State v. Demouchet

684 So. 2d 21, 95 La.App. 3 Cir. 1554, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 2648, 1996 WL 638038
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided November 6, 1996·No. No. 95-1554·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

I r SAUNDERS, Judge.

Defendant, Bryan Keith Demouchet, was charged by bill of information as a habitual offender, in violation of La.R.S. 15:529.1. On March 13, 1995, defendant appeared before the court with counsel for arraignment, waived formal reading of the bill of information and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.1 On August 29, 1995, the trial court found defendant to be a second habitual offender, vacated the original sentence, and sentenced defendant to fifteen (15) years at [23]*23hard labor without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. The sentence was imposed consecutive to any other sentence defendant was serving. After making an oral ^motion to reconsider the sentence, defendant now seeks review by this court. We affirm.

FACTS

Defendant was previously convicted on September 17, 1991, of manslaughter, in violation of La.R.S. 14:81. Defendant’s most recent conviction occurred on January 12, 1995, for aggravated battery, in violation of La.R.S. 14:34.

ERRORS PATENT

La.Code Crim.P. art. 920 provides the scope of review on appeal, as follows:

The following matters and no others shall be considered on appeal:
(1) An error designated in the assignment of errors; and
(2) An error that is discoverable by a mere inspection of the pleadings and proceedings without inspection of the evidence.

After reviewing the record, we find that there is one error patent concerning defendant’s habitual offender hearing.

At the hearing, defendant admitted to the two convictions (the former conviction for manslaughter and the present conviction for aggravated battery) without being advised of his right to remain silent. In State v. Johnson, 432 So.2d 815 (La.1983), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that La.R.S. 15:529.1 clearly recognizes that the defendant has the right to remain silent, and the statute implicitly provides that the defendant should be advised by the court of his right to remain silent. Further, La.R.S. 15:529.1(D) specifically provides that the defendant be advised of his right to a formal hearing and requires that the state prove its case. This court has held that where a defendant was not advised of his right to remain silent before admitting his prior convictions in an habitual offender hearing, the defendant’s acknowledgment, the only proof of the prior convictions, was invalid. La.R.S. 1315:529.1; State v. Norris, 94-1064 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/1/95); 651 So.2d 490; State v. Gautreaux, 607 So.2d 1086 (La.App. 3 Cir.1992). See also State v. Harris, 612 So.2d 280 (La.App. 5 Cir.1992), writ denied, 618 So.2d 402 (La.1993); State v. Winbom, 604 So.2d 177 (La.App. 4 Cir.1992); State v. Poole, 566 So.2d 180 (La.App. 2 Cir.1990). Also, in State v. Walker, 432 So.2d 1057 (La.App. 3 Cir.1983), the court found that the trial court’s failure to comply with La.R.S. 15:529.1(D)(1) resulted in this court’s remand of the case for another multiple offender hearing.

In this ease, however, the trial court did not rely solely on defendant’s admissions to the two convictions, but also provided the testimony of defendant’s probation officer, Pam Brice, and the trial records from defendant’s prior convictions. State v. Mallett, 552 So.2d 28 (La.App. 3 Cir.1989), writs denied, 556 So.2d 1258 and 558 So.2d 567 (La. 1990).

Under State v. Brown, 514 So.2d 99 (La.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1017, 108 S.Ct. 1754, 100 L.Ed.2d 216 (1988), rehearing denied, 487 U.S. 1228, 108 S.Ct. 2888, 101 L.Ed.2d 923 (1988), La.R.S. 15:529.1 requires independent proof that the defendant was the same person identified in the records. In the present case, the State introduced the court record of docket number 46,043 where defendant was convicted of manslaughter. The State also introduced the testimony of Pam Brice who testified she was supervising defendant’s parole in docket number 46,043. Ms. Brice also testified that while defendant was on parole, he was convicted of the present offense “aggravated battery” in docket number 94-1606. Ms. Brice made an in-court identification of defendant as the person convicted in docket number 46,043. Thus, the trial court did not rely solely upon defendant’s stipulation to his identity as the individual convicted in both docket number 46,043 and docket number 94-1606.

|4We therefore conclude that the court’s failure to comply with La.R.S. 15:529.1(D)(1) is a harmless error and does not require a remand of the case.

[24]*24 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NOS. 1 and 2

By his first assignment, defendant claims the court erred in imposing a sentence that was excessive, in violation of La. Const. Art. I, § 20. Defendant’s second assignment of error urges that the trial court erred in emphasizing the victim’s gender in handing down its judgment, while failing to consider defendant’s mitigating circumstances. Since both assignments of error concern defendant’s sentence, we will address them together.

Regarding defendant’s contention that the trial court failed to consider certain mitigating factors presented during the habitual offender hearing, we note that defendant orally moved for reconsideration of the sentence only after its pronouncement and without giving the specific mitigating factors the trial court allegedly failed to consider. Thus, this claim was not properly preserved, according to State v. Mims, 619 So.2d 1059 (La.1993). Therefore, defendant’s appeal is limited to a review of his claim of exeessiveness.

Article I, § 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, prohibits “cruel, excessive, or unusual punishment.” A sentence which falls within the statutory limits may nevertheless be excessive depending on the circumstances. State v. Sepulvado, 367 So.2d 762 (La.1979); State v. Naquin, 527 So.2d 601 (La.App. 3 Cir.1988). To constitute an excessive sentence, this court must find that the penalty is so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our sense of justice, or that the sentence makes no measurable contribution to acceptable penal goals and therefore constitutes nothing more than needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Campbell, 404 So.2d 1205 (La.1981); State v. Everett, 530 So.2d 615 |s(La.App. 3 Cir.1988), unit denied, 536 So.2d 1233 (La.1989). The trial judge is given wide discretion in imposing a sentence, and a sentence imposed within the statutory limits will not be deemed excessive in the absence of manifest abuse of discretion. State v. Howard, 414 So.2d 1210 (La.1982).

The legislature has provided criteria to aid a sentencing court in determining whether a sentence of imprisonment should be imposed and whether suspension of a sentence or probation is warranted. La. Code Crim.P. art. 894.1; State v. Klause, 525 So.2d 1076 (La.App. 3 Cir.1988). Paragraph C of Article 894.1 requires the court to state for the record the considerations taken into account and the factual basis used when imposing a sentence. The trial court need not refer to every aggravating and mitigating circumstance in order to comply with the article. However, the record must affirmatively reflect that adequate consideration was given to the codal guidelines in particularizing the defendant’s sentence. State v. Smith, 433 So.2d 688 (La.1983).

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State v. Demouchet, 684 So. 2d 21, 95 La.App. 3 Cir. 1554, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 2648, 1996 WL 638038 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

684 So. 2d 21 (State v. Demouchet) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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