Lead Opinion
for the Court:
¶ 1. Jason Hall was indicted and tried on an indictment for burglary of a building. After both sides rested, the State requested and was granted a jury instruction for accessory after the fact to burglary (in addition to the burglary instruction). The jury acquitted Hall of burglary but convicted him of accessory after the fact to burglary. Because Hall was convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted, nor did he waive indictment, we reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate his sentence.
¶ 2. Hall was indicted for burglary under Mississippi Code Section 97-17-33. His indictment alleged that he “did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and burglariously break and enter a certain building ... wherein there were kept goods, merchandise, or valuable things for use, sale, deposit, or transportation, with the intent to steal therein....” His indictment did not contain a separate count for accessory after the fact to burglary.
¶3. After the State and the defense rested at trial, the State announced that it had a “supplemental instruction,” S-9, for accessory after the fact that it needed to present to the court. Hall objected to S-9. The trial court granted the instruction. Then, the State offered S-10 which covered the elements of accessory after the fact. Hall did not object to S-10, specifically indicating that the lack of objection was due to the fact that S-9 already had been given.
¶ 4. The jury acquitted Hall of burglary, but convicted him of accessory after the fact. Hall filed a post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial. He argued, inter alia, that he was convicted of a crime for which he was never indicted; therefore, the trial court should “set[ ] aside the jury verdict[.]” The trial court denied Hall’s motion, and he filed this appeal.
ISSUE
¶ 5. On appeal, Hall raises the following issues, restated as follows:
I. Whether the trial court erred in granting the State’s requested instruction on accessory after the fact to burglary.
II. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to convict Hall of accessory after the fact to burglary.
As Issue I is dispositive, we will address only that issue.
ANALYSIS
¶ 6. Hall’s contention that the State was not entitled to a lesser-offense instruction raises a question of law, which this Court reviews de novo. Downs v. State,
¶ 7. Mississippi Code Section 99-19-5(1) provides, in pertinent part, that “[o]n an indictment for any offense the jury may find the defendant guilty of the offense as charged ... or may find him guilty of an inferior offense, or other offense, the commission of which is necessarily included in the offense with which he is charged in the indictment_” Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-5(1) (Rev.2007) (emphasis added). While accessory after the fact is considered a lesser offense of the principal, it is well-established that it “is an entirely separate and distinct offense and not ... a lesser included offense.” Byrom v. State,
¶ 8. As an exception, the Court has provided that “[a]n accused is entitled to a lesser-offense instruction only where there is an evidentiary basis in the record.” Thomas v. State,
¶ 9. The State was not entitled to S-9 or S-10, which allowed the jury to convict Hall of the lesser offense of accessory after the fact. However, the State argues that Hall waived this issue because he failed to object to S-9 at trial on the same ground as he raises on appeal, and because he failed to object to S-10.
¶ 10. Notwithstanding Hall’s inartful objection, the trial court committed plain error when it granted S-9 and S-10. “To constitute plain error, the trial court must have deviated from a legal rule, the error must be plain, clear or obvious, and the error must have prejudiced the outcome of the trial.” Keithley v. State,
¶ 11. The result — a defendant convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted-is not new. More than 130 years ago, in Scott v. State,
¶ 12. In Hailey v. State,
¶ 13. Scott, Woodson, Morris, and Hailey establish that, upon conviction of a crime for which the defendant was not indicted, the judgment of conviction must be reversed and either set aside (Scott), dismissed (Woodson and Morris), or vacated and remanded (Hailey). The case sub judice is no different, as Hall was convicted of a lesser offense, for which he was not indicted.
¶ 14. The dissent would acquit Hall by reversing and rendering judgment. The fountainhead of this error can be traced to Harris v. State,
¶ 15. The dissent also cites Gause v. State,
¶ 16. We focus on two errors in this case. First, the trial court erred in granting instructions S-9 and S-10. Second, the trial erred in denying Hall’s motion for JNOV, which requested that the jury ver-diet of guilty for accessory after the fact be set aside. See supra ¶4. Hall argues that, should this Court find instructions S-9 and S-10 in error, we should “reverse the conviction [and] void the judgment of the circuit court....” After a careful review of prior cases, we are of the opinion that Hall has made the appropriate request. We reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate his sentence. We discern no benefit in remanding this case to the circuit court for further proceedings. As Hall was acquitted of burglary, and there is no charging document (indictment) in the record, no further action is necessary by the trial court.
CONCLUSION
¶ 17. As Hall was convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted, we are duty bound to reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate Hall’s sentence.
¶ 18. REVERSED AND VACATED.
Notes
. The State takes issue with the form of Hall’s objection to S-9 and lack of objection to S-10. The State's argument will be addressed infra, ¶¶ 9-10.
. As we vacate Hall's conviction, we need not address Issue II, for to do so would be an exercise in futility. Would we not be required to set aside the verdict even if the State had presented overwhelming evidence of guilt of a crime not charged in the indictment?
. See Morgan v. State,
. See Parker v. Miss. Game & Fish Comm’n,
. The dissent relies on the following Harris dicta, "[t]he State cannot be allowed to charge only the highest offense and then test the evidence as it goes along until the burden of some lesser offense is met.” Harris,
. See Hailey,
Concurrence in Part
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
¶ 19. While I concur with the majority’s determination that Hall’s conviction
¶ 20. On September 1, 2010, Hatties-burg police were called to the Spanish Oaks Apartments due to the suspicions of the apartment manager, Douglas Raison, and his wife, Eulis Irene Cochran, that a burglary was occurring. Cochran and Rai-son testified that they saw two men, later identified as Tommy Moore and David Pryor, enter a vacant apartment
¶21. Hall was indicted for burglary, and the case went to trial.
THE COURT: S-9?
MR. ROSE: We would object to that. Isn’t that covered basically in the definition of accomplice? It seems at this point we’re hitting everything. We would object.
THE COURT: And the basis of your objection is it’s covered under the accomplice instruction?
MR. ROSE: There’s an instruction on being an accomplice, an aider, an abettor, a presumption of theft, accessory after the fact. We object.
THE COURT: Why are we adding instructions at this time?
MR. VAUGHN: Judge, I just got to thinking when the proof was coming through that if the jury happened not to believe — if they happened to believe Katie Jones, that this man went over there with just the knowledge that he was going over there to drop a buddy off that would certainly — and I would contend if they believe he’s not guilty of burglary. But when two of his buddies come back, a gun is thrown out, it’s pretty obvious that a burglary has taken place. It’s just if the jury happens to believe that he wasn’t guilty of the burglary because he had no knowledge that his friends were going over there to do wrong, they became an accessory after the fact when they returned to the vehicle running, throwing guns with the police in [sic] route.
THE COURT: Response?
MR. ROSE: That’s—
MR. VAUGHN: I’m sorry, Judge. Ido have a case that’s very similar to this if the Court wishes to see it.
THE COURT: Is this where you came up with this theory to match the proof that was—
MR. VAUGHN: Well, yes, sir. I wasn’t sure if Katie Jones would indeed testify. I was not sure if she would or not, and I waited until she gave testimony. I had this ready. I just didn’t know if she would testify or not.
¶22. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of accessory after the fact to burglary. In his appeal, Hall first argues that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could find Hall guilty of accessory after the fact to burglary, given that the indictment did not charge him with this crime, nor did he request the instruction. Hall also argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support the guilty verdict for accessory after the fact to burglary.
¶ 23. Hall argues that the State’s aeces-sory-after-the-fact-to-burglary jury instruction was improper, given that he was not indicted for accessory after the fact and the instruction deprived him of his right to notice of the crimes charged. The State argues that the evidence, indeed Hall’s own defense witness’s testimony, supports such an instruction. Clearly, allowing the State to hear the accused’s defense at trial, and then tailor a jury instruction with a new, unindicted charge to the defense’s evidence, which is what the State admits and declares it did here, is highly prejudicial to any defense to the indictment. No defense is ever safe if the State can then use the defense itself to instruct the jury on an entirely new charge for which the defendant has no notice.
¶ 24. Because Hall was acquitted of the indicted offense and convicted of an offense for which he was not indicted and never received notice, in violation of both Section 26 and Section 27 of Article 3 of the Mississippi Constitution, and Hall did not waive indictment or notice, this Court should reverse and render Hall’s aceesso-ry-after-the-fact conviction. Gause v. State,
¶ 25. The majority believes that Hall’s conviction should be reversed and vacated, despite the precedent to the contrary, giving the State the option to indict Hall for accessory after the fact. When we make a determination regarding the disposition in a case, we must consider what such a disposition accomplishes. In this case, reversing and vacating the conviction would accomplish nothing but a waste of judicial resources
¶ 26. In addition to complaining about being convicted for a crime for which he was not indicted, Hall also challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence in support of his conviction for accessory after the fact to burglary. See Taylor v. State,
¶ 27. A person is guilty of accessory after the fact if he “concealed, received, or relieved any felon, or having aided or assisted any felon, knowing that such person had committed a felony, with intent to enable such felon to escape or to avoid arrest, trial, conviction or punishment.” Miss.Code Ann. § 97-1-5 (Rev.2006).
¶ 28. Hall argues that the State put forth no evidence supporting a conviction for accessory after the fact. He argues that the State presented no evidence that he concealed, received, relieved, aided, or assisted any felon, nor did it present any evidence of knowledge. The State argues that there “was sufficient credible evidence for inferring that Hall assisted the burglars by attempting to assist them in avoiding arrest after the burglary was accomplished.” (Emphasis added). The State continues that “if the jury believed that Hall went to the apartment complex to assist Pryor in visiting his girl friend, then there would be a basis for inferring that Hall possibly assisted Pryor and Moore after knowing that they had possibly burglarized an apartment.” (Emphasis added). It further argues that Lieutenant Bounds’s testimony that he saw men running from the apartment, and saw one man throw a handgun, which was ultimately found approximately ten yards from the vehicle, proves knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt. It also argues that the photographs “show the distance between the burlgarized apartment and the vehicle.” Thus, concludes the State, “[u]n-der these facts, it could be inferred that Hall would have known that he was assisting the culprits in trying to avoid the police who were rapidly approaching.”
¶ 29. The State put forth no evidence that Hall concealed, received, relieved, assisted, or aided Pryor and Moore. Indeed, the record is unclear as to how the three men were apprehended (and does not even reveal whether Hall started or moved the vehicle),
¶ 30. The State likewise failed to put forth evidence of the intent requirement. No evidence exists that Hall intended to assist Pryor and Moore in escaping or
You find him not guilty, that’s your decision. But he is guilty of at least being an accessory. At least. He knew what they were doing. Your life experiences tell you that. That’s the reason you’ve got to be at least 21 or so, so that way you can appreciate credibility. Things of that nature. He knew it and you know he knew it.
If somebody comes to a car with a gun, they’re up to no good. And then he tried to leave from the police, but they boxed him in. One went around the side and one came straight at him. Instead of pressuring these offices [sic], they need to be thanked. They went into a place where they knew guns were out. They were out numbered. They still beat them. They still got them.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s your case and your decision, but he’s at least guilty of something.
(Emphasis added). The jurors’ life experiences certainly do not amount to proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Hall was guilty of accessory after the fact. Viewing the evidence in a light (very) favorable to the State, the State at the very most showed that one could infer that Hall saw two men running toward his car, he saw one throw a gun, and both men entered his vehicle. No reasonable factfinder could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Hall concealed, received, relieved, aided, or assisted felons with knowledge of the felony and the intent to help them avoid arrest. The evidence is simply not sufficient to support a conviction of accessory after the fact. It appears that the jury convicted Hall for, as the State urged, being guilty of “something.”
¶ 31. Rather than go through the proper procedures of altering an indictment through the grand jury, the prosecution chose, and indeed advocated, over the objection of the defendant, to improperly place an unindicted charge before the jury, subjecting the defendant to a trial by ambush for accessory after the fact. The prosecution knew, or should have known, the extreme impropriety and unconstitutionality of this action due to the clear case law on the matter, as well as the straightforward federal and Mississippi constitutional provisions expressly forbidding the actions taken by the prosecutor. Indeed, the majority admits that the legal rule in this case is absolute, and deviation therefrom is plain, clear, obvious error. Maj. Op. ¶ 10. The prosecutor’s deliberate conduct chartered this improper course. Double jeopardy includes a “protection against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction.” Rowland v. State,
¶ 32. Reversing and vacating this conviction would cause an egregious waste of judicial resources and a serious injustice to Hall, who has been through an entire trial and was illegally convicted at the State’s insistence. Allowing the State a “second bite at the apple” constitutes harassment of Hall and allows the State to commit a bad faith egregious error at Hall’s expense, and then have the opportunity to reindict and retry Hall. Reversing and rendering is the only proper course, and it is in line with this Court’s precedent. See Gause,
KITCHENS, J., JOINS THIS OPINION. CHANDLER, J., JOINS THIS OPINION IN PART.
. The apartment the two men allegedly entered was being renovated and contained items such as tile, mortar, and mud.
. Witnesses testified that the SUV was parked near the dumpster. Photos introduced at trial show that the dumpster (and thus the area in which the SUV was located) was not directly adjacent to the apartment that was allegedly burglarized. The photos demonstrate that the SUV was over one building’s length away from the vacant apartment. In fact, based on the photos, which have vehicles in them, it appears that the SUV was located at least seven or eight car lengths away from the road in front of the vacant apartment, with the road being another several feet away from the door of the vacant apartment.
. The testimony was that Hall was in the SUV the entire time. Cochran did testify that Hall “did step out but then stepped back in.” There is no allegation by the State that Hall ever entered or even went near the vacant apartment with the other two men.
. At trial, Katie Jones testified on behalf of Hall. Jones testified that she was living in Spanish Oaks Apartments on September 1, 2010. Jones testified that her sister, Constance Davis, lived with her, and that Pryor was Davis's boyfriend. She testified that Hall gave Pryor a ride to Spanish Oaks for the purpose of Pryor visiting Davis.
. In his post-trial motions, Hall noted that the State’s jury instructions violated Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court 3.07, which forbids jury instructions that are not prefiled, absent good cause. URCCC 3.07.
. The majority attempts to distinguish Gause from the present case by stating that the case was “quintessential jury nullification.” Maj. Op. at ¶ 15. Nothing in the analysis of the issue in Gause mentioned any analogy to jury nullification. Rather, the entire analysis of the issue was based on the fact that the State requested a lesser-offense, rather than a lesser-included-offense, jury instruction above the objection of the defendant. Gause,
. The majority quotes Justice Robertson’s concurring opinion, which states that it should "be understood clearly that there are no further proceedings that may be had consistent ‘with this opinion.’ ” Hailey v. State,
. This version of the accessory statute is no longer in effect, as the accessory statute was amended in 2012, after Hall allegedly committed the crime; however, the elements of the crime remain the same. 2012 Miss. Laws Ch. 496.
. Cochran testified that “When the police arrived — it's a double opened-end [sic] driveway, and they swarmed in. The two guys started running toward the vehicle, and at that time they were all three apprehended by the police.” Raison testified that when the police arrived, the three men were "By the 4-Runner. In the 4-Runner.” Lieutenant Bounds testified that when the police arrived "[t]hey all broke and run towards the vehicle. ... We approached the vehicle. There were three suspects inside the vehicle.”
