Jesse Frank Mouton v. State of Mississippi

MAXWELL, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. Our trial judges have considerable discretion over discovery matters. This discretion extends to the handling of requests for continuances or mistrials based on alleged discovery violations. In this case, an expert witness testified that injuries to a child were consistent with sexual abuse. Her reports, photographs of the injured body area, and expert opinion were previously disclosed to the defense. Yet, at trial, the defense took issue with the expert’s testimony about the relevance of the shape of some of the injuries. After thoughtfully assessing the…