State v. Cripps

250 So. 2d 382, 259 La. 403, 1971 La. LEXIS 4325
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJune 28, 1971
Docket50359
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 250 So. 2d 382 (State v. Cripps) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cripps, 250 So. 2d 382, 259 La. 403, 1971 La. LEXIS 4325 (La. 1971).

Opinions

McCALEB, Chief Justice.

James Edward Cripps and Larry Joe Purkey were indicted, tried and convicted of the murder of Taylor McLaurin, Jr., in New Orleans on February 27, 1968. Following imposition of death sentences they prosecuted this appeal relying on nineteen bills of exceptions reserved during the proceedings below for reversal of their convictions.

The pertinent facts of the case, as shown by the perfected bills, reveal that Mc-Laurin, a 1968 Carnival visitor, met the appellants and one Danny Franklin, aliasBoudreau, at an Iberville Street lounge on the evening of the killing and bought drinks for them. Later that night, the four men went in McLaurin’s automobile, ostensibly for the purpose of driving Cripps to his home, but in reality so that appellants and Franklin could roll and rob McLaurin.

Shortly after midnight as McLaurin was driving the automobile through City Park near the Lagoon, Purkey, who was seated in the rear, suddenly put his arms in a vise-like grip around McLaurin’s throat from behind breaking the victim’s neck, while' Cripps, occupying the front passenger seat, simultaneously beat McLaurin savagely on the face and head. Thereafter, appellants' and Franklin took $40.00 from McLaurin's wallet, threw his body in the Lagoon and drove off in the victim’s car. A day or so later McLaurin’s car was driven to' Texas by one Apache and Boudreau disappeared. On March 8, 1968, McLaurin’s body was discovered floating in the City Park Lagoon and an autopsy revealed that the victim had been strangled and beaten on the head.

Some four days later (March 12, 1968), an informer contacted Officer Eugene Fields of the New Orleans Police Department stating that he knew of someone who could furnish information about the [411]*411death of McLaurin. As a result of this conversation Officer Fields met James Keesler that same night and learned that on March 1, three days after the killing, Keesler had been invited by Cripps to dinner at the latter’s apartment on Dumaine Street; that Larry Jo Purkey, known as “Rat”, and a couple of other men were present; and that after dinner, during conversation, Cripps related how he, Purkey and Boudreau met a fellow at a French Quarter bar, had taken him out, rolled and killed him by snapping his head and, thereafter, throwing his body into the City Park Lagoon. After receiving this information the police officers began searching for Cripps and Purkey and arrested them at the China Doll Lounge at about 11 o’clock p. m. Appellants were then taken to police headquarters where they were fully informed of their constitutional rights in accordance with the Miranda .decision. After signing a Rights of Arrestee Waiver Form, each appellant confessed the crime in detail and Purkey demonstrated to the police the hold he had used to, break McLaurin’s neck.

■' As stated above defendants reserved nineteen bills of exceptions. However, on this appeal defense counsel have presented in brief and oral argument only eleven of these bills. Nevertheless, the other eight bills have not been specifically waived and, since this is a capital case, we will consider all. of the .bills. Some of them present the same question of law and hence will be discussed together.

BILLS OF EXCEPTIONS NOS. 1, 12 and 19

Bills 1 and 19 were taken to the ruling of the trial judge that the bill of particulars furnished to appellants by the State and the State’s answer to appellants’ prayer for oyer were sufficient in law. Bill No. 12 was taken during the trial to the testimony of Dr. Ignacio Medina, the Coroner, who identified the proces verbal of the autopsy of McLaurin’s body, which stated the cause of death. The objection to this evidence relates to the refusal of the judge to require the State to produce the proces verbal of the Coroner prior to trial.

In their application for bill of particulars appellants requested to be informed of the time and location of the offense; the nature of the force used; the date, time and location of the arrest; the circumstances under which appellants were identified; whether the arrest was made pursuant to a warrant and whether the State had any confessions or statements which would be used in evidence.

In its bill of particulars, the State replied that the crime was committed in New Orleans near the lakefront area; that appellants were arrested on March 12, 1968 about 11 p. m. in the 600 block of Iberville Street; that the State has written [413]*413confessions which would be used in evidence at the trial; and that it is not required to furnish any further information.

In appellants’ prayer for oyer they seek production of all oral confessions as well as written confessions; all confessions reduced to writing but not signed; all statements of appellants reflected in the police reports; a copy of all technical and laboratory reports; an examination of all objects found at the place of the crime; a description of any objects which might have been removed from the place of the crime; a copy of all police pictures of the scene; the autopsy report relating to Mc-Laurin’s death; all films depicting interviews with appellants; all weapons or other objects connected with the crime; all objects taken from appellants relevant to the crime; all warrants used by the police in connection therewith; and the proces verbal of any lineup identifications which might have been conducted.

At the hearing of the above motions the trial judge ruled, correctly we think that, in the absence of a plea of self-defense, lie would not order the State to produce any weapons connected with the crime and that the State was required to furnish only such pretrial information as was required by law. In his per curiam to Bill No. 1 the judge noted that, prior to the trial, the district attorney informed defense counsel privately that no weapons were found at the scene of the crime. And in his per curiam to Bill No. 19 the judge explained that, during the hearing on the motion to suppress the evidence, appellants were informed by the testimony of the officers of the circumstances under which they (appellants) were identified — -viz., that they were identified by a person (Keesler) who was present at a meeting with appellants after the crime has been committed at which time appellants admitted their guilt; that, during the hearing on the motion to suppress, appellants were also apprised of the oral confessions which they had given the police; and that, on the trial of the case, it was developed that there were no incriminating statements, which had been reduced to writing but not signed. The record in the case, stated the judge, also reveals that the defense of appellants was an alibi — that they .each took the stand and claimed to be somewhere else at the time the crime was committed.

We find the judge’s per 'curiam to be supported by the record and that he did not err in his ruling on Bills 1 and 19. It is well settled that the State is not required in a bill of particulars to set out in detail the evidence on which the prosecution will rely to obtain a conviction. State v. Pailet, 246 La. 483, 165 So.2d 294; and State v. Clack, 254 La. 61, 222 So.2d 857. It suffices that the accused is to be given adequate information to fairly defend himself. Moreover, it is established that, in response to a prayer for [415]*415oyer, the State is only expected to furnish an accused with his written or video tape confession. Pretrial inspection of oral confessions, police reports and the like is not required. State v. Hunter, 250 La. 295, 195 So.2d 273; and State v. Hall, 253 La. 425, 218 So.2d 320.

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Bluebook (online)
250 So. 2d 382, 259 La. 403, 1971 La. LEXIS 4325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cripps-la-1971.