State v. Denomes

674 So. 2d 465, 1996 WL 242975
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 10, 1996
Docket95 KA 1201
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 674 So. 2d 465 (State v. Denomes) 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. Denomes, 674 So. 2d 465, 1996 WL 242975 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

674 So.2d 465 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Darryl DENOMES.

No. 95 KA 1201.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 10, 1996.

*466 Walter P. Reed, Covington, for State of Louisiana.

William R. Campbell, Jr., New Orleans, for State of Louisiana.

James H. Looney, Covington, for Darryl Denomes.

Before LeBLANC, WHIPPLE and FOGG, JJ.

LeBLANC, Judge.

Defendant, Darryl Denomes, was charged by bill of information with two counts of aggravated arson, violations of La.R.S. 14:51. After trial by jury, he was found guilty as charged on count I; and a mistrial resulted on count II when the jury was unable to reach a verdict as to that count. The trial court imposed a sentence of imprisonment at hard labor for a term of seven years.

Thereafter, on January 28, 1994, the state filed a multiple offender bill of information charging defendant as a fourth felony habitual *467 offender under the provisions of La.R.S. 15:529.1. The multiple offender bill alleged three predicate felony convictions, a 1984 guilty plea in St. Tammany Parish to possession of stolen property, a 1985 guilty plea to cocaine sales in California and a 1986 guilty plea to assault with a deadly weapon in California. On February 16, 1994, defendant filed a motion to quash the habitual offender bill and a motion for discovery regarding the allegations in the bill. On February 22, 1994, defendant was arraigned on the multiple offender bill and denied the allegations in the bill. On August 1, 1994, and again on January 6, 1995, defendant filed a motion entitled "MOTION TO QUASH, AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, R.S. 15:529.1(D)(1)(b) AND DENIAL OF ALLEGATIONS IN MULTIPLE OFFENDER BILL." Additionally, on January 6, 1995, defendant filed a motion to quash and to suppress evidence of prior offenses. In this motion, defendant made clear that his challenge of the predicates was directed solely at the two California guilty pleas.

On January 11, 1995, the trial court conducted a hearing. At the January 11 proceeding, the state and the defense stipulated solely as to defendant's identity as the individual who had been convicted of the three predicate convictions; and counsel for defendant stated that he was reserving defendant's rights challenging the California predicates in accordance with the previously filed motions and his memorandum in support thereof. During the January 11 hearing, the state introduced into evidence various documents, State Exhibits S-1 through S-10; and the court took the matter under advisement.

On February 21, 1995, the court held another hearing. During this hearing, the court disallowed the state's use of one of the two challenged predicate offenses (the 1985 California guilty plea), denied defendant's motions in all other respects, and adjudicated defendant a third felony offender. At the February 21, 1995 hearing, the trial court vacated the original sentence imposed and sentenced defendant as a third felony offender to imprisonment at hard labor for a term of twenty-five years without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.[1] Defendant has appealed, urging four assignments of error.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. ONE AND FOUR

In assignment one, defendant contends that the trial court erred by failing to hold that certain provisions of La.R.S. 15:529.1 are unconstitutional in whole or in part. In assignment four, defendant contends the trial court erred in adjudicating him a third felony offender and, in particular, by ruling that the state had met its burden of proof under State v. Shelton, 621 So.2d 769 (La.1993), as to the 1986 California predicate guilty plea.

In State v. Shelton, which was rendered on July 1, 1993, the Louisiana Supreme Court revised the scheme of allocating burdens of proof in habitual offender proceedings. The court, in Shelton, stated:

In light of the fact that Parke [v. Raley, 506 U.S. 20, 113 S.Ct. 517, 121 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992)] holds Boykin does not require that the entire burden be placed on the prosecution in a recidivism proceeding and because our present system of placing the entire burden on the State fails to give any presumption of regularity to a final conviction used in an habitual offender hearing, we today revise our previous scheme allocating burdens of proof in habitual offender proceedings.
*468 If the defendant denies the allegations of the bill of information, the burden is on the State to prove the existence of the prior guilty pleas and that defendant was represented by counsel when they were taken. If the State meets this burden, the defendant has the burden to produce some affirmative evidence showing an infringement of his rights or a procedural irregularity in the taking of the plea. If the defendant is able to do this, then the burden of proving the constitutionality of the plea shifts to the State. The State will meet its burden of proof if it introduces a "perfect" transcript of the taking of the guilty plea, one which reflects a colloquy between judge and defendant wherein the defendant was informed of and specifically waived his right to trial by jury, his privilege against self incrimination, and his right to confront his accusers. If the State introduces anything less than a "perfect" transcript, for example, a guilty plea form, a minute entry, an "imperfect" transcript, or any combination thereof, the judge then must weigh the evidence submitted by the defendant and by the State to determine whether the State has met its burden of proving that defendant's prior guilty plea was informed and voluntary, and made with an articulated waiver of the three Boykin rights. (footnotes omitted) 621 So.2d at 779-780.

The challenged provisions of La.R.S. 15:529.1 at issue are contained in Subsections (D)(1)(a) & (b) of that statute. The single challenged provision in Subsection (D)(1)(a) is one that attaches when an individual is arraigned on a multiple offender charge and denies the allegations in the information, refuses to answer or remains silent, viz., that the individual "shall be given fifteen days to file particular objections to the information, as provided in Subparagraph (b)." The other challenged provisions are those in Subsection (D)(1)(b), which provide as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, the district attorney shall have the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on any issue of fact. The presumption of regularity of judgment shall be sufficient to meet the original burden of proof. If the person claims that any conviction or adjudication of delinquency alleged is invalid, he shall file a written response to the information. A copy of the response shall be served upon the prosecutor. A person claiming that a conviction or adjudication of delinquency alleged in the information was obtained in violation of the Constitutions of Louisiana or of the United States shall set forth his claim, and the factual basis therefor, with particularity in his response to the information. The person shall have the burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, on any issue of fact raised by the response. Any challenge to a previous conviction or adjudication of delinquency which is not made before sentence is imposed may not thereafter be raised to attack the sentence.

ALLEGED UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF CHALLENGED PROVISIONS

Defendant claims that the trial court erred by not declaring the challenged provisions of La.R.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
674 So. 2d 465, 1996 WL 242975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-denomes-lactapp-1996.