Boyd v. State
| Docket Number: | 2009-KA-00918-SCT Linked Case(s): 2009-KA-00918-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-23-2010 Opinion Author: Pierce, J. Holding: Affirmed. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Aggravated assault - Elements instruction Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Dickinson, Randolph and Lamar, JJ. Dissenting Author : Kitchens, J., Dissents With Separate Written Opinion Dissent Joined By : Graves, P.J., and Chandler, J. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-13-2009 Appealed from: LOWNDES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: James T. Kitchens, Jr. Disposition: The jury convicted James Earl Boyd of aggravated assault pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 97-3-7, and the trial court sentenced Boyd to a term of twenty years. District Attorney: Forrest Allgood Case Number: 2008-0341-CRI |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | James Earl Boyd |
OFFICE OF INDIGENT APPEALS: W. DANIEL HINCHCLIFF, LESLIE S. LEE |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: STEPHANIE BRELAND WOOD | ||
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: | Aggravated assault - Elements instruction |
| Summary of the Facts: | James Boyd was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to twenty years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Boyd argues for the first time on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that, in an aggravated-assault prosecution, it must find that the instrument used by the defendant was a deadly weapon. The State argues that because Boyd failed to object at trial, the issue was not preserved for appeal. To preserve a jury instruction issue on appeal, the defendant must make a specific objection to the proposed instruction to allow the trial court to consider the issue. Thus, Boyd is procedurally barred from raising this issue for the first time on appeal. In addition, his claim is without merit. If the instructions fairly announce the law of the case and create no injustice, no reversible error will be found. Although no rule or precedent requires that an instruction mirror the exact language of a criminal statute, the jury must be correctly and fully instructed regarding each element of the offense charged. No fair-minded and properly instructed jury could fail to find that Boyd’s knife was a deadly weapon and that Boyd’s cutting and stabbing the victim multiple times was likely to produce serious bodily injury. Given the overwhelming evidence, the same result would have been reached had the State included the phrase “a deadly weapon” in the elements instruction. |
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