 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Taylor v. State1/25/2000
ey. All but three of the envelopes used to transport the money during the period Haney audited were missing. Without the envelopes, Haney used the receipt books, as they were initialed by the receiving deputy clerk and the ledger book to reconstruct the trail the money took from the police dispatcher through the clerk's office into the bank. Haney found that the deficiencies were attributable to a time frame that coincided with Taylor's shared control over the fund. Further, Haney found that Taylor signed off on the receipt books for money received that never made it to the bank.
. Taylor testified that without the brown envelopes sent up from the police dispatcher to reconcile against her entries in the deputy clerk's ledger, she would be unable to reconstruct the exact chain of custody of the funds in question. Evidence was presented at trial that all but three of the brown envelopes used to transport the funds from the police dispatcher to the clerk's office during the time in question were missing as well as some ledger entries. Taylor testified that initialing the receipt book as having received the amount of money listed on the receipts and envelopes did not, in fact, mean that she actually received that exact amount of money. She testified that she did not normally follow proper procedure by counting the funds and balancing them with the ledger upon signing for the funds because she was busy with other responsibilities, such as getting the payroll completed.
. Regarding Counts II, III and IV of the indictment under which Taylor was convicted, Haney testified that a block of receipts and journal entries posted October 3, 1994, totaled $2,225; another block, posted on November 14, 1994, totaled $1, 325; and a third block totaling $2,075 was posted on November 21, 1994. All of these amounts were signed as received by Taylor and none were deposited into the city's bank account.
DISCUSSION
. From a careful reading of appellant's brief, one can glean fourteen assignments of error. The issues listed in the table of contents in appellant's brief do not correspond accurately to the statement of the issues presented, nor to those issues argued in the body of the brief. Under the argued issues, appellant makes broad based, sweeping allegations under certain assignments of error. While it is her right to appeal whatever error she believes the trial court committed, we take this opportunity to remind all those who invoke the jurisdiction of this Court that briefs are filed to assist the Court. Dozier v. State, 247 Miss. 850, 851, 157 So. 2d 798, 799 (1963). "In other words, the purpose is to aid the appellate court in determining what the law is." Dozier, 247 Miss. at 852, 157 So. 2d at 799. It is therefore a necessity that attorneys plead with particularity by citing specific cases that support the proffered argument.
. In crafting thirteen of the alleged errors, Taylor asserts plain error occurred at the trial level, thus requiring a different standard of review than this Court normally adopts. The Mississippi Supreme Court defined "plain error" as error that affects the substantive rights of a defendant. Grubb v. State, 584 So. 2d 786, 789 (Miss. 1991). "The plain error doctrine has been construed to include anything that 'seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.'" Porter v. State, 95-KA-01324-COA ( 36) (Miss. Ct. App. Aug. 24, 1999) (quoting United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732-35 (1993)). Our analysis, therefore, necessarily includes a determination of whether there is an error that is some deviation from a legal rule, whether that error is plain, clear or obvious, and whether the error is prejudicial
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Mississippi DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|