State ex rel. D.J.

995 So. 2d 1
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 28, 2008
DocketNo. 08-345
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 995 So. 2d 1 (State ex rel. D.J.) 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. D.J., 995 So. 2d 1 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

SULLIVAN, Judge.

11 Defendant, a juvenile, appeals his adjudication and disposition for aggravated burglary, a violation of La.R.S. 14:60. For the following reasons, we conditionally affirm Defendant’s adjudication and remand for an evidentiary hearing as discussed herein; if necessary, a new disposition hearing is to be held.

Facts and Procedural History

On September 20, 2007, in response to a report by Mr. Leroy Iden to the Jeaner-ette City Police of a gun being stolen from his family’s residence, the police began an investigation, which revealed that on the prior day D.J.,1 a juvenile, and three other juveniles allegedly asked Mr. Iden’s daughter if they could see her father’s guns. Based on a description provided by the daughter, D.J. was taken into custody, and with his mother’s permission, was interrogated by two juvenile officers of the Jeanerette Police Department. During the course of the interview, D.J. admitted that he and three other juveniles had entered the Idens’ residence without their permission, but he claimed that he never saw anyone who entered the residence take a gun.

On September 21, 2007, D.J. was charged by way of petition for delinquency with aggravated burglary in violation of La.R.S. 14:60. Subsequently, he was adjudicated a delinquent for committing the offense charged, and, after a disposition hearing, he was committed to the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Youth Development, for a period of one year with a recommendation for placement in a non-secure facility.2

li>D.J. is now before this court and alleges the following assignments of error:

1. The evidence introduced at the adjudication hearing did not establish the elements of the offense as to D.J. beyond a reasonable doubt.
2. D.J. was subject to ineffective assistance of counsel at his adjudication hearing and at the adjudication hearings for the other juveniles involved in the incident at Idens’ home.
3. The disposition is excessive under the facts of this case and is not justified by the offense, the predisposition report, or the trial judge’s reasons.
4. The egregious actions of the prosecutor and the failure of the trial judge to insure that the rights of an unrepresented juvenile were protected denied D.J. his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself and his Sixth Amendment right to both effective and conflict-free counsel.
5. Patent Error.

A Motion to Supplement the Record and to Suspend Briefing Deadlines was filed on D.J.’s behalf in this court. D-J.’s counsel requested that the “transcript and minutes [4]*4of December 20, 2007 in the joined juvenile cases be ordered supplemented into [the] record in this case” and asked that the minute entries for both December 20, 2007, and January 24, 2008, be ordered to state the attorney representing each juvenile at these hearings.

On April 10, 2008, this court issued an order which provided, in pertinent part:

After review of the “Motion to Supplement the Record and to Suspend Briefing Deadlines” filed on behalf of D.J., and the record in the above-referenced matter,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion to supplement the record with the minutes and transcript of December 20, 2007, is denied as counsel for the juvenile may request permission to view the appellate records in the other related juvenile cases which contain said minutes and transcript.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the request for amendment of minutes is referred to the merits of the appeal.

13As a result, this court must determine whether the court minutes of December 20, 2007, and January 24, 2008, should be corrected. The minute entry of the December 20, 2007 hearing is not contained in D.J.’s appellate record as that hearing pertains to events that occurred in the other juveniles’ cases; therefore, this request must be denied because it is not properly before the court in this case. The minute entry of January 24, 2008, accurately reflects that Shentell Brown, the attorney appointed to represent D.J., was present in open court representing him at his disposition hearing and that another attorney was present representing another juvenile. Accordingly, there is no need for correction of this minute entry, and the request for correction of this minute entry is denied.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

D.J. alleges that there was insufficient evidence to adjudicate him delinquent for the offense of aggravated burglary. This court addressed the sufficiency of the evidence standard in State v. Touchet, 04-1027, pp. 1-2 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/9/05), 897 So.2d 900, 902, stating:

With regard to sufficiency of the evidence, this court set forth as follows in State v. Lambert, 97-64, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 9/30/98), 720 So.2d 724, 726-27:
When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witness. Therefore, the appellate court should not second-guess the credibility determination of the trier of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See _|_4King, 436 So.2d 559, citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983).
In order for the State to obtain a conviction, it must prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In order for this court to affirm a conviction, the record must reflect that the State has satisfied this burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Kennerson, [5]*596-1518 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:60 states, in pertinent part:

Aggravated burglary is the unauthorized entering of any inhabited dwelling, or of any structure, water craft, or movable where a person is present, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, if the offender,
(2) After entering arms himself with a dangerous weapon....

At the adjudication hearing, the State contended that D.J. was guilty of aggravated burglary as a principal, urging:

[I]t’s aggravated burglary, because a weapon was taken and under the law of principles [sic], which is Article 14:24, says all persons concerned in the commission of a crime whether or absence [sic] or whether they directly commit the act, constituting an offense, aid and abet this commission, directly or indirectly, counsel ... inaudible ... another to commit the crime of principles [sic].

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Bluebook (online)
995 So. 2d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-dj-lactapp-2008.