Opinion ID: 1104597
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: did the circuit court have exclusive jurisdiction over houston's case?

Text: Yes. § 43-23-29 Mississippi Code Annotated (1972) provides that the circuit court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any child thirteen years of age or older if he be charged with any crime which, upon conviction, is punishable by life imprisonment or death. In Bougon v. State, 405 So.2d 101, this Court affirmed the conviction of a 16-year-old male who pled guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to fourteen years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Bougon sought transfer of jurisdiction to the youth court of Lincoln County, but the trial judge denied the motion to transfer. In Houston's case, no motion to transfer to the youth court was filed. Therefore, the Circuit Court of Washington County retained exclusive jurisdiction to hear his case under § 43-23-29. In Bougon, the accused also petitioned to be sentenced by the circuit court under § 43-21-159(3), which provides the alternative punishments which Houston seeks to invoke on appeal. Houston made no petition for sentencing under this statute, however, the order denying the petition for writ of habeas corpus reflects that the trial judge considered the statutory alternatives for sentencing minor offenders under § 43-21-159(3). It was the trial judge's opinion that considering Houston's juvenile record and the seriousness of the crimes committed it would not be in the best interest of Houston to transfer his case to the youth court. It was also the trial judge's opinion that it would not be in the best interest of Houston or the public welfare to commit him to a state institution for delinquents, to a county jail, or to place him on probation. Houston's second assignment of error is without merit. Based upon the record and the law set out above, we find that the Circuit Court of Washington County was correct in denying the petition for writ of habeas corpus and in that action the trial court is affirmed. AFFIRMED. PATTERSON, C.J., WALKER and ROY NOBLE LEE, P.JJ., and BOWLING, HAWKINS, DAN M. LEE, PRATHER and ROBERTSON, JJ., concur.