Opinion ID: 1956793
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the circuit court erred in denying foley's proposed jury instructions.

Text: ¶ 14. Foley claims the circuit court erred in refusing his proposed instructions, D-3 and D-4. When examining a trial court's determination as to appropriate jury instructions, parties are only entitled to fair instructions giving adequate recitation of the law: [W]hile a party is entitled to have jury instructions submitted that represent his or her theory of the case, an instruction that incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is without foundation in the evidence need not be submitted to the jury. Humphrey v. State, 759 So.2d 368, 380 (Miss.2000). This Court will not find reversible error where the instructions actually given, when read together as a whole, fairly announce the law of the case and create no injustice. Coleman v. State, 697 So.2d 777, 782 (Miss.1997) (citing Collins v. State, 691 So.2d 918, 922 (Miss.1997)). Entergy Miss., Inc. v. Bolden, 854 So.2d 1051, 1054 (Miss.2003). ¶ 15. Both of the proposed instructions dealt with instructing the jury on circumstantial evidence. [W]here there is direct evidence of a crime, the circumstantial evidence instruction need not be given. King v. State, 580 So.2d 1182, 1191 (Miss.1991) (citing Gray v. State, 549 So.2d 1316, 1324 (Miss.1989)). Additionally, a circumstantial evidence case is one in which there is neither an eyewitness nor a confession to the crime. Mangum v. State, 762 So.2d 337, 344 (Miss.2000). While there are certainly more types of direct evidence than eyewitness testimony or confessions, the instant case easily meets the standard in Mangum. K.F.'s statements about being shown pornography were introduced through the testimony of Dr. Cash and Barnes. K.F. was, of course, an eyewitness to the pornography, and this instance of direct evidence alone allowed the jury to be given direct evidence instructions only. Foley's argument to the contrary is without merit. ¶ 16. In his second trial, Foley's request for a jury instruction on circumstantial evidence was also rejected by the circuit court. The circuit judge found K.F.'s medical report constituted actual or direct evidence. Additionally, as stated before, the presence of an eyewitness necessarily precludes a case from having circumstantial evidence instructions. Id. K.F. was clearly an eyewitness to the abuse committed upon her person. Testimony by others clearly outlined this and introduced the jury to statements by K.F. since she was unavailable as a witness. Thus, the circuit court was not in error when it refused to present the jury with the defense's proposed circumstantial evidence instructions in either trial.