U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Mitchell Johnson's Appeal Request

Johnson
Johnson

FAYETTEVILLE -- Jonesboro murderer Mitchell Scott Johnson's last hope for challenging his federal drug and gun convictions was dashed when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.

Johnson, 29, was convicted in January 2008 of being an unlawful user or addict of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm after police found guns and marijuana in his possession during a 2007 traffic stop in Fayetteville.

Legal Lingo

Appeal

A challenge to a previous legal determination. An appeal is directed toward a legal power higher than the power making the challenged determination. In most states and the federal system, trial court determinations can be appealed in appeals courts, and appeals court decisions can be appealed in a supreme court.

Source: Legal Information Institute

Johnson was sentenced Sept. 4, 2008, to four years in prison and three years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Jimm Hendren. Johnson began serving the federal term in December 2011 after being paroled from state prison, where he was serving time on unrelated theft and drug charges. He's at Coleman Federal Correctional Institution, a medium security prison in Florida. His release date is May 23, 2015.

Johnson, representing himself, sought a hearing from the nation's highest court after exhausting his appeals with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and having several motions to reconsider denied. Motions asking to be allowed another appeal also were denied.

Johnson argued his conviction was obtained using evidence gained in an unconstitutional search. He contended he was never read his Miranda rights and statements he made to police shouldn't have been presented to the jury. Johnson also argued his criminal history as a juvenile, which was expunged, shouldn't have been used to increase his sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.

The Supreme Court rejected Johnson's appeal Wednesday without addressing any of the issues he raised.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2009 upheld Hendren's decision to give Johnson more time in federal prison because of his violent criminal history.

Johnson was 13 when he and an 11-year-old classmate, Andrew Golden, killed four girls and a teacher at Jonesboro Westside Middle School on March 24, 1998. Ten others were injured in the shooting.

Johnson and Golden were imprisoned at a juvenile detention facility until they turned 21. Johnson was released from custody in 2005. Golden changed his name after being released and was last known to be living in northeast Arkansas, according to The Associated Press.

The appeals court judges said given Johnson's involvement with drugs and firearms less than two years after his release from federal prison, the heinous nature of his previous crimes and his relatively lenient prior sentences, Hendren didn't abuse his discretion by imposing the four-year sentence.

The federal charges against Johnson stemmed from a New Year's Day 2007 traffic stop in Fayetteville in which Johnson had less than an ounce of marijuana in his pocket and a loaded 9 mm pistol in a backpack in the back of the van in which he was riding. There also was a shotgun in the back of the van.

Johnson and Justin Trammell were supposedly headed for California to make a new start when they were stopped. Police were watching Johnson because they'd gotten a tip he had 100 pounds of marijuana and several guns. Police didn't find the large amount of marijuana.

Trammell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June 2000 in Benton County Circuit Court for the Sept. 26, 1999, killing of his father, Mike Trammell Sr., 37, with a crossbow. Trammell was 15 years old when the incident occurred, and he served juvenile time before being placed on probation.

NW News on 03/14/2014

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