Opinion ID: 1856106
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the trial court erred in the sentencing of dennis birkley, particularly in penalizing dennis birkley for exercising his right to a jury trial in this case.

Text: ¶ 42. A sentence imposed on a defendant will not be reviewed if the sentence is within the limit prescribed by statute. Martin v. State, 635 So.2d.1352, 1355 (Miss.1994) (citing Ainsworth v. State, 304 So.2d 656 (Miss.1975)). ¶ 43. In Pearson v. State, 428 So.2d 1361, 1364-65 (Miss.1983), we addressed this issue: We wish to emphasize the absolute nature of the right of a person charged with a crime to trial by jury. This right is secured to every citizen by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. It is secured to every Mississippian by Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. As a right, it is an entitlement of every individual which he or she may claim no matter how inconvenient society or its members or its courts may deem it. It is absolutely impermissible that a trial judge imposing sentence enhance the sentence imposed because the defendant refused a plea bargain and put the state and the court to the trouble of trial by jury. Plea bargaining most assuredly is a valuable practice. See Bordenkircher v. Hayes, 434 U.S. 357, 361-362, 98 S.Ct. 663, 666-667, 54 L.Ed.2d 604, 609-610 (1978); Salter v. State, 387 So.2d 81, 83-84 (Miss.1980). Both the prosecution and the defenseand the courts as wellhave an interest in the continuance of that practice. As in civil matters, not infrequently the prosecution and the defense can negotiate a more tolerable result than might be effected through plenary trial on the merits before a jury. Still, as important as these interests are, they may never justify penalizing one charged with a crime for claiming his absolute right to be tried by a fair and impartial jury of his peers. There is no presumption that a convicted felon merits the maximum sentence authorized by law, that anything he gets less than the maximum is to be construed as leniency, a matter of grace. Individualized consideration of the offense and the offender are established hallmarks of our criminal sentencing process. Absent substantial aggravating circumstances frequently including a record of substantial criminal involvement in the past, few offenders receive maximum sentences. This is as it should be in a society which recognizes that vengefulness is seldom the product of maturity, that mercy is not a sign of weakness. The implementation and enforcement of the no enhancement rule recognized in Fermo and Williamson and re-emphasized here necessarily falls upon the circuit judges of this state. Their integrity, we are confident, is such that the rule is in good hands. We continued by stating that trial judges are cautioned to remain aloof from the plea bargain negotiations by refraining from direct involvement or participation therein. Id. at 1365 n. 2 (citing Fermo v. State, 370 So.2d 930, 933 (Miss.1979)). The circuit judge should be advised of the defendant's prior record, if the case is going to be plea bargained, before he is asked to approve the plea bargain. Id. at 1365. ¶ 44. There is no indication in the record that the trial judge enhanced the sentence of one defendant over the other. There is no indication in the record that the trial judge interjected herself improperly in pretrial plea bargain negotiations. In fact, counsel for Dennis Birkley discussed with the judge at one point that he apologized for saying that Samuel Gilmore had made a deal with the State. He said that the court file reflected a petition to enter a plea by Samuel Gilmore as to the armed robbery. The judge responded by saying that the Court had not taken the pleas and had no knowledge of them. The judge was within the discretion allowed by Miss.Code Ann., §§ 97-3-7 & -79 (1994 & Supp.1999). Dennis Birkley was found guilty on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of armed robbery, and sentenced to serve fifteen years on each aggravated assault count and twenty years on the armed robbery count, to run concurrently. Johnny Birkley was found guilty on two counts of aggravated assault, and sentenced to serve fifteen years on each count, to run concurrently. The statute provides that the sentence for armed robbery, when set by the judge, shall be for any term of imprisonment not less than three (3) years. Id. § 97-3-79. The statute for aggravated assault provides that the sentence could be not more than one (1) year in the county jail or not more than twenty (20) years in the custody of the MDOC. Id. § 97-3-7(2). Samuel Gilmore pled guilty to one count of armed robbery and was given a sentence of ten (10) years with one suspended. Andrew Gilmore pled to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to five (5) years with one suspended. The judge's sentences were within the statutory limits, and there is no record of abuse of discretion. This issue is without merit.