State v. Benedict

607 So. 2d 817, 1992 WL 298138
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 16, 1992
DocketKA 911405
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 607 So. 2d 817 (State v. Benedict) 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 v. Benedict, 607 So. 2d 817, 1992 WL 298138 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

607 So.2d 817 (1992)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
David J. BENEDICT.

No. KA 911405.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

October 16, 1992.

*819 Richard Ward, Jr., Dist. Atty. and Michael E. Parks, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Roads, for State-appellee.

C. Jerome D'Aquila, Public Defender and Thomas A. Nelson, Asst. Public Defender, New Roads, for defendant-appellant.

Before LOTTINGER, C.J., and FOIL, J., and GROVER L. COVINGTON, J. Pro Tem.[1]

GROVER L. COVINGTON, Judge Pro Tem.

David J. Benedict was charged by bill of information with attempted aggravated rape, a violation of La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:42. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was convicted as charged. He filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal or alternatively for a new trial or for a verdict of a lesser and included responsive offense. The court denied the motion and sentenced defendant to serve a term of fifty years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant has appealed, urging five assignments of error. Assignment number three (denial of mistrial) was not briefed on appeal and, therefore, is considered abandoned. See Uniform Rules—Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-12.4.

FACTS

On the evening of October 7, 1990, the victim was in bed watching television at her home in Pointe Coupee Parish when she observed defendant standing naked in her bedroom. She recognized him as being one of the workers who was in her home that day. He jumped upon the victim, straddled her, and pinned her beneath the blanket. Then he punched her in the face and chest and tried to hold her mouth to keep her from screaming. Resisting, the victim scratched and bit her assailant and struggled to free herself. Benedict persisted. He continued to beat the victim and pulled at her nightclothes in the chest area. Hearing her mother's screams, the victim's teenage daughter came into the room. When the daughter screamed and ran back to her room, defendant grabbed the victim by the hair and dragged her toward her daughter's room. After a frantic struggle, the victim finally was able to escape from defendant and run next door for help. The victim's daughter struck defendant over the head with a vase, and he finally left the residence.

When deputies from the Sheriff's Office arrived, Detective L.J. David found a kitchen knife on the victim's bed. The victim had not seen the knife during the struggle, and she indicated that it did not belong to her. Detective David also seized various items of male clothing found on the floor in the victim's den. After securing defendant's name, Detective David arrested him. In oral statements given after his arrest, defendant indicated that he broke into the victim's home in order to steal her television. He then decided to have sex with her. He told the detective he carried the knife in his mouth until it fell out when he was putting his hands over the victim's mouth to make her quiet.

INTRODUCTION OF KNIFE AND ORAL STATEMENTS

In the first assignment of error, defendant argues the court erred when it overruled defendant's separate objections to introduction of the knife and defendant's oral statements. Specifically, defendant contends the knife was inadmissible because the state did not mention it during the *820 opening statement. Defendant maintains the oral statements were inadmissible because the state did not mention the existence of the oral statements in the state's pretrial notice of intention to introduce statements.

La.C.Cr.P. art. 766 requires the state to "explain the nature of the charge, and set forth, in general terms, the nature of the evidence" in its opening statement. Article 769 further provides that "[e]vidence not fairly within the scope of the opening statement of the state shall not be admitted in evidence." However, it is not necessary that the state detail every shred of evidence in an opening statement. State v. Edwards, 406 So.2d 1331, 1350 (La.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 945, 102 S.Ct. 2011, 72 L.Ed.2d 467 (1982).

Unless the defendant has been granted pretrial discovery, the state also is required to advise a defendant in writing prior to the beginning of the state's opening statement if it intends to introduce a confession or inculpatory statement into evidence. If notice is not given, a confession or inculpatory statement is not admissible. La.C.Cr.P. art. 768; State v. Robinson, 563 So.2d 477, 483 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 567 So.2d 1122 (La.1990). One of the purposes of the statutory scheme contained in articles 766-769, relative to opening statements and notice to the defendant prior to the opening statement, is to prevent surprise and to allow adequate time for preparation of the defense. See State v. Parker, 436 So.2d 495, 499 (La.1983).

In the instant case, during the opening statement the prosecutor did not mention the seizure of a weapon or indicate that a weapon was used in connection with the rape attempt. If the state offers evidence that was inadvertently and in good faith omitted from the opening statement, the court has discretion to admit the evidence if it finds that the defendant was not taken by surprise or prejudiced in the preparation of the defense. La.C.Cr.P. art. 769. However, from the trial court's ruling in this case, it is not evident that the court considered the state's failure to mention the use of a weapon to be inadvertent and in good faith.

Nevertheless, any error which might have occurred from the state's failure to mention the knife in its opening statement was not reversible. Prior to defendant's objection to introduction of the knife, both the victim and Detective David had described the seizure of the knife without objection on this ground by defendant. Furthermore, the bill of information mentions that defendant was armed with a knife and the bill was read by the clerk before the opening statements. Additionally, both the victim and Detective David testified about the knife at the preliminary examination which was held months before the trial. Thus, defendant was not prejudiced by introduction of the knife.

We also reject defendant's complaint concerning introduction of the oral statements. After hearing arguments of counsel, the court concluded that defendant had been informed of the existence of the oral statements during pretrial discovery and, thus, was not entitled to additional pretrial notice. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 768. Because the discovery granted to defendant was "open file," we are unable to review this conclusion of the trial court. See State v. Scoby, 536 So.2d 615, 620 (La.App. 1st Cir.1988), writ denied, 540 So.2d 339 (La.1989).

However, we conclude that defendant was not prejudiced by introduction of those statements. See Parker, 436 So.2d at 499. After making oral statements to the authorities upon his arrest, defendant later prepared a written statement which contained more details than the oral statements. A copy of the written statement was attached to the state's notice of intent to introduce inculpatory statements. As a result, the substance of the oral statements was provided to defendant in advance of the trial. Although the state, for unrelated reasons, ultimately was not allowed to introduce the written statement, the defendant nevertheless suffered no prejudice from admission of the oral statements because he had received adequate notice to allow preparation of his defense. Additionally, *821

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
607 So. 2d 817, 1992 WL 298138, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-benedict-lactapp-1992.