Kleckner v. State, 109 So. 3d 1072

Kleckner was indicted in Oct. 2008 in Union County on three counts of sexual battery and one count of touching a child for lustful purposes; convicted on all counts and sentenced to three concurrent life terms plus 15 years, all without parole.
Appellate defenses raised numerous issues (ineffective assistance, continuance, Brady, Fifth/Fourth Amendment concerns, speedy trial, juror issues, evidentiary rulings, and cumulative error) with the court affirming on all.
AB, a minor, disclosed abuse; a pediatric forensic interview by Floyd was admitted as expert testimony supporting abuse claims; Kleckner’s written police confession was read to the jury.
After trial, new counsel entered (Hunsucker) and a remand occurred to consider record supplementation, including potential ineffective-assistance concerns.
Kleckner argued a continuance denial due to hospitalization and alleged ex parte hospital visit by an ADA; the court found the trial court did not abuse its discretion and denied manifest injustice.
On appeal, the Mississippi Court of Appeals applied plain-error review where appropriate and ultimately held no reversible error requiring reversal; the conviction and sentences were affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance of counsel (Strickland) and Cronic	Kleckner contends trial counsel failed to provide effective representation.	State maintains counsel’s performance fell within trial strategy and was not deficient.	No reversible deficiency; no Strickland/Cronic prejudice shown.
Right to remain silent and Fourth Amendment seizure	Investigator pressured after request to stop and entered third-party home without warrant violated rights.	No clear invocation of right to counsel; entry was consensual or lawful.	No plain-error violation; no constitutional error reversed.
Speedy trial rights	Extended pretrial period prejudiced Kleckner and violated speedy-trial guarantees.	Delay did not prejudice and was within discretionary bounds; no improper delay.	Procedurally barred; no plain-error showing; no reversal.
Continuance and in-chambers hearing	Hospitalization and undisclosed events warranted continuance and in-chambers hearing.	Trial court did not abuse discretion; sufficient preparation occurred.	No manifest injustice; denial of continuance affirmed.
Juror impartiality and related courtroom conduct	Juror with family ties to law enforcement and alleged juror-uncle contact compromised impartiality.	Questions reasonably screened bias; no substantial extraneous influence shown.	No merit to impartiality claims; verdict supported.

Parker v. State, 30 So.3d 1222 (Miss. Ct. App. 2010) (plain-error review when trial objections are not preserved)
Dora v. State, 986 So.2d 917 (Miss. 2008) (comment on failure to testify; limits on prosecutor's remarks)
Buckley v. State, 772 So.2d 1059 (Miss. 2000) (voir dire related to law-enforcement connections; no automatic reversal)
Johnson v. State, 950 So.2d 178 (Miss. 2007) (standard for reviewing proportionality in sentencing)
Edlin v. State, 533 So.2d 403 (Miss. 1988) (preservation and plain-error considerations in appellate review)
Presley v. State, 474 So.2d 612 (Miss. 1985) (sentencing discretion and statutory limits)