State v. Boutte

384 So. 2d 773
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided May 19, 1980·No. 66184·Published·Cited by 59 cases

Opinion

384 So.2d 773 (1980)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Oliver BOUTTE, Jr.

No. 66184.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 19, 1980.

*774 William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Louise Korns, Kim Gandy, David Plavnicky, Asst. Dist. Attys., for plaintiff-appellee.

Michael M. Ogden, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

CALOGERO, Justice.[*]

Defendant was convicted in a bench trial of committing a lewd, lascivious, and sexually indecent act upon four-year-old Kareisha Butler. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in the parish prison. On appeal, defendant urges two assignments of error as grounds for reversal of his conviction and sentence.

Context Facts

The state presented evidence at trial to support the following account of defendant's actions:

While awaiting delivery of his paycheck at his 1515½ South White Street home, Henry Warrick was greeted by his neighbor, Oliver Boutte, defendant herein. Though Warrick and defendant had never previously spoken to one another, Warrick accepted Boutte's offer of a beer and an amicable conversation followed. At one point during the conversation, Warrick's four year old daughter, Kareisha, joined her father on defendant's porch, and then resumed playing with neighborhood children.

After Warrick left, defendant called Kareisha back up to his porch. When Kareisha *775 went to see what he wanted defendant forced her inside his house, remove her clothes, and laid on top of her. Defendant started rubbing Kareisha's genitals and sticking his tongue in her mouth, but got up when Kareisha refused to stop screaming. Defendant then allowed Kareisha to dress herself and pushed her out the door.

The victim, four year old Kareisha Butler, was not called to the stand as a witness at trial. Ophelia Butler, Kareisha's mother, testified as to what Kareisha told her when Kareisha came back to the house shortly after leaving, or being pushed out of, defendant's house. Ms. Butler stated that Kareisha was crying when she came home, that her clothes were on backwards, and that her legs were red from what appeared to be some sort of rubbing. Kareisha later pointed out the defendant's house and described her assailant as "the man that daddy was talking to earlier." The coroner's report, entered into evidence, showed no evidence of injury to the child at the time of the coroner's examination, which occurred four hours after the incident.

Assignment of Error No. 1

In this assignment defendant urges that there was a total lack of evidence to support his conviction of indecent behavior with a juvenile and that the state failed to introduce any evidence tending to prove that he had the specific intent to arouse or gratify his own or the victim's sexual desires, an essential element of the offense under R.S. 14:81. Defendant claims that all of the state's evidence was hearsay or circumstantial in nature and was insufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence, as required by R.S. 15:438.[1]

Defendant has not previously raised these contentions by motion for new trial or by motion for acquittal. This Court has previously denied review to a defendant who appeals a conviction on the grounds that the state failed to introduce any evidence to support a conviction or an essential element of the crime unless the defendant has preserved the issue by making a motion for a new trial on those grounds or asking by motion for an acquittal. Article 5, § 5, Louisiana Constitution, State v. Williams, 354 So.2d 152 (La.1978); State v. Tennant, 352 So.2d 629 (La.1977).

However, in State v. Peoples, 383 So.2d 1006 (La.1980), we recently held that it would be patently unfair and a denial of a defendant's due process rights to refuse to review a complaint that the state failed to present any evidence of the crime charged or an essential element thereof simply because he failed to file a motion for a new trial or filed such a motion and neglected to assert this contention therein.

This Court's traditional test in reviewing a defendant's contention that the state failed to prove the crime or an essential element of it is whether there is some evidence from which the trier of fact could reasonably conclude that beyond a reasonable doubt the accused had committed every element of the crime for which he was charged. State v. Stowell, 338 So.2d 661 (La.1976); State v. Williams, 323 So.2d 801 (La.1975). This Court has noted in State v. Mathews, 375 So.2d 1165 (La.1979); and State v. Abercrombie, 375 So.2d 1170 (La. 1979) that this standard has seemingly been broadened by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In Jackson, supra, the Supreme Court rejected and overruled the previous "no-evidence" criterion for federal habeas review of state convictions (review was precluded where there was "some" evidence of the elements of the crime) and held that federal due process protects an accused against conviction except upon evidence that is sufficient fairly to support a conclusion that every element of the crime has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. 99 S.Ct. at 2786. The Supreme Court in Jackson set forth the following test as to whether the record evidence could reasonably support a finding of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt: "[T]he relevant question *776 is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." 99 S.Ct. at 2789.

We conclude that under either standard of review there was sufficient proof of defendant's guilt.[2] The victim's mother's testimony provided ample proof of defendant's specific intent to arouse his own sexual desires or those of the victim. Two of Kareisha's playmates furnished testimony which corroborated the testimony of the victim's mother. One of Kareisha's playmates saw Kareisha resisting defendant's efforts to pull her into his house, another playmate saw defendant pushing the crying victim out of his house.

Defendant argues that the testimony of the victim's mother cannot support a verdict of guilty of indecent behavior with a juvenile because her testimony about her daughter's complaint is inadmissible hearsay. The state argues, with some authority, that the first complaint of the victim of a sex crime is part of the res gestae of the offense and is admissible substantively, as an exception to the hearsay rule, not simply when it corroborates a victim's testimony. See 6 Wigmore on Evidence, § 1761, p. 246 (Chadbourn Edition 1976); McCormick on Evidence, § 297, p. 709 (Cleary Edition 1972); 2 Wharton's Criminal Evidence, Charles Torcia (ed.) 1972, § 300, p. 84; 2 Jones on Evidence, Gard (ed.) 1972, § 10:14, p. 288.

We find it unnecessary to decide whether the child's statement to her mother is admissible as part of the res gestae of the offense, because defendant made no objection whatever to the mother's testimony at trial. C.Cr.P. art. 841. Having failed to object to the mother's testimony at trial, appellant cannot complain about the admissibility of the state's evidence in this Court. State v. Arnold, 367 So.2d 324 (La.1979). Ordinarily if hearsay evidence is admitted without objection, it becomes substantive evidence and may be

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

State v. Boutte, 384 So. 2d 773 (La. 1980).

384 So. 2d 773 (State v. Boutte) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State of Louisiana v. Marvin Santiago
Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2024
State of Louisiana Versus Gilbert J. Burciaga
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State of Louisiana Versus Jose M. Sagastume
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2022
State v. Record
266 So. 3d 592 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State v. Lowdins
229 So. 3d 547 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
State of Louisiana v. Jeffrey Clark
220 So. 3d 583 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2016)
State v. Vargas
138 So. 3d 749 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State v. Terry
108 So. 3d 126 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012)
State v. ML JR.
35 So. 3d 1183 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Jones
32 So. 3d 1084 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Robinson
975 So. 2d 853 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State v. Rideaux
916 So. 2d 488 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
State of Louisiana v. Theddeus Rideaux
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005
State v. Gaspard
841 So. 2d 1021 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Butler
760 So. 2d 322 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2000)
State v. Pendelton
696 So. 2d 144 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Banks
694 So. 2d 401 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Collins
661 So. 2d 684 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Corvers
646 So. 2d 1125 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)