State of Louisiana v. Ronald L. Barber

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 28, 2023
Docket55,135-KA
StatusPublished

This text of State of Louisiana v. Ronald L. Barber (State of Louisiana v. Ronald L. Barber) 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 of Louisiana v. Ronald L. Barber, (La. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

Judgment rendered June 28, 2023. Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by Art. 922, La. C. Cr. P.

No. 55,135-KA

COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF LOUISIANA

*****

STATE OF LOUISIANA Appellee

versus

RONALD L. BARBER Appellant

Appealed from the Fourth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Ouachita, Louisiana Trial Court No. 21CR5118

Honorable Larry D. Jefferson, Judge

LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT Counsel for Appellant By: G. Paul Marx

ROBERT S. TEW Counsel for Appellee District Attorney

R. NICOLAS ANDERSON Assistant District Attorney

Before PITMAN, ROBINSON, and ELLENDER, JJ. ROBINSON, J.

The defendant, Ronald Barber (“Barber”), was arrested on October 3,

2021, following a domestic abuse battery complaint. On January 11, 2022,

Barber was charged by bill of information with domestic abuse battery-

fourth offense. On July 26, 2022, Barber pled guilty to an amended charge

of domestic abuse battery-third offense under North Carolina v. Alford, 400

U.S. 25, 91 S. Ct. 160, 27 L. E. 2d 162 (1970). Barber was sentenced to one

year at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of

sentence, and a $2,000 fine. Barber appeals both his plea and sentence.

For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the plea and sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 3, 2021, Ouachita Parish Sheriff deputies arrived at 1807

Bailey Street, West Monroe, Louisiana, in response to a domestic abuse

battery complaint. Upon their arrival, officers made contact with Carolyn

Barber, the victim. The victim stated that Barber, her live-in boyfriend of 23

years, struck her in the right side of her jaw and her left breast, then grabbed

her legs and attempted to pull her out of the chair. Deputies observed and

photographed scratches on the victim’s left calf and thigh area, though the

victim stated the scratches were from a previous altercation with Barber.

She stated Barber had been drinking all day and the two became involved in

a verbal confrontation, which ultimately led to a physical altercation.

Deputies made contact with Barber and advised him of his Miranda

rights. Barber denied attacks upon the victim. Deputies noticed that Barber

slurred his words and appeared unsteady on his feet.

Based upon the victim’s statements, the injuries to the victim’s leg,

and Barber’s suspected intoxication, Barber was arrested and transported to Ouachita Parish Correctional Center (“OCC”). During transport, Barber told

officers he was going to “whip some ass” when he got out of jail and

threatened to kill the victim.

At the 72-hour hearing, the trial judge noted Barber’s extensive

criminal history consisting of multiple arrests for simple battery, domestic

abuse battery, and public intoxication, including a conviction for domestic

abuse battery. Based upon Barber’s intoxicated condition at the time of his

arrest and threats of physical violence and even death to the victim, Barber

was ordered to be held without bail.

On January 11, 2022, a bill of information was filed charging Barber

with domestic abuse battery-fourth offense. On July 26, 2022, Barber pled

guilty to an amended charge of domestic abuse battery-third offense under

Alford. Barber was sentenced to serve one year at hard labor without benefit

of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, and a fine of $2,000.

Barber appeals both his plea and sentence.

DISCUSSION

Acceptance of Alford Plea

Barber argues that there was not a sufficient factual basis to support

the trial court’s acceptance of his guilty plea under Alford. He claims that

the alleged victim was never interviewed by the State and did not attend any

court proceedings, and the only evidence in the record was denied by the

accused, who consistently told the court that he was pleading guilty to get

out of jail, despite his innocence. He further asserts that a police report is

not sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, noting that

although his girlfriend called the police, no injuries were found related to the

complaint. 2 Barber also argues that he was coerced by the threat of remaining in

jail for an indeterminate amount of time. He filed a series of pro se motions

that were not heard, leaving him with a choice of either waiting longer or

taking the plea offer for immediate release. Also, his social security

payments – his only source of income – were discontinued while he was in

custody and would not be renewed until his release.

Barber claims that his plea was not entered into freely and voluntarily

under the circumstances because there was so little investigation into the

matter and because of how long he was detained until his guilty plea was

offered. He urges that there was no way to prove the elements of the charge

since the sole witness was not going to appear and the only other evidence

available was the police report. Barber reasons that since the key witness

not available, had he not been held in custody, there would have been no

plea.

The United States Supreme Court in Alford held that, “[a]n individual

accused of crime may voluntarily, knowingly, and understandingly consent

to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to

admit his participation in the acts constituting the crime.” Alford, 400 U.S.

at 37, 91 S. Ct. 160, 167. This Court in State v. Banks, 49,767 (La. App. 2

Cir. 4/15/15), 163 So. 3d 895, 901, further provided:

Alford holds that an accused may voluntarily, knowingly, and understandingly consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even though he is unwilling to admit participation in the crime, or even if his guilty plea contains a protestation of innocence, when he intelligently concludes that his interests require a guilty plea and the record strongly evidences guilt.

In Alford, the defendant had been indicted for first degree murder. Id.

Faced with strong evidence of guilt and no substantial evidentiary support of

3 his innocence, the defendant entered a plea of guilty to a reduced charge of

second degree murder. Id. Although the defendant denied he committed the

offense, he stated to the trial court that he was pleading guilty and indicated

that he was doing so to avoid the death penalty for first degree murder. Id.

The trial court accepted the defendant’s guilty plea and imposed a sentence.

Id. On appeal, the United States Supreme Court held that the trial court did

not err in accepting the plea in view of the strong factual basis for the plea

and the defendant’s clearly expressed desire to enter the plea despite his

professed belief in his innocence. Id.

When the court is faced with such assertive claims of innocence and

coercion, there must be a different standard for affirming the guilty plea.

State v. Fullilove, 11-34 (La. App. 5 Cir. 12/13/11), 81 So. 3d 809, 811. “A

guilty plea is constitutionally infirm if it is not entered freely and voluntarily,

if the Boykin colloquy is inadequate.” State v. McCoil, 05-658 (La. App. 5

Cir. 2/27/06), 924 So. 2d 1120, 1124. The Court in United States v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McCarthy v. United States
394 U.S. 459 (Supreme Court, 1969)
North Carolina v. Alford
400 U.S. 25 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Henderson v. Morgan
426 U.S. 637 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Hill v. Lockhart
474 U.S. 52 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Pablo Carreon v. United States
578 F.2d 176 (Seventh Circuit, 1978)
United States v. Lawrence Johnson
612 F.2d 305 (Seventh Circuit, 1980)
State v. Linear
600 So. 2d 113 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)
State v. Orman
704 So. 2d 245 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1998)
State v. Jordan
619 So. 2d 648 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
State v. McCarty
499 So. 2d 292 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. McCoil
924 So. 2d 1120 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Banks
163 So. 3d 895 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Fullilove
81 So. 3d 809 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
State v. Jackson
245 So. 3d 1250 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State of Louisiana v. Ronald L. Barber, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-louisiana-v-ronald-l-barber-lactapp-2023.