State v. Billingsley

WASSERSTROM, Judge.

The information charged defendant with forcible rape. The jury found him guilty and assessed punishment at 13 years imprisonment. On this appeal, defendant raises the single point that the instructions were submitted in incorrect order.

The instructions aggregated ten in number. The first two, copying MAI-CR 2.01 and 2.02, were general instructions given to the jury prior to reception of any evidence. After the close of the evidence and before argument of counsel, the court gave the remaining eight instructions in the following sequence:

No. 3—copied from MAI-CR 2.20—bur-den…