett v. State, 987 So. 2d 1070 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008) (constructive possession framework)
• Curry v. State, 249 So. 2d 414 (Miss. 1971) (constructive possession elements)
• Roberson v. State, 595 So. 2d 1310 (Miss. 1992) (dominion/control over contraband elements)
• Stevenson v. State, 733 So. 2d 177 (Miss. 1998) (weight/credibility assessment by appellate court)
• Fulgham v. State, 12 So. 3d 558 (Miss. Ct. App. 2009) (weight-of-the-evidence standard for new trial)
• Hearn v. State, 3 So. 3d 722 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008) (new trial weight standard)
• Bush v. State, 895 So. 2d 836 (Miss. 2005) (new trial weight considerations)
• United States v. Albert, 579 F.3d 1188 (10th Cir. 2009) (drug transaction proximity factor for frisk)
• United States v. Garcia, 459 F.3d 1059 (10th Cir. 2006) (drug transaction proximity factor for frisk)