Mississippi Lawyer Blog

Before a person can be forced to go to trial on a felony charge (what is a felony, see my prior post)he or she must be indicted by a Grand Jury or agree to the entry of an Information. Both the Indictment and Information are formal charging documents which set out what crime(s) the person is alleged to have committed. Very few people agree to an Information unless they are agreeing to it as part of an overall plea bargain. For example the District Attorney might agree to a plea to a minor charge if the person agrees to an Information. The minor crime may also be a lesser included crime.

Each crime is made up of elements. Before a person can be convicted the prosecution must prove each element exists and was committed by the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. In the case of Grand Larceny the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person (1) took the personal properly of another, (2) worth over $500.00 dollars, (3) with the intent to permanently keep the property. Those are the elements. Many crimes have lesser included crimes within them. In the example I gave above, Petit Larceny is the lesser included crime of Grand Larceny. If the prosecution did not prove the property was worth over $500.00 then the jury could return a lesser conviction of misdemeanor Petit Larceny.

Many criminal offenses have lesser included offenses which are misdemeanors. In the case of Burglary, a lesser included offense is trespass. But not all lesser included offenses are misdemeanors. There are serious felonies that have other felonies that are lesser included offenses. In the case of Murder, Manslaughter can be a lesser included offense. If the prosecution is trying to prove Murder, the jury may only believe that the crime is manslaughter and return a guilty verdict of manslaughter, which has a less severe punishment. So, lesser included crimes are crimes that have some of the elements of the greater crimes, but not all. I think of lesser included crimes as the "children" of the greater crime.

Anytime a lawyer defends a person he must carefully study the offense and all lesser included crimes. You can never tell what may happen in a case or how the evidence and testimony may appear until you are actually in the Courtroom. If the evidence raises the opportunity for offering a lesser included offense, it may be a benefit to the accused. Experience is the best teacher for complex, strategic issues like lesser included offenses. In a recent case we took over a murder appeal from a lawyer who had very little appeal experience and not much trial experience. The client had been tried on a murder charge. In our opinion the "Castle Doctrine" should have been raised as a defense and a manslaughter instruction should have been offered. Manslaughter would have been a lesser included offense. Unfortunately the lawyer did neither and we are now doing the appeal.

The attorneys at Coxwell & Associates are experienced criminal defense attorneys who work together to help bring about the best result for the client. Each attorney is dedicated to his career and loyal to our client's case. Feel free to call for a consultation and put experience to work for you.

In 2007, the Mississippi Legislature made a drastic change in the law of self-defense. Known as the "Castle Doctrine", the new law reads that a homeowner is "presumed to have reasonably feared imminent death or great bodily harm, or the commission of a felony upon him or another or upon his dwelling ... or against his business or place of employment or the immediate premises of such business or place of employment, if the person against whom the defensive force was used, was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, ... business, place of employment or the immediate premises thereof or if that person had unlawfully removed or was attempting to unlawfully remove another against the other person's will from that dwelling, ... business, place of employment or the immediate premises thereof and the person who used defensive force knew or had reason to believe that the forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred."

The law has been used to justify killing people who break into unoccupied cars which are parked on the street, people who steal from stores, and people who break into houses. I can easily understand justifying the killing of an intruder who breaks into your house. However, I find it very disturbing that I can also shoot someone who is stealing my car which is parked out on the street. That person is no threat to me or my family.

Of course, the decision to charge a person is left up to a grand jury. I am currently representing a young man on appeal who shot two men who had broken into his apartment. He was charged with murder and aggravated assault and a jury found him guilty on both counts. The trial judge did not grant him a jury instruction advising the jury about the "Castle Doctrine". We did not represent him at trial but have taken over on appeal. Hopefully we can convince an appellate court to reverse the case for the failure to give a "Castle Doctrine" instruction.

The "Castle Doctrine" has caused much confusion and uneven application in the Jackson metro area. In the end, your home is your castle unless the grand jury says otherwise.

Charles R. "Chuck" Mullins is a criminal defense lawyer practicing in the Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi area and all over the state. If you or your loved one has been charged with a crime, call Chuck.