Favre v. State
Docket Number: | 2002-KA-01958-COA | |
Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 07-13-2004 Opinion Author: Southwick, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Aggravated assault - Exclusion of evidence - M.R.E. 401 Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Bridges, P.J., Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 09-21-2002 Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court Judge: Stephen Simpson Disposition: CONVICTED OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND SENTENCED TO TWENTY YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS District Attorney: Cono A. Caranna, II Case Number: B2401-98-823 |
Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
Appellant: | Melissa Doris Favre |
TOM SUMRALL |
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Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERALBY: JEFFREY A. KLINGFUSS |
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Synopsis provided by: If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
Topic: | Aggravated assault - Exclusion of evidence - M.R.E. 401 |
Summary of the Facts: | Melissa Favre was found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to twenty years. She appeals. |
Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Favre argues that, as a defendant, she should have been allowed to present her theory of what had happened to her husband. She alleges that her husband was involved in the illegal drug business, which common knowledge confirms is a potentially violent occupation, and that someone else involved in that business may have been the person committing this crime. In order for evidence supporting this theory to be admitted, there must be some predicate. For evidence to be relevant under M.R.E. 401, it must have a tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. In this case, no one testified to having seen someone else at the trailer. No evidence of previous incidents involving violence by anyone involved in the drug trade against the victim was offered. The fact that DNA from more than the victim and the defendant was found was not evidence that other DNA was left behind at the time of the assault by some unknown person. Therefore, the judge was within his discretion in excluding this evidence. |
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