Ashley Nicole Turner a/k/a Ashley N. Turner v. State of Mississippi and Grenada County, Mississippi

Summary

The Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed Ashley Nicole Turner's misdemeanor convictions for speeding and careless driving following a bench trial de novo in the Grenada County Circuit Court. The court held that the patrolman's testimony regarding the radar reading and tuning-fork check sufficiently supported the speeding conviction, that his testimony supported the careless-driving conviction, and that the circuit court did not improperly shift the burden of proof to Turner.

Holdings

1. The officer’s testimony that his radar registered Turner traveling 88 miles per hour in a 55-mile-per-hour zone, together with his testimony that he checked the radar with a tuning fork that day, was sufficient to establish the speeding violation and provide an adequate foundation for the radar reading.
2. The uncorroborated testimony of a single officer that Turner drove 88 miles per hour around a curve in a hilly area with access roads and driveways was sufficient to support the careless-driving conviction.
3. The circuit court did not impermissibly shift the burden of proof. Its comments regarding evidence that Turner’s witness did not provide were permissible observations about the evidence for the court to weigh as factfinder, not a requirement that Turner disprove the State’s case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support Turner’s speeding conviction.
2. Whether the speeding and careless-driving convictions were contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
3. Whether the circuit court impermissibly shifted the burden of proof from the State to Turner by commenting on evidence that her witness did not provide.

Disposition

affirmed