Foxworth v. State

982 So. 2d 453, 2007 WL 3257394
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 6, 2007
Docket2006-KA-01640-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 982 So. 2d 453 (Foxworth v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foxworth v. State, 982 So. 2d 453, 2007 WL 3257394 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

982 So.2d 453 (2007)

L.D. FOXWORTH, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-01640-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

November 6, 2007.
Rehearing Denied March 11, 2008.

*454 William Joseph Barnett, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Ladonna C. Holland, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., BARNES and ROBERTS, JJ.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE

ROBERTS, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. On August 30, 2006, a jury sitting before the Marion County Circuit Court found L.D. Foxworth guilty of one count of child molestation. The circuit court sentenced Foxworth to fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of *455 Corrections. Foxworth filed unsuccessful post-trial motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, alternatively, for a new trial. Aggrieved, Foxworth appeals and raises three issues:

I. THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED WHEN IT OVERRULED HIS MOTION FOR JNOV OR, ALTERNATIVELY, FOR A NEW TRIAL BECAUSE THE VERDICT IS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

II. THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED WHEN IT NEGLECTED TO CONDUCT A POST-TRIAL HEARING BASED UPON THE AFFIDAVIT AND SWORN TESTIMONY OF A JUROR THAT THE JURY WAS PRESSURED TO DELIVER A GUILTY VERDICT AND THAT A JUROR DID NOT DISCLOSE THAT SHE HAD BEEN MOLESTED AS A CHILD.

III. THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN THE INDICTMENT IN THAT THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE THAT FOXWORTH WILLFULLY, UNLAWFULLY, FELONIOUSLY AND KNOWINGLY TOUCHED A CHILD FOR THE PURPOSE OF GRATIFYING HIS LUST OR TO INDULGE HIS DEPRAVED LICENTIOUS SEXUAL DESIRES.

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Foxworth's conviction stems from his inappropriate contact with a twelve-year-old girl named Tonya.[1] Tonya lived with her mother, Donna. Donna and Tonya lived next door to Donna's cousin, Jane. Foxworth's brother married into Donna and Jane's family. By all accounts, Foxworth regularly visited with Donna and Jane's families, so Tonya and Jane's children were all familiar with Foxworth. In fact, they called him "Uncle L.D."

¶ 3. On March 25, 2003, Tonya got out of school and went next door to Jane's house. As Donna did not get off work until approximately 3:30 p.m., Tonya frequently spent time at Jane's house after school. Tonya and her cousin, Karen, watched television and did their homework in Jane's living room. At some point, Karen left the living room and proceeded to straighten up the kitchen.

¶ 4. Foxworth visited Jane's house that afternoon. When Foxworth arrived, he told Tonya that he wanted to speak to her privately about boys. Foxworth led Tonya into Jane's den and closed the door behind them. Tonya testified that Foxworth had her face away from him and that he placed his hand down through the loose neck of her t-shirt and touched her breast. According to Tonya, with his other hand, Foxworth reached inside her pants and touched her "private part." Tonya attempted to pull away from Foxworth, but he prevented her.

¶ 5. One of Tonya's relatives, James Smith, corroborated Tonya's recollection. At that time, Smith was temporarily living at Jane's house. As Smith passed through the den, he saw Foxworth and Tonya facing away from him. Smith noticed that Foxworth had his hand down Tonya's shirt. It also appears that Smith saw Foxworth's hand down Tonya's pants. To be precise, Smith testified that Foxworth touched Tonya's breast "and, also, went down a little further."

¶ 6. Smith testified that, although he made eye contact with Tonya, he did not intervene or speak out. He testified that he was afraid of Foxworth. According to *456 Smith, he did not want to get involved. He "wanted to stay out of it." Smith went outside, got in his car, and drove away.

¶ 7. Foxworth eventually released Tonya and told her not to tell anyone what happened. According to Tonya, Foxworth gave her two dollars to encourage her silence. Tonya went back to her house and Donna noticed that something was wrong with Tonya. Donna asked Tonya what was wrong. After several attempts, Tonya finally told her mother what happened. Donna testified that Tonya "just bust out screaming that Uncle L.D. tried to rape [her]."

¶ 8. Donna became enraged. She armed herself with a knife and went looking for Foxworth. When she could not find him, she returned home and called the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Investigator Jim Ray responded. Due to Tonya's emotional state, Investigator Ray did not get a statement from Tonya. Instead, Investigator Ray asked Donna to bring Tonya to his office the next day. Donna complied. On the following day, Donna filed formal charges against Foxworth. Foxworth was arrested that same day.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 9. The Marion County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Foxworth and charged him with two counts of child molestation in violation of Section 97-5-23(1) of the Mississippi Code Annotated (Rev.2006). Count one charged Foxworth with touching Tonya's breast. Count two charged Foxworth with touching Tonya's vagina. Foxworth pleaded "not guilty" to both counts and the matter proceeded to trial. Foxworth initially went to trial in March of 2006. Because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, the circuit court declared a mistrial.

¶ 10. Foxworth went to trial a second time on August 30, 2006. The prosecution called Tonya, Karen, James Smith, Donna, and Investigator Ray. At that point, the prosecution rested. After an unsuccessful motion for a directed verdict, Foxworth did not call any witnesses and rested his case.

¶ 11. The next morning, the circuit court instructed the jury and each side presented its closing argument. The jury deliberated and found Foxworth guilty of count one. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on count two, so the circuit court declared a mistrial incident to count two.

¶ 12. On September 8, 2006, the circuit court conducted a sentencing hearing. For count one, the circuit court sentenced Foxworth to fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The circuit court elaborated and stated, "I'm going to require that you serve 12 years of that sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. If you successfully complete the service of 12 years the remaining three years will be suspended and you'll be placed on postrelease [sic] supervision for three years." Post-trial, Foxworth filed an unsuccessful motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, alternatively, for a new trial. Aggrieved, Foxworth appeals.

ANALYSIS

I. THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED WHEN IT OVERRULED HIS MOTION FOR JNOV OR, ALTERNATIVELY, FOR A NEW TRIAL BECAUSE THE VERDICT IS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

¶ 13. Foxworth styles his first issue as a challenge to the weight and sufficiency of the evidence. However, based on the substance of his argument, this issue has *457 nothing to do with the weight or the sufficiency of the evidence. To clarify, Foxworth details the appropriate standards of review incident to questions of weight and sufficiency, but then he completely fails to elaborate as to why he considers the evidence insufficient to convict. Likewise, he fails to elaborate as to why the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Instead, Foxworth's entire argument is based on the premise that the circuit court erred when it allowed Donna and Detective Ray to present hearsay testimony as to what Tonya told them.

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Related

Foxworth v. State
94 So. 3d 359 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)

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Bluebook (online)
982 So. 2d 453, 2007 WL 3257394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foxworth-v-state-missctapp-2007.