Holmes v. State
| Docket Number: | 2007-KA-01344-COA Linked Case(s): 2007-KA-01344-COA ; 2007-CT-01344-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-02-2008 Opinion Author: BARNES, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Sexual battery - Sufficiency of evidence Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Irving, Chandler, Griffis, Ishee, Roberts, and Carlton, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-26-2007 Appealed from: Clay County Circuit Court Judge: James T. Kitchens, Jr. Disposition: CONVICTED OF SEXUAL BATTERY AND SENTENCED TO THIRTY YEARS AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE AND TO PAY A FINE OF $10,000 District Attorney: Forrest Allgood Case Number: 8962 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | JAMES EARL HOLMES |
ERIN ELIZABETH PRIDGEN,
LESLIE S. LEE |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. GLENN WATTS | ||
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. |
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| Topic: | Sexual battery - Sufficiency of evidence |
| Summary of the Facts: | James Holmes was convicted of sexual battery and sentence of thirty years as a habitual offender without eligibility for parole. He appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Holmes argues that there was no evidence presented of sexual penetration, because the tests run by the Mississippi Crime Laboratory showed no seminal fluid was present. While penetration must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, it need not be proved in any particular form of words, and circumstantial evidence may suffice. The victim’s mother stated repeatedly at trial that Holmes was “having sex” with her daughter, physically demonstrated for the jury the positions in which she found Holmes and her daughter, and described the demeanor of both her daughter and Holmes. Based on this testimony, the jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that sexual penetration was occurring at the moment the mother walked in on her daughter and Holmes. |
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