State v. Blue

998 So. 2d 1242, 2008 WL 5159196
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 10, 2008
Docket08-756
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 998 So. 2d 1242 (State v. Blue) 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. Blue, 998 So. 2d 1242, 2008 WL 5159196 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

998 So.2d 1242 (2008)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Eric BLUE.

No. 08-756.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

December 10, 2008.

James E. Beal, Louisiana Appellate Project, Jonesboro, LA, for Defendant/Appellant Eric Blue.

*1243 Charles A. Riddle, III, District Attorney, Norris J. Greenhouse, Assistant District Attorney, Marksville, LA, for State of Louisiana.

Court composed of MICHAEL G. SULLIVAN, ELIZABETH A. PICKETT, and CHRIS J. ROY, SR.,[*] Judges.

SULLIVAN, Judge.

Defendant, Eric Blue, was charged with armed robbery by bill of information. After a jury trial, he was found guilty of the responsive verdict of first degree robbery in violation of La.R.S. 14:64.1. He filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal or, in the alternative, a motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motions and sentenced Defendant to ten years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. He filed a motion to reconsider sentence as well as a motion to modify and amend sentence, both of which were denied.

Defendant now appeals, alleging that the trial court failed to give sufficient consideration to mitigating factors in fashioning his sentence such that a ten-year sentence is excessive for this Defendant in this case. For the following reasons, we affirm Defendant's conviction, vacate his sentence, and remand for resentencing with instructions.

FACTS

On August 7, 2007, Defendant entered a convenience store owned by Ahmed Guzar in Bunkie, Louisiana. As indicated by Mr. Guzar's testimony, Defendant placed a bag of chips on the counter and told Mr. Guzar to open the register drawer. When Mr. Guzar did not open the drawer, Defendant pulled out a gun. Mr. Guzar asked Defendant if he was playing, and Defendant stated that he was not. Mr. Guzar then opened the register drawer, and Defendant took all of the money inside, which was about six or seven hundred dollars.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we have discovered one error patent.

The trial court gave Defendant erroneous advice as to the time period for filing post-conviction relief. At sentencing, the trial court stated, in pertinent part: "You'll have five days to appeal.... [T]hree days to apply for post conviction relief."

According to La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8, the prescriptive period for filing post-conviction relief is two years, and it begins to run when the defendant's conviction and sentence become final under the provisions of La.Code Crim.P. arts. 914 or 922. Thus, the trial court erroneously advised Defendant of the prescriptive period for filing post-conviction relief. Accordingly, the trial court is directed to inform Defendant of the correct prescriptive period at resentencing.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In his sole assignment of error, Defendant contends that a ten-year sentence was excessive for this twenty-six-year-old first offender with no prior criminal record. Defendant argues that the trial court "gave undue weight to a portion of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894.1, because of an apparent rash of armed robberies in *1244 the area and his idea that he needed to make an example out of this defendant."

In his motion to reconsider sentence, Defendant asserted no grounds for excessiveness other than "the sentence is excessive in light of the circumstances of the crime and [Defendant] is entitled to reduction of sentence pursuant to same." At the hearing on the motion, Defendant urged the trial court to consider the same mitigating factors that he alleges in this appeal, but he did not address the trial court's reference to the rash of armed robberies. Because the Defendant did not make this specific objection to the trial court, his excessiveness claim, as it relates to this issue, is barred by La.Code Crim.P. art. 881.1. However, in the interest of justice, this court has previously chosen to review such an assignment as a bare claim of excessiveness. State v. Hargrave, 05-1027 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/1/06), 926 So.2d 41, writ denied, 06-1233 (La. 11/22/06), 942 So.2d 552.

This court has set forth the following standard to be used in reviewing excessive sentence claims:

La. Const. art. I, § 20 guarantees that, "[n]o law shall subject any person to cruel or unusual punishment." To constitute an excessive sentence, the reviewing court must find the penalty so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our sense of justice or that the sentence makes no measurable contribution to acceptable penal goals and is, therefore, nothing more than a needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Campbell, 404 So.2d 1205 (La.1981). The trial court has wide discretion in the imposition of sentence within the statutory limits and such sentence shall not be set aside as excessive absent a manifest abuse of discretion. State v. Etienne, 99-192 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/13/99); 746 So.2d 124, writ denied, 00-0165 (La.6/30/00); 765 So.2d 1067. The relevant question is whether the trial court abused its broad sentencing discretion, not whether another sentence might have been more appropriate. State v. Cook, 95-2784 (La.5/31/96); 674 So.2d 957, cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1043, 117 S.Ct. 615, 136 L.Ed.2d 539 (1996).

State v. Barling, 00-1241, 00-1591, p. 12 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1/31/01), 779 So.2d 1035, 1042-43, writ denied, 01-838 (La.2/1/02), 808 So.2d 331.

To decide whether a sentence shocks the sense of justice or makes no meaningful contribution to acceptable penal goals, this court has held:

[A]n appellate court may consider several factors including the nature of the offense, the circumstances of the offender, the legislative purpose behind the punishment and a comparison of the sentences imposed for similar crimes. State v. Smith, 99-0606 (La.7/6/00); 766 So.2d 501. While a comparison of sentences imposed for similar crimes may provide some insight, "it is well settled that sentences must be individualized to the particular offender and to the particular offense committed." State v. Batiste, 594 So.2d 1 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1991). Additionally, it is within the purview of the trial court to particularize the sentence because the trial judge "remains in the best position to assess the aggravating and mitigating circumstances presented by each case." State v. Cook, 95-2784 (La.5/31/96); 674 So.2d 957, 958.

State v. Smith, 02-719, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/12/03), 846 So.2d 786, 789, writ denied, 03-562 (La.5/30/03), 845 So.2d 1061 (emphasis added).

Defendant was originally charged with armed robbery but was convicted of the responsive verdict of first degree robbery, *1245 a violation of La.R.S. 14:64.1. The penalty for a violation of La.R.S. 14:64.1 is imprisonment at hard labor for not less than three years and for not more than forty years, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Thus, Defendant's sentence of ten years at hard labor falls within the statutory range. This court has held, however, that a sentence which falls within the statutory limits may be excessive under the circumstances. State v. Naquin, 527 So.2d 601 (La.App. 3 Cir.1988).

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Related

State v. Guillory
61 So. 3d 801 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
State of Louisiana v. Jeffery Lee Guillory
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State v. Blue
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State of Louisiana v. Eric Blue
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
998 So. 2d 1242, 2008 WL 5159196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-blue-lactapp-2008.