State v. Decay

833 So. 2d 459, 2002 La.App. 5 Cir. 705, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 3676, 2002 WL 31662736
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 26, 2002
DocketNo. 02-KA-705
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 833 So. 2d 459 (State v. Decay) 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. Decay, 833 So. 2d 459, 2002 La.App. 5 Cir. 705, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 3676, 2002 WL 31662736 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

J^CHEHARDY, Judge.

Defendant is before us on second appeal. On October 2, 2000, defendant was convicted of one count of possession of over 400 grams of cocaine, one count of attempted possession of over 400 grams of cocaine and carrying an illegal weapon by a convicted felon. Defendant was sentenced to forty years imprisonment and fined $250,000 for possession of cocaine; twenty years imprisonment at hard labor and fined $125,000 for attempted possession of cocaine; and fifteen years at hard labor for possession of a firearm by a felon, with the sentences to be served consecutively.

After a hearing, the trial judge found that the defendant was a habitual offender, vacated his original sentence of forty years imprisonment at hard labor and fine of $250,000.00 for possession of cocaine, and sentenced him to life in prison, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant filed a timely motion for appeal.

On appeal, this Court affirmed his convictions and sentences for attempted possession of over 400 grams of cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm. State v. Decay, 01-192 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/13/01), 798 So.2d 1057, writ denied, 01-2724 (La.8/30/02), 823 So.2d 939. Because two Judges on this Court found that |.<¡the record was unclear as to the number of previous felony convictions the State proved at defendant’s multiple offender hearing, his enhanced sentence was vacated and the case was remanded for resentencing. Id. at 1078.

On April 19, 2002, the defendant appeared before the trial judge for resen-tencing. That day, the trial judge determined that the defendant was a third felony offender, vacated the defendant’s original sentence for possession of cocaine, and imposed an enhanced sentence of life imprisonment without probation, parole, and suspension of sentence, to run consecutively with the other two sentences. Defendant orally objected to the sentence.

On appeal, defendant’s sole assignment of error is that his life sentence is excessive and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. He contends that he is not the worst offender nor is this the worst offense. Additionally, he alleges he received the maximum sentence and there were not [461]*461sufficient aggravating circumstances to warrant such a sentence. Interestingly, his arguments in this appeal duplicate those in the fourth assignment of error of his first appeal. We note, that, as in his first appeal, defendant failed to file a written motion to reconsider sentence.

In our opinion on defendant’s first appeal, we stated:

In his fourth assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial judge erred in denying his motion to reconsider a constitutionally excessive sentence because he did not adequately consider the guidelines set forth in La.C.Cr.P. art. 894.1 in particularizing his life sentence. He argues that the maximum sentence was unwarranted in his case because he is not the worst type of offender and his was not the most serious offense.
The State responds that, although the defendant filed a motion to reconsider his underlying sentence, he did not file a motion to reconsider his enhanced sentence. The State also points out that, after finding that the defendant was a third felony habitual offender, the trial judge imposed the minimum mandatory sentence, not the maximum sentence. The State notes that the defendant did not present evidence at the habitual offender sentencing hearing to rebut the presumption of constitutionality 14of the minimum prison sentence mandated by La. R.S. 15:529.1.
The record reflects that the defendant failed to file a motion to reconsider his enhanced sentence, but he did verbally object when it was imposed.
La.C.Cr.P. art. 881.1 provides that a defendant may file a motion to reconsider sentence within 30 days of sentencing, but requires that the motion be made orally at the time of sentencing, or in writing, and that it set forth the specific grounds on which the motion is based. The failure to file a motion to reconsider sentence, or to state the specific grounds on which the motion is based, precludes a defendant from raising those grounds on appeal. State v. Mims, 619 So.2d 1059 (La.1993); State v. Holmes, 94-907 (La.App. 5 Cir.3/15/95), 653 So.2d 642, 646. In Mims, the Louisiana Supreme Court was silent as to whether the failure to comply with Article 881.1 precludes even a claim of constitutional excessiveness. However, in similar circumstances, this Court has considered the issue of whether the sentence was constitutionally excessive. State v. Tribbit, 00-153 (La.App. 5 Cir.8/29/00); 767 So.2d 901, 903; State v. Stec, 99-633 (La.App. 5 Cir.11/30/99), 749 So.2d 784, 789; State v. Richmond, 98-1015 (La.App. 5 Cir.3/10/99), 734 So.2d 33, 38.
Both the United States and Louisiana constitutions prohibit the imposition of excessive or cruel punishment. U.S. Const.Amend. 8 La. Const. of 1974, Art. I, Sect. 20. Richmond, 734 So.2d at 38. A sentence is generally considered excessive if it is grossly disproportionate to the offense or imposes needless and purposeless pain and suffering. Id.; State v. Lobato, 603 So.2d 739, 751 (La.1992). A sentence is grossly disproportionate if, when the crime and punishment are considered in light of the harm done to society, it shocks the sense of justice. However, the sentence will not be set aside absent a showing of manifest abuse of the trial court’s wide discretion to sentence within statutory limits. Richmond, 734 So.2d at 38. The trial judge is afforded wide discretion in determining a sentence and, if the record supports the sentence imposed, the court of appeal will not set aside a sentence for excessiveness. La.C.Cr.P. art. [462]*462881.4(D); Richmond, 734 So.2d at 38. Furthermore, a sentence may be reviewed for excessiveness even though it is within statutory range. Id.

La. R.S. 15:529.1(A)(l)(b)(ii) provides that:

If the third felony or either of the two prior felonies is a felony defined as a crime of violence under R.S. 14:2(13) or as a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law punishable by imprisonment for more than five years or any other crime punishable by imprisonment for more than twelve years, the person |Bshall be imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Here, the trial judge found that the defendant was a habitual felony offender with an underlying felony drug offense and sentenced him as a third felony offender under La. R.S. 15:529.1(A)(1)(b)(ii). Further, the Louisiana Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law. State v. Johnson, 97-1906 (La.3/4/98), 709 So.2d 672; State v. Dorthey, 623 So.2d 1276 (La.1993). Nonetheless, the courts have the power to declare a sentence excessive under Article I, § 20 of the Louisiana Constitution even though it falls within the statutory limits provided by the Legislature. State v. Lindsey, 99-3256 (La.10/17/00), 770 So.2d 339, 342; Johnson, 709 So.2d at 676.

In Johnson, the Court established guidelines on downward departures from the minimum sentence mandated by the Habitual Offender Law:

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Related

State v. Decay
266 So. 3d 578 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)

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Bluebook (online)
833 So. 2d 459, 2002 La.App. 5 Cir. 705, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 3676, 2002 WL 31662736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-decay-lactapp-2002.