Case Name: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Franklin J. STITT, Jr., Appellant
Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Missouri
Decision Date: 2005-09-20
Citations: 171 S.W.3d 804
Docket Number: No. WD 63825
Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Franklin J. STITT, Jr., Appellant.
Judges: Before SMITH, C.J., and LOWENSTEIN and ULRICH, JJ.
Reporter: South Western Reporter Third Series
Volume: 171
Pages: 804–805

Head Matter:
STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Franklin J. STITT, Jr., Appellant.
No. WD 63825.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.
Sept. 20, 2005.
Amy M. Bartholow, Appellate Defender, Columbia, MO, for Appellant.
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Attorney General, Leslie E. McNamara, Assistant Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.
Before SMITH, C.J., and LOWENSTEIN and ULRICH, JJ.

Opinion:
Order
PER CURIAM.
Franklin J. Stitt, Jr., appeals the judgment of his convictions, following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Buchanan County, of two counts of child molestation in the first degree, in violation of § 566.067. As a result of his convictions, the appellant was sentenced to consecutive seven-year terms of imprisonment in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The appellant raises two points on appeal. In Point I, he claims that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for a continuance, based on a last-minute disclosure by one of the alleged victims two days before trial, that in addition to the appellant, her brother had also molested her, because in denying him a continuance, the court denied him his due process right to adequately prepare for trial. In Point II, he claims that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for a mistrial, based on the State's remark in its opening statement, that: "I don't expect [the appellant] to admit it now if he goes on the stand," because it was a direct reference concerning whether the appellant would testify at trial that improperly focused the jury on that issue in violation of the appellant's Fifth Amendment right not to testify.
We affirm pursuant to Rule 30.25(b).