State v. Bergeron

127 So. 3d 1075, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 627, 2013 WL 6492238, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2519
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 11, 2013
DocketNo. 13-627
StatusPublished

This text of 127 So. 3d 1075 (State v. Bergeron) 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. Bergeron, 127 So. 3d 1075, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 627, 2013 WL 6492238, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2519 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

PICKETT, Judge.

I,FACTS

On September 11, 2006, the defendant, Thaddius Brock Bergeron, pled guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Evangeline Parish, under docket number 72152-T. He was represented by counsel at the time he pled guilty. On October 10, 2006, the defendant pled guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Pointe Cou-pee Parish, under docket number 72720. He was not represented by counsel at the time he pled guilty.

The defendant was charged on January 24, 2011, with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, third offense, a violation of La.R.S. 14:98. On October 11, 2012, the defendant filed a “Motion to Quash Bill of Information for 3rd Offense DWI and Incorporated Memorandum of Law.” A hearing was held on the defendant’s motion on October 25, 2012, following which the trial court denied the motion. The defendant pled guilty on February 25, 2013, to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, third offense. However, he reserved his right to appeal the October 25, 2012 denial of his motion to quash pursuant to State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). He was sentenced to five years at hard labor with all but one year suspended, without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, and credit for time served.

The defendant has perfected a timely appeal, wherein he alleges the trial court erred when it ruled that he knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel prior to entering his guilty plea to the second offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated; accordingly, the trial court erred when it denied his motion to |2quash the bill of information charging the current offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated as a third offense.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by this court for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find there is one error patent and the court minutes of sentencing require correction.

For third offense D.W.I., La.R.S. 14:98(D)(l)(a) (emphasis added) provides in pertinent part:

[T]he offender shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not less than one year nor more than five years.... One year of the sentence of imprisonment shall be imposed without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The court, in its discretion, may suspend all or any part of the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment. If any portion of the sentence is suspended, the offender shall be placed on supervised probation with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, division of probation and parole, for a period of time equal to the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment, which probation shall commence on the day after the offender’s release from custody.

The trial court sentenced the defendant to five years at hard labor with all but one year suspended. He was placed on probation for five years. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:98 requires the probation to be for a period of time equal to the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment, which in this case is four years. Accordingly, we hereby amend the term of probation to four years and instruct the trial court to make an entry in the court minutes reflecting the change. Cf. State v. Jacobs, 10-292 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/6/10), 48 So.3d 1218.

[1078]*1078Additionally, we find the court minutes of sentencing require correction. The trial court imposed all of the conditions of probation listed on the plea form, and it reviewed some of the conditions with the defendant in open court. One of |3the conditions listed on the form is that the defendant “shall be under home incarceration pursuant to a program approved by the division of probation and parole for the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment.” However, the court minutes of sentencing state that the term of home incarceration is six months. The trial court is instructed to correct the court minutes of sentencing to correct the length of home incarceration imposed as a condition of probation.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

The issue before this court is whether the second conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated was a valid plea for the purpose of sentencing the defendant as a third offender pursuant to La.R.S. 14:98(D)(l)(a).

The defendant alleges that at the hearing on his motion to quash the bill of information, “the State did not carry its burden of proving that Mr. Bergeron was represented by counsel or that he had knowingly and intelligently waived his right to representation by counsel.” At the hearing, the defendant argued that according to the October 10, 2006 transcript of the guilty plea hearing, the trial court did not specifically engage the defendant as to his right to counsel, that “[i]t can’t be simply yes-or-no answers[.]” However, after reviewing the record, the current trial court determined that the prior trial court engaged the defendant extensively. The prior trial court asked him whether he understood all the rights he was waiving by pleading guilty without counsel and discussed with him the differences between a plea of no contest and a guilty plea.

In brief, the defendant further points out that it was not until after the prior trial court pronounced the sentence that the court asked him certain questions regarding his age, background, education, and mental health — questions that were |4to be asked to determine a defendant’s ability to knowingly and intelligently waive counsel.

An uncounseled misdemeanor conviction, absent a valid waiver of counsel, may not serve as the predicate for enhancement of a subsequent DWI offense. See, State v. Stevison, 97-3122 (La.10/30/98), 721 So.2d 843, 844. The State bears the burden of proving that an unrepresented defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel before pleading guilty to a predicate misdemeanor DWI that is used to enhance a subsequent DWI offense. See, State v. Boudreaux, 99-1017 (La.App. 5 Cir. 2/16/00), 756 So.2d 505, 508. Accord, State v. Rodrigue, 01-377 (La.App. 5 Cir. 8/28/01), 795 So.2d 488, 493. The determination of the validity of the accused’s waiver of counsel rests on the totality of the circumstances in each case. State v. Stevison, supra.

State v. Bush, 03-1438, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/27/04), 873 So.2d 795, 798.

Furthermore, in State v. Strain, 585 So.2d 540, 543-44 (La.1991), the supreme court stated:

When an accused waives his right to counsel in pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, the trial judge should expressly advise him of his right to counsel and to appointed counsel if he is indigent. The judge should further determine on the record that the waiver is made knowingly and intelligently under the circumstances. Factors bearing on the validity of this determination include the age, [1079]*1079education, experience, background, competency and conduct of the accused, as well as the nature, complexity and seriousness of the charge. The nature of the self-representation to be undertaken is also significant, since a layman obviously can more easily understand from a brief explanation by the judge the significance of a guilty plea than he can the significance of defending himself in a felony trial, with the latent dangers and pitfalls attendant thereto.

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Related

State v. Crosby
338 So. 2d 584 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1976)
State v. Boudreaux
756 So. 2d 505 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
State v. Scott
8 So. 3d 658 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State v. Rodrigue
795 So. 2d 488 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Strain
585 So. 2d 540 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1991)
State v. Stevison
721 So. 2d 843 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1998)
State v. Branch
696 So. 2d 81 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Sholar
801 So. 2d 534 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Jacobs
48 So. 3d 1218 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Canovsky v. Gehrsen
8 La. App. 5 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1927)
State v. Bush
873 So. 2d 795 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
127 So. 3d 1075, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 627, 2013 WL 6492238, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bergeron-lactapp-2013.