Smith v. State

In this criminal case, appellant Timmy D. Smith complains that he lost his right to a fair trial when the trial court answered a jury question by reading a portion of the Florida Statutes that the jury had not heard before closing arguments. We affirm because the trial court did not abuse his discretion by providing a supplemental instruction in direct response to a question posed by the jury. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.410.

After attempting to steal some film from a Gainesville Wal-Mart store, appellant became involved in an altercation with several Wal-Mart employees in an area behind a nearby…