Dison v. State, 61 So. 3d 975

Dison was convicted of burglary and sentenced as a habitual offender in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Dison appealed, raising two claims: inadmissibility of flight evidence and that the verdict was against the weight and sufficiency of the evidence.
Evidence at trial included a high-speed car chase, a briar-patch escape, and items seized from a vehicle linked to Dison.
Mallette identified her property found in the vehicle and Dison was evasive in questioning; Pepper testified but invoked the Fifth Amendment.
Dison had jumped bond and fled Mississippi, later being arrested in Florida and Texas before extradition.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Flight evidence admissibility	Dison argues flight evidence should have been excluded as irrelevant/prejudicial.	State contends flight shows consciousness of guilt.	Admissible; not reversible error
Sufficiency and weight of circumstantial evidence	Dison contends circumstantial evidence fails to prove burglary beyond reasonable doubt.	State disproves alternate hypotheses; evidence is strong and supports guilt.	Evidence sufficient and weight not against the verdict

Amos v. State, 911 So. 2d 644 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005) (flight evidence admissible to show consciousness of guilt)
Hester v. State, 463 So. 2d 1087 (Miss. 1985) (circumstantial-evidence standard; exclude every other reasonable hypothesis)
Ivy v. State, 949 So. 2d 748 (Miss. 2007) (standard for reviewing sufficiency and weight-of-evidence)
McClain v. State, 625 So. 2d 774 (Miss. 1993) (burden of proof in criminal convictions)
Westbrook v. State, 202 Miss. 426, 32 So. 2d 251 (Miss. 1947) (circumstantial-evidence sufficiency principles)
Gore v. State, 37 So. 3d 1178 (Miss. 2010) (403 balancing and admissibility considerations)
Terrell v. State, 952 So. 2d 998 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006) (abuse-of-discretion standard for evidentiary rulings)
Austin v. State, 784 So. 2d 186 (Miss. 2001) (remark on admissibility balancing under Rule 403)