William Coston v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court affirmed Coston’s convictions after holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the State to add seven rape counts before trial. The amendment added counts of the same offense, was filed eleven days before trial, and was based on evidence already available to the defense, so it did not change the nature or degree of the charged offense or create unfair surprise or prejudice. The court also declined to consider Coston’s arguments concerning the newly added non-rape charges because those arguments were not preserved below.