State ex rel. K.B.

200 So. 3d 933, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 1128, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1571, 2016 WL 4382566
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 17, 2016
DocketNo. 15-1128
StatusPublished

This text of 200 So. 3d 933 (State ex rel. K.B.) 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. K.B., 200 So. 3d 933, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 1128, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1571, 2016 WL 4382566 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinions

SAVOIE, Judge.

The juvenile, K.B., appeals her sentence after being adjudicated delinquent. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The State of Louisiana filed a petition in the Third Judicial District Court in Lincoln Parish seeking to have K.B. declared a delinquent because, it alleged, on August 19, 2015, she committed the offense of Aggravated Second Degree Battery with a bottle of bleach upon a member of the staff [935]*935of th'e Methodist Children’s Home in Ru-ston.

A hearing was held in the Third Judicial District Court on October 6, 2015. Her attorney entered the following on the record:

Your Honor, at this time [K.B.] would like to enter an admission as to the charge of aggravated second-degree battery, accept the state’s offer of eighteen months OJJ [Office of Juvenile Justice] custody, suspended, with eighteen months’ [sic] supervised probation and special conditions, and of course, there will be a transfer to Lafayette.

The trial court then questioned K.B. extensively regarding the admission, including explaining to her that she was agreeing to admit to the offense and be sentenced to eighteen months OJJ custody, which would be suspended, and that she would be subject to eighteen months of supervised probation, which would include substance abuse evaluations. KB. was advised of her constitutional rights by the trial court. K.B. expressed her acknowledgement and understanding of these terms. The State remained silent through the proceedings and did not express any disagreement with the terms of KB.’s disposition as explained to the court by KB.’s attorney.

The trial court pronounced sentence in accordance with the agreement. A bench conference was then held, after which the trial court stated, “Let the record reflect it’s been brought to my attention that it would be practical if I just adjudicate and accept the plea of [KB.], that I transfer the case to Lafayette for actual disposition and sentencing.” KB.’s attorney agreed that he had discussed the matter with K.B. and she had no objection. The trial court then accepted the plea and ordered the matter transferred to the Fifteenth Judicial District Court.

The Fifteenth Judicial District, which possessed information regarding KB.’s history, determined that the-proper course of action was to proceed with sentencing KB. to eighteen months in the OJJ custody, with all but six suspended and twelve months’ supervised probation. The matter was referred back to the Third Judicial District Court to determine whether K.B. would be allowed to withdraw her admission. KB.’s counsel objected and asked the court .to vacate its sentence, which the trial court denied, KB. has now appealed her sentence.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

K.B. is before this court seeking review of the following assignments of error:

1. The Lincoln Parish and Lafayette Parish juvenile courts erred when they arranged for a transfer of KB.’s case to Lafayette for sentencing after the Lincoln Parish court had accepted KB.’s plea and imposed a valid and binding sentence.
a. KB. is entitled to specific performance of her plea agreement under the law of contracts.
b. Refusal of the Lafayette Parish court to sentence K.B. in accordance with her plea agreement in Lincoln Parish rendered KB.’s admission constitutionally infirm and thus violated her right to due process.
2. The Lafayette Parish juvenile court erred when it (a) refused to hear evidence at a disposition hearing, (b) refused to recuse itself, and (c) sentenced K.B. to a more restrictive and punitive sentence based upon personal knowledge of KB.’s history in foster care.

ANALYSIS

Errors Patent

We have found that, despite the Louisiana Children’s Code’s silence on whether a [936]*936review of the record for errors patent is mandated, such a review is indeed required. See State in the Interest of J.C.G., 97-1044 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/4/98), 706 So.2d 1081. We note one error patent. The trial court failed to inform K.B. of her two-year prescriptive period for seeking post-conviction relief. See La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8. Accordingly, this case is remanded to the trial court with instructions to inform KB. of the provisions of La. Code Crim.P.art. 930.8 by sending written notice to KB. within thirty days of the rendition of this opinion and to file written proof of same in the record.

Assignment of Error Number One

KB. argues that the Third Judicial District Court erred in transferring the matter to Lafayette Parish. We disagree. Louisiana Children’s Code Article 806 provides:

A. A delinquency proceeding shall be commenced in the parish in which the offense complained of took place. The juvenile court shall conduct the adjudication hearing and . may also conduct the disposition hearing unless it decides to transfer the case as provided for in Paragraph B of this Article.
B. Upon motion of the district attorney, the child, or upon the court’s own motion, after the confection of an informal adjustment agreement or an adjudication that the child is delinquent, the court'may transfer the proceeding to the parish in which the child is domiciled.

There is no dispute that K.B. is domiciled in Lafayette Parish. The Third Judicial District Court was statutorily authorized to transfer KB.’s matter to Lafayette Parish. KB.’s attorney did not object to the transfer, and indeed acquiesced to it.

K.B. next argues that the trial court erred in not imposing the disposition agreed upon between her and the State. Again, we disagree. “It is well settled that the sentencing discretion of the trial judge cannot be limited by a sentence recommended by both the State and the defendant. The trial judge may accept or reject a joint sentence recommendation.” State v. Robinson, 33,921, p. 2 (La.App. 2 Cir. 11/1/00), 770 So.2d 868, 870. Regarding the sentencing discretion of a trial judge, this court in State v. Higginbotham, 03-49, pp. 3-4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 4/30/03), 843 So.2d 1230, 1232 (discussing Robinson), further explained:

There is a distinction between an “agreed upon plea” and an “agreed upon sentence.” In Robinson, the defendant entered into an agreement wherein he plead [sic] guilty to two counts of a lesser crime of simple burglary and the state recommended the sentences be served concurrently. The court of appeal noted the plea agreement did not include a provision that the trial court would impose concurrent sentences. The court stated the “agreed upon plea” was not an “agreed upon sentence,” but only an agreement that the state would make a particular recommendation. The trial court informed the defendant that there was only a recommendation and the court would impose a sentence after considering the pre-sentence investigation report and other factors.

After a review of the October 6, 2015 hearing transcript, which was heard in the Third Judicial District Court and wherein K.B. entered a guilty plea, it is clear the juvenile agreed to a recommendation. Judge Rogers asked KB. whether her attorney had explained, ‘What the sentence recommendation

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Related

State v. Higginbotham
843 So. 2d 1230 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State, in Interest of Jcg
706 So. 2d 1081 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Robinson
770 So. 2d 868 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
State ex rel. N. H.
11 So. 3d 27 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State ex rel. E.C.
141 So. 3d 785 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2014)
State ex rel. H.N.
171 So. 3d 1242 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State ex rel. R.D.S.
43 So. 3d 1057 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Southern Development Co. v. Greco
8 La. App. 1 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1928)

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Bluebook (online)
200 So. 3d 933, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 1128, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1571, 2016 WL 4382566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-kb-lactapp-2016.