Opinion ID: 1760295
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶ 1. This matter comes before the Court, en banc, after granting petitioner's application for writ of certiorari on May 29, 1997. Eddie Nicholson was indicted by a grand jury of Winston County for the crime of sexual battery, charging sexual penetration of an eleven year old girl with his finger. Nicholson was convicted of sexual battery by a jury of his peers, and sentenced to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections by the Circuit Court of Winston County, Mississippi, on November 30, 1993. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court on January 28, 1997, and denied the petition for rehearing on April 8, 1997. The petition for writ of certiorari was filed with this Court on April 17, 1997. ¶ 2. The following issues were raised for certiorari review: I. The lower court erred in allowing rebuttal testimony of an alleged sexual act with another person; II. The lower court erred in denying surrebuttal testimony by Nicholson; III. The lower court erred by denying a continuance after the State was allowed to amend the indictment and the State improperly amended the indictment; and IV. The State failed to provide proper Rule 4.06 discovery. ¶ 3. The Court granted certiorari review on Issues I. and IV., found Issue II. to be moot, and denied certiorari review of Issue III.