Court Opinion

ID: 9782993
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 19:35:17.300493+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:18.564425
License: Public Domain

GRAVES, Presiding Justice,
Specially Concurring:
¶ 22. I agree with the majority that Cory Maye’s conviction for capital murder should be reversed and remanded for a new trial. However, I write separately to explain that Maye does not need to reassert his right to be tried in Jefferson Davis County. The proper venue for his trial is Jefferson Davis County. In State v. Caldwell, 492 So.2d 575, 577 (Miss.1986), this Court found that a criminal defendant’s constitutional right, which was waived during his first trial, to have his criminal trial held in the county in which the crime was committed is reinstated after appellate reversal. Further, this Court ordered Caldwell’s retrial to be transferred to the Circuit Court of Panola County, the county in which the crime occurred. Id. Under Caldwell, the slate is wiped clean, and Maye’s constitutional rights are restored. Venue is proper in Jefferson Davis County unless Maye moves to transfer venue. Therefore, I specially concur.
¶ 23. I also must clarify the procedural history as stated by the majority. Maye filed a Motion for Change of Venue on February 2, 2003. The State filed a Response and Agreement to Motion of Defendant for Change of Venue on February 24, 2003. The Circuit Court of Jefferson Davis County granted this motion and transferred venue to Lamar County by Order filed March 25, 2003. On July 28, 2003, Maye filed a Motion to Reconsider Order Granting Change of Venue, asking the trial court to return the matter to Jefferson Davis County for trial. The State filed an objection on August 6, 2003. On October 1, 2003, the Circuit Court of Jefferson Davis County entered an Order Granting Change of Venue, but rather than return the matter to Jefferson Davis County, the trial court transferred venue to Marion County. After a trial beginning on January 21, 2004, Maye was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. After various post-trial motions and hearings, the death sentence was vacated. The district attorney elected not to pursue the death penalty, and Maye was resentenced to life by Order of Conviction in the Circuit Court of Jefferson Davis County on November 2, 2007.
KITCHENS AND CHANDLER, JJ., JOIN THIS OPINION.