Opinion ID: 1117896
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Whether the verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence.

Text: ¶ 54. A motion for new trial challenges the weight of the evidence. Sheffield v. State, 749 So.2d 123, 127 (Miss. 1999). A reversal is warranted only if the trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion for new trial. Id. In Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 844 (Miss.2005), this Court set out the standard of review for weight of the evidence as follows: When reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence, we will only disturb a verdict when it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice. Herring v. State, 691 So.2d 948, 957 (Miss.1997). We have stated that on a motion for new trial, the court sits as a thirteenth juror. The motion, however, is addressed to the discretion of the court, which should be exercised with caution, and the power to grant a new trial should be invoked only in exceptional cases in which the evidence preponderates heavily against the verdict. Amiker v. Drugs For Less, Inc., 796 So.2d 942, 947 (Miss.2000). However, the evidence should be weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict. Herring, 691 So.2d at 957. A reversal on the grounds that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, unlike a reversal based on insufficient evidence, does not mean that acquittal was the only proper verdict. McQueen v. State, 423 So.2d 800, 803 (Miss.1982). Rather, as the thirteenth juror, the court simply disagrees with the jury's resolution of the conflicting testimony. Id. This difference of opinion does not signify acquittal any more than a disagreement among the jurors themselves. Id. Instead, the proper remedy is to grant a new trial. ¶ 55. Without re-discussing the testimony already related within this opinion, the jury heard the testimony from all the State's witnesses, including the defense's cross-examination of those witnesses, and from the defense's witnesses, including the State's cross-examination of those witnesses. Here, no new trial is warranted, as the jury's verdict is consistent with the weight of the evidence. We find that the evidence, weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict, supports the jury's resolution of the conflicting testimony. ¶ 56. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not err in denying Jones's motion for a new trial. This assignment of error is without merit.