Murray v. State

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court considered whether Christopher Murray timely appealed his justice-court convictions for first-offense driving under the influence and switched tag. The court held that Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court Practice 12.02A, which requires filing within 30 days, controlled over the conflicting 40-day statutory period and affirmed dismissal of the appeal.

Holdings

1. Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court Practice 12.02A controls over Mississippi Code section 99-35-1 because a procedural rule adopted by the Mississippi Supreme Court prevails over a conflicting statute.
2. Murray's appeal was untimely because he filed it more than thirty days after the justice-court judgment, and the circuit court properly dismissed it.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court Practice 12.02A, which requires a justice-court appeal to be filed within thirty days, controls over Mississippi Code section 99-35-1, which provides a forty-day appeal period.
2. Whether the circuit court properly dismissed Murray's appeal as untimely.

Disposition

affirmed