Opinion ID: 1782331
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the police expert testimony was admissible

Text: ¶ 21. The two officers who testified against Ford and Dixon said, based on their knowledge and experience as narcotic officers, that the amount and packaging of the drugs indicated Ford and Dixon intended to distribute the drugs. This testimony from the State sufficiently addressed the issue of intent to distribute. On appeal, Ford and Dixon argued that the trial court erred in allowing the police officers to testify as to the value and packaging of the cocaine without being qualified as expert witnesses. However, trial counsel failed to raise this issue. Defendants contend to this Court that the admission of this testimony should be recognized as plain error. The Court of Appeals found that this issue was procedurally barred because the defendants' trial counsel failed to make a contemporaneous objection to the testimony, and thus, the issue was raised for the first time on appeal. We agree with the Court of Appeals. ¶ 22. Many times we have stated that issues not presented to the trial court for lack of contemporaneous objection are procedurally barred, and error, if any, is waived. Wells v. State, 903 So.2d 739, 742 (Miss.2005) (citing Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1272 (Miss.1995); Davis v. State, 660 So.2d 1228, 1245 (Miss.1995); Chase v. State, 645 So.2d 829, 854 (Miss. 1994); Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114, 139-40 (Miss.1991)). We accept without hesitation the ordinarily sound principle that this Court sits to review actions of trial courts and that we should undertake consideration of no matter which has not first been presented to and decided by the trial court. We depart from this premise only in unusual circumstances. City of Starkville v. 4-County Elec. Power Ass'n, 909 So.2d 1094, 1111-1112 (Miss.2005). Such departures are warranted as a means of preventing a manifest miscarriage of justice, Johnson v. Fargo, 604 So.2d 306, 311 (Miss.1992), i.e., the violation of a substantive right of a defendant, Grubb v. State, 584 So.2d 786, 789 (Miss.1991). Such circumstances are required for this Court to consider plain error, despite failure to preserve such error. See, e.g., McGee v. State, ___ So.2d ___, ___, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 19, at  (Miss.2007) (considering a Batson challenge despite the fact that defendants raised it for the first time on appeal). No such circumstances appear here.