State ex rel. Alexis

706 So. 2d 1074
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 28, 1998
DocketNos. 96-CA-2614 to 96-CA-2652
StatusPublished

This text of 706 So. 2d 1074 (State ex rel. Alexis) 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
State ex rel. Alexis, 706 So. 2d 1074 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

JiCIACCIO, Judge.

This appeal involves thirty-four consolidated cases1 that originated in Orleans Parish Juvenile Court. Defendants/appellants appeal the juvenile court’s judgment which dismissed contempt rules against them for failure to pay child support in accordance with consent orders of support, but provided that those support orders, which the defendants had stipulated to without advice of counsel, would remain in full force and effect. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

These consolidated appeals stem from two earlier appeals, State v. Thomas, 579 So.2d 1086 (La.App. 4 Cir.), writ denied, 586 So.2d 535 (La.1991), and State v. Veal, 579 So.2d 486 (La.App. 4 Cir.), writ denied, 582 So.2d 1308 (La.1991). A brief history of those two cases is necessary to undérstand the posture of the current consolidated appeals.

RThe State filed bills of information in 1976 and 1984, charging Andrew Thomas and Felters Veal, III, respectively, -with criminal neglect of family, under La.Rev.Stat. 14:74. With the defendant’s consent, the juvenile court entered an order of support in each ease pursuant to La.Rev.Stat. 14:75, which provides for such consent judgments in lieu of the imposition of punishment for criminal neglect of family. Each defendant failed to pay the child support provided for in the consent judgment, and each subsequently was ruled into court on contempt charges. At each contempt hearing, the juvenile judge noted that the minute entry for the date of the initial proceeding did not reflect that the defendant had been advised of his right to counsel. Each defendant filed a motion to dismiss both the support order entered into at the initial proceeding, and the contempt charges. Before dismissing the cases, the trial judge ordered that the clerk of court search for the transcripts of the initial proceedings. A transcript of Felton Veal’s initial proceeding was found. It reflected that Mr. Veal had been fully advised of his right to counsel.- However, the clerk was not able to find a transcript of Mr. Thomas’ initial proceeding.

The court, therefore, ordered a full eviden-tiary hearing in order to determine if Mr. Thomas had been advised of his right to counsel. At that hearing on February 16, 1990, the juvenile judge who had presided over the original proceeding and his deputy clerk testified that all defendants charged with criminal neglect of family routinely were advised of their right to counsel. On May 3, 1990, the court rendered judgment in open court dismissing the original consent judgment and the contempt charge as to both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Veal.

The State appealed both dismissals. Before the appeals were decided the juvenile court, of its own accord, identified sixty-four other cases in which consent lajudgments of support under La.Rev.Stat. 14:75 were entered under circumstances similar to those found to exist in Thomas and Veal. Thirty-four of the cases identified are considered in this appeal.

In State v. Thomas, supra, this Court affirmed the dismissal of the entire case based on the factual finding that Mr. Thomas had not been advised of his right to counsel, a right to which he was entitled under the Louisiana Supreme Court’s ruling in State v. St. Pierre, 515 So.2d 769 (La.1987). However, because the transcript established that Mr. Veal had been advised of and waived his right to counsel, the Court reversed the dismissal in State v. Veal, supra, and remanded for contempt proceedings.

While the appeals in Thomas and Veal were pending, the State, with the trial court’s approval, filed civil Petitions for Child Support pursuant to La. R.S. 46:236 et seq. (un[1077]*1077der this statute, the State shall establish programs to enforce and collect support in Aid to Families with Dependent Children cases by obtaining support orders, to locate absent parents and to establish paternity) into the records of those of the sixty-four cases earlier identified in which there remained minor children. The civil petitions requested that support be set in an amount at least equal to the amount of support originally provided for in the original order of support pursuant to La.Rev.Stat. 14:75 A.

After this Court rendered its opinions in Thomas and Veal, the State requested that the juvenile court reconsider its May 3,1990 ruling. In response to this request the court ordered a search for transcripts of the initial proceedings for the sixty-four original defendants. Only four transcripts were located. Three of the transcripts established that the defendant had been advised of his right to |4counseI, but the remaining transcript disclosed that the defendant had not been advised of this right.

On February 24, 1995, the juvenile court signed the judgment that is the subject of this appeal. That judgment dismissed the contempt rules pending against the defendants based on La.Rev.Stat. 14:75 B, but provided that the original support orders would remain in full force and effect, except that the defendants could not be subject to any future contempt'proceedings based on those orders. The judgment recognized that the case was “quasi-civil in nature,” and granted the State the right to obtain money judgments against each defendant in civil proceedings. The judgment also reserved to the defendants the right to contest paternity,' and to plead prescription as provided in La. Civ.Code art. 3497.1. Finally, the judgment ordered the District Attorney to provide the Clerk of Court with the current address of each defendant, and ordered the Clerk to serve each defendant, at the address provided, with a copy of the judgment and the attached per curiam.

It is from this judgment that defendants now appeal. Thirty-nine briefs on behalf of appellants were filed with this Court along with a Motion to Consolidate. Five of those cases have been dismissed on motion of the appellant. The remaining individual appellants are:

1) Robert Bourgeois — found guilty as charged at his arraignment on 7/26/79. His record contains a transcript that does not indicate he was advised of his right to counsel. No civil petition for support was filed by the State.
2) Charlie Cammon — found guilty as charged at his arraignment on 2/8/80. ‘ A transcript of the initial proceeding was not located. A civil petition for support was filed by the State.
3) John Curley, Sr. — found guilty as charged at his arraignment on 7/24/75. A transcript of the initial proceeding was not located. No civil petition for support was filed by the State.
Is4) Ray Denny, Sr. — pleaded guilty as charged at his arraignment on 6/14/79. A transcript of the initial proceeding was not located. A civil petition for support was filed by the State.

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Related

State v. Smith
492 So. 2d 1272 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Creamer
528 So. 2d 667 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
State v. Thomas
579 So. 2d 1086 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State, in Interest of Lewis
609 So. 2d 918 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)
State v. Broussard
490 So. 2d 273 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1986)
State v. St. Pierre
515 So. 2d 769 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1987)
State v. Broussard
487 So. 2d 1261 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Veal
579 So. 2d 486 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Lott
615 So. 2d 452 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
706 So. 2d 1074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-alexis-lactapp-1998.