State v. Boswell

689 So. 2d 627, 1997 WL 55379
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 12, 1997
Docket96-801
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 689 So. 2d 627 (State v. Boswell) 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. Boswell, 689 So. 2d 627, 1997 WL 55379 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

689 So.2d 627 (1997)

STATE of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Laurence BOSWELL, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 96-801.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 12, 1997.

*628 Charles F. Wagner, Dist. Atty., J. Stanley Goodwin, Alexndria, for State of La.

Harold A. Van Dyke, III, Pineville, for Laurence Boswell, Jr.

Before WOODARD, SULLIVAN and GREMILLION, JJ.

GREMILLION, Judge.

Defendant, Laurence Boswell, Jr., appeals his conviction for two counts of distribution of cocaine, in violation of La.R.S. 40:967(A)(1). The bill of information, filed on June 1, 1995, alleged Defendant distributed cocaine to an undercover agent and a confidential informant on two occasions. After pleading not guilty, Defendant was tried by jury on March 12, 1996 through March 13, 1996. He was found guilty of both counts of distribution. He filed a Motion for New Trial and a Motion for Post Verdict Judgment of Acquittal, which were denied on April 12, 1996. On that same date, Defendant was sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor on each count, the sentences to run concurrently. Defendant orally objected to his conviction and sentence after the sentences were imposed. On April 24, 1996, the State filed a habitual offender bill against Defendant, charging him as a second felony offender. Defendant denied the allegations in the bill at his arraignment on June 7, 1996; however, at his habitual offender hearing, held on August 13, 1996, he admitted to his status as a second offender. His original sentence was set aside and he was resentenced to eighteen years at hard labor on each count, the sentences to run concurrently. A pro se Motion to Reconsider Sentence was filed by Defendant which was subsequently denied by the trial court. He now *629 appeals his conviction, alleging three assignments of error. We affirm in part and remand with instructions.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND TWO

By these assignments of error, Defendant alleges the verdict is illegal and unconstitutional claiming that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction and that the trial court erred in refusing to grant his Motion for Post Verdict Judgment of Acquittal. Defendant did not argue these assignments of error in his brief. Failure to argue an assignment of error on appeal constitutes a waiver of that assignment of error. State v. Lewis, 576 So.2d 1106 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writ denied, 580 So.2d 669 (La.1991). See also Uniform Rules—Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-12.4. Therefore, these assignments of error are deemed abandoned.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER THREE

By this assignment of error, Defendant claims the following:

The trial court erred in refusing to allow defendant to question Pamela Johnson Dauzat in regard to recent arrests and any bias, prejudice or influence which her pending charges might have had on her testimony; as well as any arrangements, promises, anticipated relief or conversation(s) she had with any law enforcement officials; and other issues arising from these arrests.

Dauzat testified that she was the confidential informant involved in the undercover narcotics transactions at issue. She identified Defendant as the individual who distributed cocaine to her on February 24 and March 6, 1995. During Dauzat's direct examination, she admitted that prior to the drug transactions at issue, she went to Officer Warren Driggers to seek help with her pending arrests. She testified she entered into an agreement with the State wherein the charges pending against her would be dropped in exchange for her assistance and information in working narcotics cases.[1]

Under cross-examination, when Defendant attempted to impeach Dauzat with questions as to whether she had used narcotic drugs in the thirty days proceeding trial or whether she had been arrested on drug charges within two to three weeks prior to trial, the State objected. Sustaining the objection, the trial court ruled that Defendant could not mention any of Dauzat's prior arrests.

The State now concedes that the trial court's ruling constituted error, citing the case of State v. Vale, 95-1230 (La.1/26/96), 666 So.2d 1070, in support of its concession. In Vale, Donald Vale, Gayle Neidhardt, and Michael Bergeron were charged with possession of heroin with the intent to distribute. "In return for Bergeron's testimony against relators, the state agreed to and did dismiss the charge against him in January of 1991." Id. at 1071. On November 17, 1992, prior to trial, Bergeron was arrested for a violation of La.R.S. 14:95.1, a felon carrying a concealed weapon. The defendant sought to cross-examine Bergeron about his pending charge "as an alternative explanation for his recovered memory of the Wal-Mart sale...." Id. at 1072. The trial court disallowed the admission of such evidence, finding that "in the absence of evidence of an explicit deal concerning the firearms offense, Bergeron's subjective expectations concerning that charge were irrelevant for purposes of cross-examination into his bias and interest in testifying for the state." Id. The supreme court granted certiorari:

[B]ecause the trial court's ruling, affirmed by the court of appeal, conflicted with numerous decisions by this court that to the extent exposure of a witness's motivation is a proper and important function of the constitutionality protected right of cross-examination, a witness's `hope or knowledge that he will receive leniency from the state is highly relevant to establish his bias *630 or interest.' (citations omitted). A witness's bias or interest may arise from arrests or pending criminal charges, or the prospect of prosecution, even when he has made no agreements with the state regarding his conduct. (citation omitted).

Id. at 1072.

The court in Vale remanded the case for a harmless error review in light of the trial court's error. We agree that the trial court committed error in refusing to allow Defendant to question Dauzat about her pending charge, therefore, a harmless error analysis is necessary. In State v. Wille, 559 So.2d 1321, 1332 (La.1990), appeal after remand on other grounds, 595 So.2d 1149 (La.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 880, 113 S.Ct. 231, 121 L.Ed.2d 167 (1992), the court found the following with respect to the application of the harmless error analysis to confrontation errors:

Confrontation errors are subject to a Chapman harmless error analysis. Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986). The correct inquiry is whether the reviewing court, assuming that the damaging potential of the cross-examination were fully realized, is nonetheless convinced that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 684, 106 S.Ct. at 1438. Factors to be considered by the reviewing court include "the importance of the witness' testimony in the prosecution's case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution's case." Id. at 684, 106 S.Ct. at 1438.

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Bluebook (online)
689 So. 2d 627, 1997 WL 55379, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-boswell-lactapp-1997.