Case Title: Perkins v. State

Citation: 244 So. 2d 414

Docket Number: 

State: mississippi

Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Date: 1971-02-15T00:00:00Z

Document:
244 So. 2d 414 (1971) John M. PERKINS v. STATE of Mississippi. No. 46158. Supreme Court of Mississippi. February 15, 1971. Constance Iona Slaughter, George Peach Taylor, Jackson, for appellant. A.F. Summer, Atty. Gen., by Velia Ann Mayer, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee. PER CURIAM: John M. Perkins was convicted in the Circuit Court of Simpson County of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor, by inducing and persuading an eleven-year-old child to enter and remain in the Simpson County jail contrary to the instructions of the jailer. Miss.Code 1942 Ann. §§ 7185-13 and 7185-02(g) (Supp. 1968). He was fined $400 and sentenced to four months in jail. We reverse. The defendant, prior to the introduction of evidence by the State, moved the court to direct the police officers who were to be witnesses in the cause to remove themselves from close proximity to the jury *415 box. This request was denied. During the trial in chief Jimmy Griffith, a deputy sheriff and jailer, was observed conversing with a juror shortly after he had testified as a witness for the State. A motion for a mistrial was immediately filed by the defendant. This motion was overruled after the court determined that the conversation was unrelated to the trial. In Lee v. State, 226 Miss. 276, 285-286, 83 So. 2d 818, 821 (1955), we stated: See also Smith v. State, 251 Miss. 241, 169 So. 2d 451 (1964), and the cases therein cited. We are of the opinion that the court erred in not granting a mistrial since Griffith was a material witness for the State as well as a "courtroom deputy" and of necessity in close contact with the jury. Under these circumstances we are of the opinion that the above-cited authorities are controlling which necessitate a reversal of the case. We have examined the other assignments of error and consider them to be without merit. Reversed and remanded. ETHRIDGE, C.J., and RODGERS, BRADY, PATTERSON, SMITH and ROBERTSON, JJ., concur.