State of Louisiana v. John Boyd Baham

• Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
• Decided: August 13, 2014
• Docket: KA-0014-0572
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

14-572

STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

VERSUS

JOHN BOYD BAHAM

************

APPEAL FROM THE FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF CALCASIEU, NO. 12765-12 HONORABLE G. MICHAEL CANADAY, DISTRICT JUDGE

JIMMIE C. PETERS JUDGE

************ Court composed of Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux, Chief Judge, Sylvia R. Cooks, and Jimmie C. Peters, Judges.

APPEAL DISMISSED. REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.

John F. DeRosier District Attorney P. O. Box 3206 Lake Charles, LA 70602-3206 COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: State of Louisiana

Brent A. Hawkins Louisiana Appellate Project P. O. Box 3752 Lake Charles, LA 70602 COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT: John Boyd Baham PETERS, Judge.

The State of Louisiana (state) charged the defendant, John Boyd Baham,

with one count of forcible rape, a violation of La.R.S. 14:42.1, and one count of

misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile, a violation of La.R.S. 14:80.1.

These charges were filed under District Court Docket Number 12765-SO-12. On

January 13, 2014, the state dismissed the forcible rape charge and the defendant

entered a guilty plea to the misdemeanor carnal knowledge charge. The trial court

sentenced the defendant to serve six months in the parish jail on the misdemeanor

charge. In the same proceedings, the defendant entered a guilty plea to the offense

of indecent behavior with a juvenile, a violation of La.R.S. 14:81. This offense

had been charged separately, and was filed under District Court Docket Number

12763-SO-12. On February 5, 2014, the trial court granted the defendant an appeal

of the sentences imposed in both docket numbers. The sentence issues were

docketed in this court as two separate appeals, and the issue before us arises from

District Court Docket Number 12765-SO-12, the misdemeanor conviction.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 912.1(C)(1) provides that the

proper vehicle to obtain appellate review for a misdemeanor offense is an

application for writ of review, and the defendant acknowledges this in his brief to

this court. Citing State v. LeBlanc, 08-1533 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/10/09), 12 So.3d

1125, writ granted on other grounds, 09-1355 (La. 7/6/10), 41 So.3d 1168, the

defendant requests that his appeal be dismissed, and that he be allowed to seek

review via writ application “once this appeal is complete.” In LeBlanc, the

defendant entered a guilty plea to one count of vehicular homicide, a felony as

defined in La.R.S. 14:32.1, and three counts of vehicular negligent injuring,

misdemeanors as defined in La.R.S. 14:39.1. The trial court sentenced her to thirty

years at hard labor on the felony charge, and six months in the parish jail on each

1 of the misdemeanor charges. While the defendant’s appeal in LeBlanc only

addressed the excessiveness of the sentence on the felony charge, this court

severed the misdemeanor charges from the appeal and instructed the defendant to

file an application for supervisory writs within thirty days of the rendition of the

opinion if she wished to seek a review of the sentences imposed on the

misdemeanors. Id.

Following the rationale set forth in LeBlanc, we dismiss the defendant’s

appeal on the misdemeanor charge and instruct the defendant that if he chooses to

seek review of the misdemeanor conviction, he must file an application seeking

supervisory review with this court within fifteen days of this ruling.