Opinion ID: 1630410
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the trial court abused its discretion by overruling rigby's motion to bifurcate trial and his motion to prohibit the state from using prior bad acts of the appellant.

Text: ¶ 6. During pre-trial motions, Rigby moved to bifurcate the trial and to prohibit the State from using evidence of any prior bad acts. In support of these motions, Rigby requested that the State not be allowed to introduce evidence of Rigby's prior DUI convictions in its case. These motions were denied by the trial court. Rigby then offered to concede his prior convictions to the State, but he did not want to concede them in front of the jury. This issue has been addressed by this Court numerous times. This Court has consistently held that each previous conviction is an element of the felony offense. Page v. State, 607 So.2d 1163, 1168 (Miss. 1992). Accord, Ashcraft v. City of Richland, 620 So.2d 1210, 1212 (Miss.1993). In Weaver v. State, 713 So.2d 860 (Miss.1997), this Court again held that prior convictions are elements of the felony DUI charge. See McIlwain v. State, 700 So.2d 586, 588 (Miss.1997)(citing Page, 607 So.2d at 1168); See also McIlwain 700 So.2d at 592 (McRae, J., dissenting)(quoting Page, 607 So.2d at 1169: As we further acknowledged in Page, prior convictions under the statute, charged and punished as separate, subsequent offenses, are as much elements of the present felony charge as the element of driving under the influence.). ¶ 7. Rigby relies upon Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172, 117 S.Ct. 644, 136 L.Ed.2d 574 (1997), for the assertion that if he had stipulated to his prior DUI convictions, then this evidence should not have gone to the jury. Therefore, the State would not have been required to prove these convictions beyond a reasonable doubt. ¶ 8. Old Chief held that a district court abuses its discretion if it spurns [an offer to stipulate to a prior conviction] and admits the full record of a prior judgment, when the name or nature of the prior offense raises the risk of a verdict tainted by improper considerations, and when the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the element of prior conviction. Id. at 174, 117 S.Ct. 644. Old Chief notes that [i]n this case, as in any other in which the prior conviction is for an offense likely to support conviction on some improper ground, the only reasonable conclusion was that the risk of unfair prejudice did substantially outweigh the discounted probative value of the record of conviction, and it was an abuse of discretion to admit the record when an admission was available. Id. at 193, 117 S.Ct. 644. Rigby suggests, following the general concept of Old Chief, that it is better to bifurcate the proceedings so as to disallow prejudicial convictions to be put before the jury prior to a verdict on the current charge. ¶ 9. Old Chief is easily distinguishable from the present case. In Old Chief, the defendant wished to keep the nature of his prior conviction from the jury and, therefore, offered to stipulate to the jury that he had been convicted of the prior felony of assault causing serious bodily injury. Thus, Old Chief does not stand for the proposition that the prosecution does not have to put each element of the offense before the jury. A prior assault conviction as the underlying felony is irrelevant to the charge of possession of a firearm. As the Supreme Court has noted, the Constitution requires criminal convictions to rest upon a jury determination that the defendant is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 510, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 2313, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995) (citing Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 277-78, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 2080-81, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993)). This Court has repeatedly held that prior DUI convictions are necessary elements of a felony DUI charge. Thus, they must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury. Further, unlike Old Chief, the nature of convictions that are elements of felony DUI is important. Old Chief, itself, highlights the specificity of its holding: Old Chief's proffered admission would, in fact, have been not merely relevant but seemingly conclusive evidence of the element. The statutory language in which the prior-conviction requirement is couched shows no congressional concern with the specific name or nature of the prior offense beyond what is necessary to place it within the broad category of qualifying felonies, and Old Chief clearly meant to admit that his felony did qualify, by stipulating that the Government has proven one of the essential elements of the offense. 57D App. 7. As a consequence, although the name of the prior offense may have been technically relevant, it addressed no detail in the definition of the prior-conviction element that would not have been covered by the stipulation or admission. Logic, then, seems to side with Old Chief. Old Chief 519 U.S. at 186, 117 S.Ct. 644 (emphasis added). Old Chief is essentially the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Thus, in the very specific instance of a defendant charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, the Court found that the underlying felony, while an element of the crime, was irrelevant. In a felony DUI case, the nature of the underlying felonies is extremely relevant as only prior DUI convictions will justify the charge. Thus, Rigby's suggestion that we extend Old Chief's reasoning to DUI cases is more like attempting to fit a size six shoe on a size ten foot. It can not be done! ¶ 10. Simply put, bifurcation of the guilt phase of a trial is inappropriate under Mississippi law. To do as Rigby suggests would set up a system where a defendant charged with felony DUI first be tried on the newest DUI before a jury. Then, if the jury returns with a guilty verdict, the prior convictions would be put before that same jury, and it would then deliberate on the felony DUI charge. This procedure would be a direct violation of our Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Practice. Rule 3.10 states in pertinent part that [a]fter the jurors have retired to consider their verdict the court shall not recall the jurors to hear additional evidence. Unif. R. Cir. & County Court Prac. 3.10. ¶ 11. Only two states have adopted the procedure suggested by Rigby. Arkansas and Florida consider prior convictions an element of felony DUI, however, they require bifurcation of the guilt proceedings. Peters v. State, 286 Ark. 421, 692 S.W.2d 243 (1985); State v. Harbaugh, 754 So.2d 691 (Fla.2000). ¶ 12. Other sister states have considered this very issue and have come to different conclusions. The majority of states that classify prior DUI convictions as an element of felony DUI, however, have rejected bifurcation. State v. Galati, 195 Ariz. 9, 985 P.2d 494 (1999); State v. Lugar, 734 So.2d 14 (La.Ct.App.1999); People v. Keller, 214 A.D.2d 825, 625 N.Y.S.2d 325 (N.Y.App.Div.1995) (holding that evidence of defendant's prior misdemeanor DWI conviction was properly submitted to a grand jury as evidence of the defendant's guilt of charged felony DWI); State v. Flasck, 2001 WL 20823 (Ohio Ct. App. Dec. 29, 2000); Maibauer v. State, 968 S.W.2d 502 (Tex.Ct.App.1998) (declining to adopt Old Chief 's reasoning in DWI cases and finding that evidence of prior convictions was properly admitted during guilt phase of trial despite offer by defendant to stipulate to convictions); Farmer v. Commonwealth, 10 Va.App. 175, 390 S.E.2d 775 (1990), modified upon rehearing, 12 Va.App. 337, 404 S.E.2d 371 (1991). Two sister states have adopted a procedure which requires bifurcation, however, it only applies when a defendant is challenging a prior conviction and the trial judge determines that the challenge has merit. See State v. Porter, 164 Vt. 515, 671 A.2d 1280 (1996) (citing State v. Lafountain, 160 Vt. 313, 628 A.2d 1243 (1993) and State v. Nichols, 208 W.Va. 432, 541 S.E.2d 310 (1999)). Alaska also has found that a unitary trial proceeding is permissible and fair and is not prejudicial, however, in dicta it recommends bifurcation as a option that judges might consider. Ross v. State, 950 P.2d 587 (Alaska Ct.App.1997). All other states who have considered this issue view prior convictions as sentence enhancing factors, and thus bifurcation occurs between the guilt and sentencing phases. Bifurcated trials conducted by judges at sentencing only presents a workable solution to this problem, but only where the states involved have statutes that clearly set out prior DUI convictions as sentencing enhancing factors. That is not the fact in the case at bar. In Mississippi, the issue of prior DUIs is clearly an element of the offense required to be proven to the jury. At first blush, it might appear that having a judge conduct such a second phase of a bifurcated trial is a better procedure. However, such a procedure would produce several problems. The first and foremost problem is the denial of a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury. ¶ 13. Federal courts have considered a similar question in regard to whether a defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is entitled to a bifurcated trial separating the issues of possession and the prior felony. Again, the majority of the federal courts have also rejected such an entitlement. See United States v. Underwood, 97 F.3d 1453, 1996 WL 536796 (6th Cir.1996) (table); United States v. Koskela, 86 F.3d 122 (8th Cir. 1996); United States v. Nguyen, 88 F.3d 812 (9th Cir.1996); United States v. Dean, 76 F.3d 329 (10th Cir.1996); United States v. Jacobs, 44 F.3d 1219 (3d Cir.1995); United States v. Milton, 52 F.3d 78 (4th Cir.1995); United States v. Tavares, 21 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir.1994); United States v. Jones, 16 F.3d 487, 492 (2d Cir.1994) (via dicta intimated that bifurcation would, at least, not be required in such cases); United States v. Birdsong, 982 F.2d 481 (11th Cir.1993). These courts have consistently reiterated the reasoning upon which they relied in reaching their conclusions: Any other holding would lead to an impermissible result if a jury did not return a guilty verdict on the possession portion of the crime. The government would be precluded from proving an essential element of the charged offense, and the district court would breach its duty to instruct the jury on all the essential elements of the crime charged. See United States v. Campbell, 774 F.2d 354, 356 (9th Cir.1985) (the government is entitled to prove the[] elements of the charged offenses by introduction of probative evidence); United States v. Combs, 762 F.2d 1343, 1346 (9th Cir.1985) (When a person is prosecuted under a statute, the requirements of the statute should be explained to the jury so that they may determine whether or not the defendant's conduct fits within the statute.). Additionally, the district court's bifurcation order might unfairly confuse the jury, prompting it to exercise its power of nullification on the unwarranted belief that the defendant was charged for noncriminal conduct ... Limiting the jury's consideration of required elements of an indicted offense is contrary to the presumption against special verdicts in criminal cases. United States v. Aguilar, 883 F.2d 662, 690 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1046, 111 S.Ct. 751, 112 L.Ed.2d 771 (1991). The bifurcation order removes an element of the crime charged from the jury's consideration, prevents the government from having its case decided by the jury, and changes the very nature of the charged crime. See Gilliam, 994 F.2d at 102 (There is a significant difference, however, between a rule formulated to limit the admissibility of potentially prejudicial evidence and a rule that eliminates an element of a crime legislated by Congress.). United States v. Barker, 1 F.3d 957, 959 (9th Cir.1993), amended, 20 F.3d 365, 365-66 (9th Cir.1994) (emphasis added). The Sixth Circuit has summarized these reasons: First, if the jury did not return a guilty verdict on the possession portion of the crime, the government would be precluded from proving an essential element of the charged offense. Second, a bifurcated proceeding would withhold from the jury all knowledge of the prior felony element of the crime. Third, the bifurcation order would require omitting an element of the charged offense from the jury instructions. United States v. Underwood, 1996 WL 536796 , 97 F.3d 1453 (6th Cir. Sept.20, 1996) (table) (citing Barker, 1 F.3d at 959). This Court finds this reasoning applicable to bifurcation of felony DUI trials. Thus, we reject Rigby's allegation of error on this issue. We continue to adhere to Page and Weaver. Prior DUI convictions are elements of a felony DUI charge and are required to be submitted to a jury. ¶ 14. Despite this finding, certain procedural safeguards are warranted if a defendant offers to stipulate to previous DUI convictions. The trial court should accept such stipulations, and they should be submitted to the jury with a proper limiting instruction. The instruction should explain to the jury that the prior DUI convictions should be considered for the sole purpose of determining whether the defendant is guilty of felony DUI and that such evidence should not be considered in determining whether the defendant acted in conformity with such convictions in the presently charged offense. See United States v. Munoz, 150 F.3d 401 (5th Cir.1998). A balance is therefore struck between the prosecution's burden to prove the elements of a crime and the evidentiary rules which safeguard a defendant's right to a fair trial. Rule 403 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence instructs courts to weigh the probative value of evidence against its prejudicial effect. Rule 404 ensures that a defendant is tried for the offense he allegedly committed, not for the type of person that he may be. Therefore, the impact of the evidence of prior bad acts must be lightened as much as possible. Thus, if a defendant stipulates to the prior DUI convictions, a limiting instruction accomplishes this goal. We suggest that trial judges facing this situation in the future grant an instruction similar to the following: The court instructs the jury that the Defendant has stipulated to one element of the crime of which he/she is currently charged. That element is two prior DUI convictions. The court instructs the jury that these prior convictions of the Defendant may not be considered as evidence that the Defendant committed the DUI with which he/she is currently charged. They may, however, be used for the limited and sole purpose of proving the prior convictions element of the crime of felony DUI. ¶ 15. Although it would have been more appropriate for the trial court to have accepted the defendant's offer of stipulation and have granted a limiting instruction, Rigby merely offered to concede his prior convictions to the State, and not before the jury; further, accepting such a stipulation as we now hold is appropriate was not required by our caselaw. With no clear precedent requiring a limiting instruction on a constitutional basis, it was not reversible error for the trial court sua sponte to refuse to give a limiting instruction. See Henton v. State, 752 So.2d 406, 407-08 (Miss.1999). See also McKee v. State, 791 So.2d 804, 810 (Miss.2001). We affirm the trial court on this issue.