State v. Decuir

61 So. 3d 782, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 1112, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 405, 2011 WL 1265391
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 2011
DocketNo. 10-1112
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 61 So. 3d 782 (State v. Decuir) 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. Decuir, 61 So. 3d 782, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 1112, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 405, 2011 WL 1265391 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

PETERS, J.

_jjThe defendant, Denna Decuir, appeals the thirty-five year sentence imposed for her conviction of the offense of manslaughter, a violation of La.R.S. 14:31. For the following reasons, we affirm the sentence in all respects but remand the matter to the trial court with instructions to inform the defendant of the appropriate time limitation for applying for post-conviction relief pursuant to La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8.

The facts giving rise to this prosecution are not in dispute. On January 21, 2009, the defendant waited until her husband, Milton Decuir, fell asleep and then shot him in the head seven times. On February 10, 2009, a grand jury indicted her for the offense of second degree murder, a violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1. Thereafter, on January 11, 2010, the defendant entered into a plea agreement with the State of Louisiana (state) wherein she agreed to plead guilty to the reduced charge of manslaughter. The defendant entered this plea without any promise of a particular sentence.

After the completion of a June 4, 2010 sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to serve thirty-five years at hard labor. Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion for reconsideration of the sentence, which the trial court denied. When the trial court denied a subsequently filed motion for new trial, the defendant perfected this appeal. In her appeal, she raises five assignments of error:

1. The trial court erred in failing to particularize the sentence and comply with La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1.
2. The trial court erred in imposing a sentence which was excessive considering the factual circumstances and history of abuse between the appellant and the victim in this matter.
3. The trial court erred in failing to allow the defendant to present additional witnesses at the sentencing hearing.
4. The trial court erred in failing to grant a new trial to allow the evaluation and production of a witness who could have evaluated |2the defendant’s mental condition at the time of the commission of the offense. The record reflects that the court failed to allow her to be examined by a psychological expert to determine her mental state at the time of commission of the crime and to establish the effect and mitigating circumstances which the pattern of abuse suffered by her had on her mental competency.
5. The trial court erred in limiting the defendant to two years from the date of the sentence to make a claim for post conviction relief where the time limitation should have run from [785]*785two years from the date that the sentence became final.

Assignment of Error Number One

In complaining that the trial court erred in failing to particularize her sentence, the defendant’s basic argument is that the trial court sentenced her as if she had committed premeditated murder rather than manslaughter. She asserts that the trial court did so by failing to set forth a sufficient factual basis for her sentence and failing to give adequate consideration to the guidelines set forth in La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894.1 contains a series of factors to be considered by the trial court in sentencing a defendant. In considering these sentencing guidelines, the trial court must “state for the record the considerations taken into account and the factual basis therefor in imposing sentence.” La. Code Crim.P. art. 894.1(C). However, to comply with La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1(C), the trial court “need not articulate every-circumstance or read through a checklist of items.” State v. Anderson, 95-1688, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/8/96), 677 So.2d 480, 483. Still, the record should establish that the trial court adequately considered the codal guidelines in particularizing a defendant’s sentence. Id. That is to say, “the record must show that the trial court took cognizance of the criteria set forth in La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1.” State v. Ellis, 42,520, p. 23 (La.App. 2 Cir. 9/26/07), 966 So.2d 139, 152 writ denied, 07-2190 (La.4/4/08), 978 So.2d 325.

The trial judge is not required to list every aggravating or mitigating circumstance so long as the record reflects that he adequately considered the guidelines of the article. State v. Smith, 433 So.2d 688 (La.1983); State v. Dallas, 36,397 (La.App.2d Cir.11/6/02), 830 So.2d 1113. The articulation of the factual basis for a sentence is the goal of La.C.Cr.P. art. 894.1, not rigid or mechanical compliance with its provisions. The important elements which should be considered are the defendant’s personal history (age, family ties, marital status, health, employment record), prior criminal record, seriousness of offense, and the likelihood of rehabilitation. State v. Jones, 398 So.2d 1049 (La.1981); State v. Strange, 28,466 (La.App.2d Cir. 6/26/96), 677 So.2d 587; State v. Hudgins, [519 So.2d 400 (La.App. 2d Cir.1988), writ denied, 521 So.2d 1143 (1988) ].

State v. Scott, 36,763, p. 3 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1/29/03), 836 So.2d 1180, 1182. However, “[t]here is no requirement that specific matters be given any particular weight at sentencing.” Ellis, 966 So.2d at 153.

Despite the mandates of La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1, our courts have held that:

[F]ailure to comply with article 894.1 does not automatically render a sentence invalid. Where the record clearly shows an adequate factual basis for the sentence imposed, remand is unnecessary, even where there has not been full compliance with La.C.Cr.P. art. 894.1. State v. Delaughter, 29,974 (La.App.2d Cir.12/10/97), 703 So.2d 1364, writ denied, 98-0018 (La.5/1/98), 805 So.2d 201, 1998 WL 234691. The question is whether the record presented is sufficient to demonstrate that the trial court did not abuse its discretion. State v. Davis, 448 So.2d 645 (La.1984).

State v. Smith, 34,325, p. 2 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/20/00), 775 So.2d 640, 642. Sentences also will not be overturned for failure to comply with statutory guidelines where the sentencing court implicitly considered the factors set forth in La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1. State v. Thibodeaux, 502 So.2d [786]*786296, 298 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writ denied, 505 So.2d 1140 (La.1987).

At the June 4, 2010 sentencing hearing, the trial court heard the testimony of a number of witnesses, including the defendant. The evidence presented at that hearing describes an extended marital relationship that, in the best light, can only be | ^described as dysfunctional — and in the worst light, as violent beyond imagination.

The defendant testified that beginning six months after her 1984 marriage to the victim, he began abusing her. The first instance occurred when he came home from work intoxicated, threw her to the ground, and began kicking and hitting her. At the time, she was pregnant with their first child, Kasha,1 and she claims she used a metal trash can to shield her stomach from the blows inflicted by her husband. Things did not get any better in the marriage after this rocky start. The defendant described incident after incident of domestic violence toward her, ending in the shooting incident of January 21, 2009.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
61 So. 3d 782, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 1112, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 405, 2011 WL 1265391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-decuir-lactapp-2011.