Gibson v. State

731 So. 2d 379, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1100, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 742, 1999 WL 112338
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 24, 1999
DocketNo. 98-CA-1100
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 731 So. 2d 379 (Gibson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gibson v. State, 731 So. 2d 379, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1100, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 742, 1999 WL 112338 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

I .KLEES, Chief Judge.

The plaintiff, Roland Gibson (“Gibson”), filed suit against the State of Louisiana, Lloyd West, the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office, the City of New Orleans and a fictitious insurance company seeking damages for false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution and personal injury. The claims against both the State and the District Attorney’s Office were dismissed. After a bifurcated jury/judge trial, the court awarded eleven million dollars in damages in favor of plaintiffs Roland Gibson, Sr., Jessie Gibson, Roland Gibson, Jr. and Dennis Gibson. The court held the City to be 90% at fault for the wrongful incarceration of Roland Gibson, with Lloyd West being 10% at fault. Defendants, the City of New Orleans and Lloyd West now appeal. We affirm as amended.

On December 30, 1967, a taxi cab driver was killed during an armed robbery in New Orleans, Louisiana. A fingerprint which was lifted from one of the windows of the cab was traced to Lloyd West (“West”). West admitted to being on the scene of the crime but implicated Gibson as being the triggerman. Thereafter, both West and Gibson were jointly indicted for the murder of the taxi cab driver.

| ;At the criminal trial, West, Gibson’s co-defendant, testified again that he had participated in the crime but claimed that Gibson was the one who shot and killed the cab driver. On November 25, 1968, Gibson was convicted by a jury of first degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On November 27, 1968, West entered into a plea bargain and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On June 3, 1985, West signed an affidavit in which he recanted his criminal trial testimony. West stated that he lied and falsely accused Gibson of shooting the cab driver because he was (1) afraid of the electric chair and (2) forced by the New Orleans police to implicate Gibson in the murder. Further, West admitted that George Carter, not Gibson, was the murderer.

In 1992, Gibson filed an application for post-conviction relief on the basis of West’s affidavit. Gibson also claimed that the District Attorney had withheld a supplemental police report containing exculpatory evidence which should have been given to Gibson’s defense attorney.

This supplemental report, as well as West’s affidavit, was entered into evidence at two hearings held on October 23, 1992 and December 18, 1992. Thereafter, the trial judge granted Gibson’s motion for post-conviction relief. The state entered a nolle prosequi as to Gibson’s indictment on March 31,1993.

On February 12, 1993, Gibson, his wife and two children, filed this instant civil suit. On February 2, 1998, a jury verdict was rendered against West and the court rendered judgment against the City. In its reasons for judgment, the court found that the police did not have probable cause to arrest Gibson for the armed robbery and murder of the cab driver and assessed 10% of fault to West and 90% of fault to the City. The court awarded damages accordingly:

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Both West and the City appeal this final judgment.

Before discussing the City’s arguments on appeal, we will address two preliminary matters: (1) West’s exception of no cause of action and (2) plaintiffs’ argument that the criminal transcripts are outside the record and cannot be considered by this court on appeal.

[381]*381First, West argues that he is entitled to absolute immunity from the judgment that was rendered against him because he was a non-litigant witness in Gibson’s criminal trial. See Spellman v. Desselles, 596 So.2d 843, 845 (La.App. 4 Cir.1992), wrii denied 605 So.2d 1080 (La.1992). We find no merit to this argument. Although we agree with West that non-litigant/non-party witnesses enjoy absolute immunity, we do not find that West is a non-litigant witness. The record reflects that West was jointly indicted with Gibson for the armed robbery and murder of the taxi cab driver and that he entered a guilty plea and received a life sentence. Accordingly, West’s exception of no cause of action is denied.

Second, plaintiffs argue that the City cannot refer to the criminal trial transcripts because they are outside the record. However, the record indicates that on September 7, 1998, this court ordered the entire criminal record and the original Lpolice report to supplement the record on appeal. Therefore, we find that the exhibits in question are part of the record before us.

The City argues on appeal that the trial court erred in holding: (1) that the New Orleans police officers had no probable cause to arrest Roland Gibson, (2) that the City of New Orleans is liable not only for the plaintiffs’ damages for false arrest, but for the damages suffered by the plaintiffs for Roland Gibson’s conviction and twenty-five year wrongful incarceration, and (3) that the City of New Orleans was 90% at fault.

Appellate courts may not set aside a trial court’s finding of fact in the absence of “manifest error” or unless it is “clearly wrong”. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989) writ denied 561 So.2d 105 (La.1990). Where there is conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review. Id. Thus, if the trial court’s decision is reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the court of appeal may not reverse even though the appellate court would have weighed the evidence differently. Further, the allocation of fault is a factual matter lying within the discretion of the trial court, and such determination will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of manifest error or clearly wrong. Maeder v. Williams, 94-0754 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/30/94) 652 So.2d 1005 writ denied 94-3150 (La.3/10/95) 650 So.2d 1177.

The City’s first complaint is that the trial court erred in concluding that the New Orleans police did not have probable cause to arrest Gibson for the armed robbery and murder of the taxi cab driver.

Jurisprudence holds that “probable cause to arrest exists when the facts and circumstances known to the officer and of which he has reasonably trustworthy | sinformation are sufficient to justify a man of ordinary caution in believing the person to be arrested has committed a crime.” State v. Wilson, 467 So.2d 503 (La.1985) cert. denied, Wilson v. Louisiana, 474 U.S. 911, 106 S.Ct. 281, 88 L.Ed.2d 246 (U.S.La. Oct.15, 1985).

In the sixteen pages of reasons for judgment, the trial court reviewed and evaluated the evidence that was available to the police in March of 1968. The trial court gave the following reasons for finding that the police did not have probable cause to arrest Gibson:

First, the court notes that initially the police were looking for a white male in connection with this crime. This individual was wanted for questioning. Apparently, he was never found. The court notes that the physical description of this individual does not match Mr. Gibson’s physical description in any way. Second, there is no explanation in the police reports as to why or when the [382]*382police made a huge leap of concluding that the crime was committed by two individuals rather than one.
Specifically, the court notes that initially the police were looking for one individual, a white male. Thereafter, a fingerprint analysis identified one print, Mr. West’s.

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Related

Thompson v. Connick
553 F.3d 836 (Fifth Circuit, 2008)
Gibson v. State
758 So. 2d 782 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
731 So. 2d 379, 98 La.App. 4 Cir. 1100, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 742, 1999 WL 112338, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gibson-v-state-lactapp-1999.