Laveal McGhee v. State of Mississippi
230 So. 3d 715
| Miss. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- In 1980 McGhee was indicted and later pleaded guilty to murder, rape, and kidnapping; sentences were consecutive (life + 30 + 39 years). Venue was changed by agreed order from Yazoo County to Hinds County before plea.
- McGhee filed a prior PCR in 1997 challenging counsel; it was dismissed as time-barred.
- In March 2014 McGhee (pro se) filed a second PCR asserting the circuit court lacked jurisdiction because his murder indictment was allegedly a Hinds County grand-jury indictment improperly altered to appear as a Yazoo County indictment.
- The trial court denied the 2014 PCR, finding the indictment was a Yazoo County indictment filed in Yazoo County; McGhee appealed.
- The court considered procedural bars (successive PCR and three-year statute of limitations) and whether McGhee’s jurisdictional/constitutional claim had any plausible basis.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction / validity of indictment | McGhee: indictment was "manufactured" by Hinds County and altered to look like Yazoo County, so court lacked jurisdiction to accept plea/sentence | State: indictment was issued/filed in Yazoo County; venue change and docket entries show proper procedure | Court: No basis to find indictment falsified; Yazoo County had jurisdiction; PCR denied and affirmed |
| Procedural bars to PCR | McGhee: constitutional claim (jurisdiction/Thirteenth Amendment) excuses procedural bars | State: motion is successive and time-barred under UPCCRA; exceptions not met | Court: PCR is successive and untimely; constitutional-violation exception requires some factual basis, which McGhee failed to show |
| Applicability of constitutional-exception (Rowland) | McGhee: claims a fundamental constitutional violation so procedural bars should not apply | State: mere assertion of constitutional error insufficient without plausible basis | Court: Rowland exception not triggered because claim lacks any appearance of truth |
| Actual-involuntary-servitude / Thirteenth Amendment claim | McGhee: incarceration is involuntary servitude because conviction invalid | State: conviction stands; jurisdictional claim unsupported | Court: Claim premised on invalid indictment fails; incarceration challenge denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Lambert v. State, 941 So.2d 804 (Miss. 2006) (standard of review for PCR denials)
- Rowland v. State, 42 So.3d 503 (Miss. 2010) (fundamental constitutional errors may be excepted from UPCCRA procedural bars)
- Evans v. State, 115 So.3d 879 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013) (mere assertion of constitutional violation insufficient to overcome procedural bars)
- Wicker v. State, 16 So.3d 706 (Miss. Ct. App. 2009) (same principle regarding constitutional exception to procedural bars)
- Stovall v. State, 873 So.2d 1056 (Miss. Ct. App. 2004) (constitutional-claim must appear to have some basis of truth to avoid procedural bars)
- Caston v. State, 949 So.2d 852 (Miss. 2007) (circuit court obtains subject-matter jurisdiction upon indictment; defective-indictment challenges implicate jurisdiction)