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Beckham v. State3/23/1999
State Trooper Johnny Rawls, Jeff Herrin, and accident reconstructionist Cecilia Kazery, along with the reasonable inferences flowing from all the evidence, sufficiently established the requisite antecedent link between Beckham's operation of the motor vehicle in an intoxicated state and the car crash that resulted in Joiner's death. Beckham's conduct demonstrated a sufficient wanton and reckless disregard for the safety of human life and an apathy for the consequences of his actions as to make that conduct comparable to willfulness. As such, Beckham's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is not well taken and is overruled.
Testimony of the Accident Reconstructionist
. Beckham's next designation of error surrounds the testimony of the accident reconstructionist, Cecilia Kazery, about Beckham's admission that he was traveling at least seventy miles per hour at the time of the crash. Beckham claims that Kazery's testimony about his admission of speed was unduly prejudicial because there was no proffer that the admission was made voluntarily and freely after Beckham had been given his Miranda warnings. Beckham, relying on McElroy v. State, 204 So. 2d 463, 465 (Miss. 1967), claims that he was entitled to a separate hearing outside the presence of the jury on the admissibility of the confession before the contents of the statement were allowed into evidence. We are unmoved by this argument. First, the testimony complained of by Beckham was elicited during cross-examination, and " t is axiomatic that a defendant cannot complain on appeal concerning evidence that he himself brought out at trial." Fleming v. State, 604 So. 2d 280, 289 (Miss. 1992) (citations omitted). However, even aside from this fatal defect in Beckham's argument, Beckham's argument still fails on its face. McElroy concerned a statement made by the defendant to the victim regarding the defendant's involvement in the theft of cattle after the defendant was in custody. The supreme court specifically held that the Miranda rule did not apply to statements made to private persons. Id. Yet, for a statement made while in custody to be admissible against a defendant, "it is necessary to establish, in order that a confession, made under circumstances such as those disclosed by the evidence in this case, may become competent against the accused, that it was freely and voluntarily made and was not the result of coercion or induced by promises." Id.
. At the time of Kazery's testimony regarding Beckham's statement with regard to his speed on the morning of the fatal accident, the competency of the admission had not been established because Beckham's statement had not been introduced into evidence. However, the prosecution, through Jeff Herrin's testimony, established that Beckham was given his Miranda warnings on the day of the statement prior to his speaking to law enforcement officials. The form, signed by Beckham and captioned "Miranda Warning" set forth Beckham's rights under Miranda as well as a wavier of those rights. Beckham's signature appears on the acknowledgment of his rights having been explained to him as well as on the wavier of those rights. Herrin's testimony established that Beckham was not threatened, coerced, or otherwise unduly influenced in his decision to waive his rights and make a voluntary statement. Accordingly, this assignment of error is overruled.
Time Limitation for Jury Voir Dire
. Beckham's next complaint lies with the trial court's limitation of voir dire to fifteen minutes per side. This claim is meritless. URCCCP 3.05 provides:
"In the voir dire examination of jurors, the attorney will question the entire venire only on matters not inquired into by
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