Opinion ID: 1095294
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Did the trial court err in refusing to grant a continuance?

Text: ¶ 23. Prior to trial, Morgan requested a continuance of the criminal proceedings until the Chancery Court could rule on the final conservatorship accounting he had filed shortly before the criminal trial began. Morgan sought a determination in the Chancery Court that the fees and expenses he received from conservatorship funds were not excessive. He now claims that refusing to grant that continuance prejudiced his defense and is reversible error. ¶ 24. In order to preserve this issue for appeal, Morgan was required to include the denial of the continuance in his motion for new trial. Pool v. State, 483 So.2d 331, 336 (Miss.1986). Morgan's motion for new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict made no mention of the denial of a continuance. Because the issue was not properly preserved, and because the trial court did not have the opportunity to rule on this claimed error, this issue is not properly before this Court and is procedurally barred. ¶ 25. Notwithstanding the procedural prohibition, this claim fails on the merits. Trial judges have wide latitude in deciding whether to grant continuances, and that decision is left to the sound discretion of the trial judge. Lambert v. State, 654 So.2d 17, 22 (Miss.1995). Denial of a continuance is not reversible unless manifest injustice appears to have resulted from the denial. Hatcher v. Fleeman, 617 So.2d 634, 639 (Miss.1993). The trial judge's refusal to grant a continuance was not an abuse of discretion, nor is there any indication of manifest injustice resulting from the denial of a continuance. This issue is without merit.