State v. Brown

56 So. 3d 1095, 2010 La.App. 4 Cir. 0852, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 94, 2011 WL 241957
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 26, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-KA-0852
StatusPublished

This text of 56 So. 3d 1095 (State v. Brown) 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. Brown, 56 So. 3d 1095, 2010 La.App. 4 Cir. 0852, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 94, 2011 WL 241957 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

MICHAEL E. KIRBY, Judge.

^STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendant Wayne Brown was charged by bill of information with second degree robbery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64.4. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. Subsequently a twelve-person jury found him guilty of second degree battery. Initially defendant was sentenced to five years at hard labor but later was adjudicated a third-felony habitual offender. [1097]*1097The trial court vacated the original sentence, sentenced defendant to five years at hard labor, and granted defendant’s motion for appeal.

TESTIMONY

New Orleans Police Department Senior Dispatcher Stephanie Brisco identified an audiotape and paper incident recall of a 911 call of the incident.

New Orleans Police Officer Stephanie Caldwell testified that she and her partner, Officer Jeremy Smith, responded to a call at 3103 Cleveland Street. The call was a general complaint with screaming heard in the background. Officer Caldwell observed that the victim’s face was “just completely brutalized, beaten,” describing the swelling as “the size of a grapefruit.” Officer Caldwell identified | ^photographs of the injured victim, as she appeared to the officer at the time of the incident. The injuries appeared to be a laceration to the victim’s left ear that was bleeding and considerable swelling on the right side of the victim’s head in the temple area. The victim was transported to the hospital after Officer Caldwell took her statement. Officer Caldwell testified defendant was not on the scene. She confirmed on cross examination that the police report categorized the offense as a second degree battery and said it appeared to be a domestic abuse case. On redirect the witness stated her report reflected a theft as well as a second degree battery because the victim reported that the defendant had grabbed her cell phone as he left.

New Orleans Police Officer Jeremy Smith testified that the victim had severe trauma to both sides of her head. Officer Smith identified the photos of the victim and said they accurately reflected her injuries. Office Smith conceded that when he wrote the application for an arrest warrant he listed simple battery as the charge, but crossed that out and wrote in second degree battery. The investigation showed that the incident arose because defendant wanted to resume a relationship with the victim, and that there were five or six people inside of the residence when the incident occurred. To the best of Officer Smith’s knowledge, the incident occurred outside. He confirmed on cross examination that no blunt object or weapon was used. On redirect the officer confirmed that everyone present was in hysterics. The victim was crying and sort of hysterical; the officers calmed her down before taking her statement. Officer Smith believed the victim’s sister drove her to the hospital; she did not go with an EMS unit.

IsAnnette Martin1, the victim, testified that defendant beat her on the date in question. He punched her with his fists, and when she was on the ground he kicked her with his feet. He was cursing her, calling her “bit — ” and things like that. He also threw a hair dryer on her head. The hair dryer was the type that one sits underneath. She tried to run to the front door, but defendant grabbed her and dragged her back. The victim denied the beating occurred outside. She said she missed two weeks of work because her face was so injured — she had stitches, a knot on her head, and her eyes had purple and green bruising. Ms. Martin claimed to have had memory problems since getting hit in the head with the hair dryer. She was alone during the beating, but her sister returned afterward with the victim’s children. The victim stated that she had ended her relationship with defendant in February 2007, but he did not want to leave her alone and kept harassing her.

[1098]*1098Ms. Martin denied passing out from the beating. She conceded that she and defendant were dating and that he kept a few of his clothes at the house. The victim confirmed that it seemed like defendant was in her residence about twenty or thirty minutes, and that during that time her sister telephoned her two or three times. When she answered her phone in front of defendant he told her that she better not say anything. She testified that she was scared.

Katie Carter, an investigator for the Orleans Parish Public Defender’s Office, testified that she took a statement from the victim. Carter’s testimony pertained to defendant’s alleged taking of the victim’s cell phone and her statement to Carter regarding that allegation.2

\ .ERRORS PATENT

A review of the record reveals no patent errors.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

In this assignment of error, defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for second degree battery.3

This court set out the well-settled standard for reviewing convictions for sufficiency of the evidence in State v. Ragas, 98-0011 (La.App. 4 Cir. 7/28/99), 744 So.2d 99, as follows:

In evaluating whether evidence is constitutionally sufficient to support a conviction, an appellate court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Green, 588 So.2d 757 (La.App. 4 Cir.1991). However, the reviewing court may not disregard this duty simply because the record contains evidence that tends to support each fact necessary to constitute the crime. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305 (La.1988). The reviewing court must consider the record as a whole since that is what a rational trier of fact would do. If rational triers of fact could disagree as to the interpretation of the evidence, the rational trier’s view of all the evidence most favorable to the prosecution must be adopted. The fact finder’s discretion will be impinged upon only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental protection of due process of law. Mus-sall; Green; supra. “[A] reviewing court is not called upon to decide whether it believes the witnesses or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence.” State v. Smith, 600 So.2d 1319 at 1324 (La.1992).
In addition, when circumstantial evidence forms the basis of the conviction, such evidence must consist of proof of | ¿collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. State v. Shapiro, 431 So.2d 372 (La.1982). The elements must be proven such that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence is excluded. La. R.S. 15:438. This is not a separate test from Jackson v. Virginia, supra, but rather an evidentiary guideline to facilitate appellate review of whether a rational juror could have found a defen[1099]*1099dant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198 (La.1984). All evidence, direct and circumstantial, must meet the Jackson reasonable doubt standard. State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817 (La.1987).

98-0011 at pp. 18-14, 744 So.2d at 106-107, quoting State v. Egana, 97-0318, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 4 Cir.

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Jacobs
504 So. 2d 817 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1987)
State v. Shapiro
431 So. 2d 372 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1983)
State v. Sholes
782 So. 2d 691 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Mussall
523 So. 2d 1305 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1988)
State v. Simmons
779 So. 2d 856 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
State v. Accardo
466 So. 2d 549 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1985)
State v. Smith
600 So. 2d 1319 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1992)
State v. Barbour
35 So. 3d 1142 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Randall
464 So. 2d 971 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1985)
State v. Collins
826 So. 2d 598 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
State v. Hall
843 So. 2d 488 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Hernandez
686 So. 2d 92 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Allen
682 So. 2d 713 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1996)
State v. Marcantel
815 So. 2d 50 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2002)
State v. Henry
709 So. 2d 322 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Wright
445 So. 2d 1198 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1984)
State v. Turner
365 So. 2d 1352 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1978)
State v. Egana
703 So. 2d 223 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Green
588 So. 2d 757 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
56 So. 3d 1095, 2010 La.App. 4 Cir. 0852, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 94, 2011 WL 241957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brown-lactapp-2011.