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Jones v. State10/30/2003
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/30/2003
EN BANC.
. Patrick Jones was indicted on one count of vehicular homicide in Bolivar County Circuit Court. Jones was accused of causing an automobile accident while under the influence of cocaine which resulted in the death of Emma Powell. Jones was convicted and received a sentence of twenty years with five years suspended. Jones appealed, and the appeal was assigned to the Court of Appeals which affirmed. Jones v. State, 2003 WL 21005836 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003). This Court granted certiorari to consider the application of the physician-patient privilege in criminal cases and the possible evidentiary implication of standards for hospitals and medical personnel involved in drug testing of patients. 852 So. 2d 577 (Miss. 2003). After due consideration, we find no error in the judgment of the Court of Appeals and affirm.
FACTS
. This statement of facts is taken from the opinion of the Court of Appeals:
While driving his loaded tractor trailer rig along Highway 61 North, just south of Shaw, Jones collided with Emma Powell's automobile. More specifically, Jones struck Powell's vehicle from the rear as they were both proceeding north in the outside lane of Highway 61 North which, at the point of impact, is a four-lane highway. At the time of the collision, the weather was clear. There were no obstructions blocking the view of northbound motorists. There were no skid marks indicating that Jones had applied his brakes prior to impact.
However, there were skid marks from Powell's vehicle, apparently caused by the weight of Jones truck resting on the rear of her car while, at the same time, pushing her car down the road. Powell and Jones were both injured and transported to the Bolivar Medical Center. Powell later died as a result of the injuries she received.
Sergeant Bob McFadden with the Mississippi Highway Patrol's Traffic Enforcement Division investigated the accident. After Powell was pronounced dead, McFadden administered a breath test to Jones. This test was negative for alcohol, and McFadden did not request that a urine analysis be performed on Jones.
Although McFadden did not request that a urine analysis be administered to Jones, one was administered by hospital personnel as a part of the diagnostic treatment administered to Jones. Clint Robinson, an emergency room registered nurse, retrieved the urine sample from Jones, and Betty Cooper, a medical technologist with Bolivar Medical Center, following hospital procedures, performed the analysis on Jones's urine. This analysis determined that Jones had cocaine in his system. The results of Cooper's cocaine analysis were confirmed, pursuant to standard hospital policy, by Memphis Pathology Laboratories (MPL). However, no one from MPL testified. Over persistent objection from Jones, the trial court admitted the results of the urine analysis, performed by Cooper, and the confirmation report performed by MPL.
Jones v. State, 2003 WL 21005836, at * 1 (footnote omitted).
. Jones was convicted of vehicular homicide and was sentenced to twenty years, with five years suspended. Jones appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing that the circuit court had admitted the results of his urinalysis in violation of the physician-patient privilege and without meeting the statutory requirements for admission contained in Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-19 (Supp. 2003). The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, stating: (1) the results of Jones's urinalysis were not protected by the physician-patient privilege; (2) the requirement
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