Jamar Amin MOORE a/k/a Jamar Moore, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee. 203 So.3d 775 (2016)
Apr 12, 2016OUTCOME: THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COAHOMA COUNTY IS REVERSED, RENDERED, AND REMANDED.
Moore filed a civil complaint under the provisions of chapter 44 of title 11 of the Mississippi Code Annotated, which provides compensation for persons wrongfully convicted. The State answered by denyi ... ng that Moore was entitled to compensation, and the parties subsequently filed 779*779 cross-motions for summary judgment. The circuit court denied Moore's motion and granted summary judgment in favor of the State. The court reasoned that because Moore admitted that he was guilty of misdemeanor possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, he could not show that his conviction was vacated on grounds consistent with innocence, as required by Mississippi Code Annotated section 11-44-3(1)(b)(ii). As the court put it, Moore was "guilty of a controlled substance crime," but he "was convicted of the wrong controlled substance crime." Moore timely filed a notice of appeal.
