State v. Cooper

935 So. 2d 194, 2006 WL 1195205
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 5, 2006
Docket2005 KA 2070
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 935 So. 2d 194 (State v. Cooper) 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. Cooper, 935 So. 2d 194, 2006 WL 1195205 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

935 So.2d 194 (2006)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Jamie COOPER.

No. 2005 KA 2070.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 5, 2006.

*195 Scott Perrilloux, District Attorney, Morgan Griggs, Amite, Leslie Austin, Assistant District Attorneys, Livingston, Counsel for Appellee State of Louisiana.

Frederick Kroenke, Baton Rouge, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant Jamie Cooper.

*196 Before: PARRO, McDONALD and HUGHES, JJ.

McDONALD, J.

The defendant, Jamie D. Cooper, was charged by a bill of information with possession of cocaine, a schedule II controlled dangerous substance, in violation of La. R.S. 40:967 C. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty. After a trial by jury, the defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial court denied the defendant's motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and motion for new trial. The defendant was sentenced to five years imprisonment at hard labor. The trial court denied the defendant's motion to reconsider sentence. The defendant now appeals, raising the following arguments: the trial court erred in admitting evidence; the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it represented the community; and the trial counsel was ineffective in failing to require a hearing on the motion to suppress evidence and in failing to object to the jury instructions. For the forthcoming reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

On or about August 5, 2004, four officers were patrolling a high-crime area in Denham Springs, Louisiana, in an unmarked pickup truck.[1] Detective Woody Overton (one of the officers) of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, observed a male subject (the defendant) as he stood next to the driver's side of a white van. The van was located in the roadway of Maryland Street. The officers pulled up closer to the area and parked their unit on the side of the street.

As the uniformed officers exited their unit, they observed two males sitting on a residential driveway between five and fifteen feet from the street. One of the males (the defendant) quickly placed his hand underneath the back of his leg and turned his body away from the officers when he noticed the officers' approach. Detective Overton ordered the defendant to "show me your hands." The defendant initially did not raise his hands. After repeated orders, he ultimately complied. Detective Overton and Officer Paul Golmon (of the Denham Springs City Police Department) instructed the defendant to stand up. As the defendant complied, two clear bags containing suspected rock cocaine fell from behind one of his legs. The officers immediately handcuffed the defendant, conducted a pat down search for weapons, and arrested the defendant. According to the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory Scientific Analysis Report, the plastic bags contained a total of 3.82 grams of cocaine.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND THREE (IN PART)

In the first assignment of error, the defendant avers that the trial court erred in not granting the motion to suppress the evidence and in allowing the jury to consider the evidence in reaching its verdict. The defendant specifically argues that the officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop him. In his third assignment of error, the defendant (in related part) argues that the failure of his trial counsel to require a hearing on the motion to suppress constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel.

*197 In the instant case, the defense attorney filed a motion to suppress evidence on the morning of the trial by jury. The trial court, considering the timing of the motion, noted that all of the parties that would testify in a hearing on the motion would also testify during the trial. The trial court then asked whether there was any objection to addressing the motion during the trial. The defense attorney and the State replied by stating that they did not object. The defense attorney initiated a bench conference outside of the hearing of the court reporter. The trial resumed with no further discussion of the motion to suppress. The evidence was admitted and published to the jury without objection.[2]

At the outset, we note that the first assignment of error is not properly before this court. This court reviews trial court rulings. In the instant case, the record does not reflect a ruling on the defendant's motion to suppress. Our review of the record indicates that the defense counsel abandoned the motion to suppress, withdrew the motion to suppress the evidence, or obtained an off-the-record denial of the motion to suppress. Nonetheless, the merits of the argument presented in the first assignment of error will be addressed as we consider the related ineffective assistance of counsel argument raised in the defendant's third assignment of error.

As a general rule, a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is more properly raised in an application for post-conviction relief in the trial court rather than by appeal. This is because post-conviction relief creates the opportunity for a full evidentiary hearing under La.C.Cr.P. art. 930. When the record is sufficient, however, this Court may resolve this issue on direct appeal in the interest of judicial economy. State v. Ratcliff, 416 So.2d 528, 530 (La.1982); State v. Williams, 632 So.2d 351, 361 (La.App. 1st Cir.1993), writ denied, 94-1009 (La.9/2/94), 643 So.2d 139. In the instant case, the record is sufficient to resolve the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

The right of a defendant in a criminal proceeding to the effective assistance of counsel is mandated by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. A claim of ineffectiveness of counsel is analyzed under the two-prong test developed by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). The defendant must first show that the attorney's performance was deficient. This requires a showing that counsel made errors so serious that the defendant was effectively denied the right to counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Secondly, the defendant must prove that counsel's deficient performance actually prejudiced the defense, meaning that the errors were so serious that the defendant was deprived of a fair trial. It is not enough for the defendant to show that his counsel's errors or omissions had some conceivable effect on the outcome of the proceeding. Rather, he must show that, but for counsel's errors, a reasonable probability exists that the outcome of the trial would have been different. Further, it is unnecessary to address the issues of both counsel's performance and prejudice to the defendant if the defendant makes an inadequate *198 showing on one of the two components. State v. Moody, XXXX-XXXX, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 1st Cir.12/22/00), 779 So.2d 4, 9, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.12/7/01), 803 So.2d 40.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 703 A provides: "A defendant adversely affected may move to suppress any evidence from use at the trial on the merits on the ground that it was unconstitutionally obtained." The Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized a three-tiered analysis governing the Fourth Amendment's application to interactions between citizens and police. At the first tier, mere communications between officers and citizens implicate no Fourth Amendment concerns where there is no coercion or detention.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
935 So. 2d 194, 2006 WL 1195205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cooper-lactapp-2006.