Collins v. State

172 So.3d 724

Jairus COLLINS a/k/a Jairus J. Collins

v.STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2013–CT–00761–SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Aug. 20, 2015.

Michael Adelman, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Melanie Dotson Thomas, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

KING, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Jairus Collins was convicted of murdering Ebony Jenkins. He appealed, alleging several points of error, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Finding that Collins's statement to police should have been suppressed and that one of the State's witnesses should have been qualified as an expert prior to giving opinion testimony regarding the locations of Collins's and Jenkins's cellular phones, we reverse the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Forrest County Circuit Court and remand the case for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¹

On December 9, 2011, Ebony Jenkins's body was discovered behind a building in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. During the course of their investigation, police officers identified Collins as a suspect in Jenkins's murder. In November 2012, a grand jury indicted Collins as a habitual offender for Count I, the murder of Jenkins, and Count II, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The circuit court granted Collins's motion to sever the offenses charged in his indictment.

Collins v. State, 172 So.3d 816, 817 (¶ 2), 2014 WL 4977498, at *1, at (¶ 2) (Miss.Ct.App. Oct. 7, 2014).

¶ 2. Prior to trial, Collins moved to suppress the majority of his statement to the police, arguing that everything after he requested an attorney should be suppressed. The entire transcript of the statement to police regarding Collins's request for an attorney and the re-initiation of the interview is as follows:

Jairus: I can stop talking right now? And ask to speak to a lawyer?

Sims: you, you can choose that, but I wouldn't do that—but I meanJairus: why ... why wouldn't I

Sims: well—well that's your constitutional right, just like I read them to ya, that's your constitutional right, if you want to do that, that's fine

Jairus: alright

Sims: but, like I said, if you ain't got—if you ain't done nothing wrong, you ain't got nothing to hide

Jairus: I ain't done nothing wrong

Sims: (inaudible)

Jairus: How do I know if I'm

Sims;—. that's what I'm say'n, that's why I—I'm told a lot of people in here ain't done nothing wrong, that was completely truthful with me, and gave me everything, and they talk to me without a lawyer, and then and they ain't done nothing wrong, so they walk right out of here. And if that's, that's the case here then that's what

Jairus:—. That's why I asked to speak to a lawyer, I can't walk out of here

Sims: I'm not saying that either, I'm just saying if you ain't got nothing to hide why—I mean why you going to wait? Cause we trying to get to the investigation, to figure out what happened

Jairus: right. I just rather speak to a lawyer. (low voice) rather speak to a lawyer.

Sims: ok

(Detectives get up to leave the room)

Jairus: what I do now?

Sims: sit here

(door closes)

(Time lapse—Approximately five minutes)

(Jairus gets up, knocks on door)

(Detective Scott opens door)

Scott: yes'sir

Jairus: hey (inaudible) everything (inaudible) but, I can just call and get my lawyer, he can be present, I going to tell ya'll everything, ... I don't need a lawyer, don't need a lawyer....

Scott: ok, It's going to be just a few minutes alright

Jairus: alright. Because, I'm gonna need to know, because I'm going to call to see if I've got to go to work, I go to work

Scott: alright, I'll get you in here in a second ok, (Scott continues to walk into room)

Jairus: the thing is officer I

(Scott and Jairus sits down)

Scott:—alright man, sit down, I'm just going to sit here and listen.

Jairus: [redacted]. I don't know what's going on, but I mean there's some strange stuff going on even before this stuff happened with ahh what's her name, Eve? Even before ... there's been some strange stuff going on but, (faintly) dang, I don't know what's going on and I mean

Scott: I'll be more than happy to talk to you, but I can't right now

Jairus: right

Scott: you know, but you know if you want to talk man, I'll sit right here and listen

Jairus: (inaudible) when can they, how long they going have to hold me for the the questioning and talking?

Scott: well I mean right now like I said, we can't do nothing because you said you wanted your lawyer

Jairus: umm hmm

Scott: you know, It's going to be a little bit, then you can, you know, we'll, we'll do something, ok?

(Jairus strumming his finger on the table)

Scott: but like I said man I can't—that's your right you know, you don't want to talk I

Jairus:—.... you ask me about guns and all of that

Scott: let me ask you something. If I didn't ask you about a gun would you talk to me?

Jairus: huh? I mean, what I'm gonna get investigated for a gun?

Scott—. Oh now, what we're doing—we just trying—remember—we trying to narrow everything down and push everything out of the way that's not involved and

Jairus: I mean with something like that, that's something (shaking head)

Scott: like I said man

Jairus:—. That's something like—when you—alright I don't live in that area. But I got people I care about in that area and people ya know, then when you got stuff that's going on—alright we all getting together even—ya'll, ya'll ain't the only ones getting together, cause my little brother—like we done hung out with this person. I don't know this person like that

Scott: umm hmm

Jairus: not myself

Scott: well look

Jairus:—. But ya'll ain't the only ones getting together and trying to find out what's going on, you got—when you got stuff like that going on you got everybody out there don't know what's going on with everybody looking at each other don't know if it is this or you know everybody—don't nobody know what's going on and when—in a situation like that, when it coming up—coming up it ain't the same I mean you got two different ...

Scott: I understand. Well look

Jairus:—. you got people to worry about, people that you know and I know I ain't—when I don't know nothing I don't know what's going on I don't know who to trust or who to (inaudible)

Scott: I can promise you this, you can trust us

Jairus: yeah I know that, I know that

Scott: yeah you, you talking about up on the streets and stuff

Jairus: yeah I know (inaudible)

Scott: let me ask you this. Would you talk to me we just sit here and talk?

Jairus: yeah, yeah I can talk

Scott: I mean now listen, you—when you

Jairus:—. I can tell you what I know

Scott: wait now, hold up man, before we even—I can't—like I said, I have to do the miranda form over

Jairus: right

Scott: if you wanna talk to me

Jairus: yeah

Scott: we'll just sit here and talk and make casual conversation

Jairus: yeah, and then what, then what

Scott:—. I mean look just—we rule you out, we rule you out you gone. ok?, no big deal. That's what we're doing man, we just—we're talking to everybody

Jairus: yeah

Scott: ok, I mean if you want your lawyer then you know, I—that's that's your decision, that's your right. If you wanna a[sic] just sit here and talk to me just what you know, tell me

Jairus: that that's what I wan [sic] to do I mean can I do that without ... tell you what I know, cause the questions man you keep asking me questions that don't really like

Scott:—. Hey, if you want to do that, let me get another form, we'll talk and I'll let you talkJairus: alright I'll do that

Scott: how about that. Alright give me just a second

(Detective Scott leaves the room)

(Detective Scott re-enters the room)

Scott: so you say you'll talk to me without your lawyer

Jairus: yeah, I'll sit up here and talk ...

Scott: Just tell me like, like you said man, what you know

Jairus: man

Scott:—. What'cha hear, what'cha know

Jairus: like, to be honest with you man, the reason I said and brought anything up .... the fact that I ain't got, I ain't got nothing to hide, I just wanted to tell you what I feel like can help you or or as far as when it comes down to guns and this and that, I don't, wanna get involved and put myself in some stuff that I don't even know what's going on, you feel me?

Scott: well I mean do you have a gun?

¶ 3. Scott never administered a new Miranda² warning to Collins, as he stated he would, and as Collins acknowledged would happen. In his testimony at the suppression hearing, Scott testified regarding Collins's “initiation” of conversation that:

A. ... Mr. Collins knocked on the door, and I went to see what he needed and that's when I went back in the room.

Q. So was this contact initiated by Mr. Collins?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And did he initiate the questioning starting again?

A. Yes, sir.

He further testified that this original “initiation” of contact by Collins was that:

Q. ... And then Mr. Collins—he knocked on the door; is that correct?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Okay. And did he ask you at that point how long—did he indicate to you that he didn't know what was going on and wanted to know how long it would be going on—something to that effect?

A. Something like that, yes, sir.

¶ 4. Later in the interview, Collins again requested a lawyer, stating “ok, I'm gonna tell you this right now, not today, I mean, I need to talk to a lawyer, because I can't—I know ya'll ain't fixing to let me go man.” That request for a lawyer was completely ignored (Detective Scott responded with “no listen. I mean, did she try to rob you”) and the interview continued. Even later in the interview, Collins stated “I do it, but I do it with a lawyer. I need a lawyer man. I know better than that....” Again, the interview continued. The trial court ultimately denied the motion to suppress, because a short period of time had elapsed between the officers administering the Miranda warning to Collins and the continued contact with police after the invocation of his right to counsel, and because “[t]he officer left the room, and then the defendant initiated contact with the officer.”

At Collins's murder trial, the State called Louis Dixon, Jenkins's father, as a witness. Dixon testified that he drove

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