Opinion ID: 1652295
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the trial court erred in denying jury instruction d-1, the peremptory instruction as to the conspiracy to sell cocaine?

Text: ¶ 10. In his first assignment of error, Michael Donnell Watson alleges that the trial judge erred in refusing to give instruction D-1, a peremptory instruction on the conspiracy charge. The requested instruction reads as follows: The court instructs the jury to find the Defendant not guilty on Count 1 and Count 2. ¶ 11. Watson argued in his motion for a directed verdict at the close of the State's case in chief and again at the close of all evidence presented to the jury that the State failed to establish a prima facie case of conspiracy to sell cocaine. Watson proposed that there was no agreement between the appellant and R.D. Franklin, stating, [t]here was no meeting of the minds or union of the minds of the alleged conspirators. He relies on the fact that Franklin, the State's own witness, testified under cross examination that he did not agree to sell cocaine with anybody. ¶ 12. In May v. State, 460 So.2d 778, 780-81 (Miss.1984), this Court found that the standard of review for overruling the peremptory instruction is the same as that of a motion for a directed verdict or a j.n.o.v., each of which tests the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict. As this Court has stated: Under the established case law, the trial judge should set aside a jury's verdict only when, in the exercise of his sound discretion, he is convinced that the verdict is contrary to the substantial weight of the evidence. Pearson v. State, 428 So.2d 1361, 1364 (Miss.1983). Id. at 781. ¶ 13. In the case sub judice the trial judge correctly stated the standard of review for overruling the peremptory instruction, finding that the evidence in the light most favorable to the State allowed the reasonable inference that there was a verbally expressed agreement constituting conspiracy. The judge also commented that the agreement could be proved by the conduct of the parties. ¶ 14. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-1-1 (1994) provides that the crime of conspiracy is committed when two or more persons conspire to commit a crime or to accomplish any unlawful purpose. Each alleged conspirator must recognize that he is joining the other in a common plan and `[e]ach must intend to further a common and unlawful purpose.' Johnson v. State, 642 So.2d 924, 928 (Miss. 1994) (quoting Taylor v. State, 536 So.2d 1326, 1328 (Miss.1988)); see also Watson v. State, 521 So.2d 1290, 1293 (Miss.1988). The law on conspiracy provides that: For there to be a conspiracy, there must be recognition on the part of the conspirators that they are entering into a common plan and knowingly intend to further its common purpose. The conspiracy agreement need not be formal or express, but may be inferred from the circumstances, particularly by declarations, acts, and conduct of the alleged conspirators. Furthermore, the existence of a conspiracy, and a defendant's membership in it, may be proved entirely by circumstantial evidence. Franklin v. State, 676 So.2d 287, 288 (Miss. 1996) (quoting Nixon v. State, 533 So.2d 1078, 1092 (Miss.1987); Mitchell v. State, 572 So.2d 865, 867 (Miss.1990)) (emphasis added). ¶ 15. Legally sufficient evidence is proof of each of the elements of the crime to convince a rational finder of fact that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the evidence is sufficient, the trial judge must overrule the request for peremptory instruction. Bullock v. State, 391 So.2d 601, 606 (Miss.1980) (citing Warn v. State, 349 So.2d 1055 (Miss.1977); Toliver v. State, 337 So.2d 1274 (Miss.1976)). ¶ 16. Watson alleges, [t]here was no recognition on the part of Watson or Bowdery that they were entering into a common plan and knowingly intended to further its common purpose. He maintains that there is no direct evidence of Watson and Franklin's intent to commit conspiracy to sell cocaine. Such an allegation is without merit since this Court has stated that direct evidence is not required to meet conspiracy. See Franklin, 676 So.2d at 288; Nixon, 533 So.2d at 1092; Mitchell, 572 So.2d at 867. ¶ 17. The evidence showed through the testimony of the co-conspirator Franklin that he took direction from Watson in obtaining twenty dollars of cocaine from the undercover officers. Additionally, the officers testified that Watson tapped Franklin and physically directed him toward the officers to determine what type of drugs the officers wanted by their hand signal of a double deuce. The State merely had to show an agreement between the two parties, which was demonstrated by the testimony of the witnesses and the videotape. Moreover, the testimony of the forensic analyst from the crime lab established the fact that the white substance traded for the twenty dollars was cocaine. ¶ 18. The fact that Franklin's testimony contained contradictions does not negate the resulting jury verdict. The State often must rely on the testimony of coconspirators in order to prove its case as was so aptly stated by the First Circuit in review of a conviction of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute: Relatedly, the appellant bewails certain contradictions in [the co-conspirator's] testimony, concluding that these contradictions rendered his testimony inherently unreliable ... Court cases, however, are not choreographed with the precision of a ballet. Some degree of contradiction is commonplace and, for the most part, the judicial system relies upon devices such as the cross-examiner's vigor, the juror's common sense, and the trial judge's practiced intuition to separate grain from chaff. United States v. Laboy-Delgado, 84 F.3d 22, 27-28 (1st Cir.1996). Additionally, this Court has determined that a coconspirator's testimony is enough to sustain a conviction. It should be noted, however, that this general rule is inapplicable where the testimony is unreasonable, self-contradictory, or substantially impeached. Flanagan v. State, 605 So.2d 753, 757 (Miss.1992). ¶ 19. In the case sub judice, Franklin had contradictions in his testimony that appeared to be more of confusion than of substance  a fact that can be inferred from his confusion about the charges against him. Also, Franklin's lack of knowledge about the particulars of the plea bargain adds to his credibility as a witness. Checks and balances were fully in place here. It was for the jury to decide which statements of Franklin's to believe or, indeed, whether to believe Franklin at all. This Court has held in many cases that when the evidence is conflicting, the jury will be the sole judge of the credibility of witnesses and the weight and worth of their testimony: We have repeatedly held that in a criminal prosecution the jury may accept the testimony of some witnesses and reject that of others, and that they may accept in part and reject in part the evidence on behalf of the state or on behalf of the accused. In other words, the credibility of witnesses is not for the reviewing court. Gathright v. State, 380 So.2d 1276, 1278 (Miss.1980) (citations omitted) (emphasis added). ¶ 20. The record indicates that Watson directed Franklin to find out what the officers wanted. Furthermore, Franklin clearly stated that Watson gave the cocaine to him to sell to Hudson. Watson cannot argue that he was a bystander since the evidence showed that he was the organizer of the exchange. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the trial judge was well within his discretion in refusing the peremptory instruction. This court will not overturn the trial court's finding of fact that the evidence was legally sufficient unless clearly erroneous. The appellant has failed to overcome the presumption that the trial court's ruling was correct. Clearly, this proposition is without merit; the trial court did not err in denying the peremptory instruction.