Rivera-Guadiana v. State, 71 So. 3d 1221

Rivera-Guadiana was convicted of sexual battery under Miss. Code §97-3-95 in Harrison County Circuit Court.
Doe, the director of missions and sole resident of the Gulf Gardens Baptist Church mission house, testified Rivera-Guadiana assaulted her after returning from Walmart.
The defense claimed the intercourse was consensual and not a sexual assault.
The alleged assault involved force, pushing against a refrigerator and shelves, and nonconsensual intercourse.
Police investigated that night; Doe’s injuries and damaged shelf were documented; Rivera-Guadiana was later found sleeping nearby.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the circuit court erred by denying the reasonable-doubt jury instruction	Rivera-Guadiana argues D-9 properly stated the law	State contends D-9 was cumulative and unnecessary	No error; instructions adequately covered reasonable doubt
Whether the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence	Doe did not consent; credibility issues favor conviction	Evidence supported consent dispute; credibility for jury to resolve	No; verdict not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence

Agnew v. State, 783 So.2d 699 (Miss. 2001) (standard for reviewing jury instructions; instructions read as a whole)
Martin v. State, 854 So.2d 1004 (Miss. 2003) (one instruction may state burden of proof if lawfully correct)
Lett v. State, 902 So.2d 630 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005) (special concurrence discussing defining reasonable doubt (not adopted))
Vaden v. State, 965 So.2d 1072 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007) (instruction sufficiency analyzed in context of other jury instructions)
Price v. State, 847 So.2d 290 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003) (uncontroverted victim testimony may sustain conviction in sex crimes)
Crawford v. State, 754 So.2d 1211 (Miss. 2000) (reliability and credibility considerations in sex-crime cases)
McDonald v. State, 816 So.2d 1032 (Miss. Ct. App. 2002) (corroboration considerations in sex-crime credibility)