State v. Draughter

130 So. 3d 855, 2013 WL 6474419, 2013 La. LEXIS 2786
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided December 10, 2013·No. No. 2013-KA-0914·Published·Cited by 35 cases

Opinion

CLARK, Justice.

hln this direct appeal, the state challenges a judgment issued by an Orleans [858] Parish Criminal District Court judge that declared unconstitutional La. R.S. 14:95.1. This criminal statute prohibits certain felons from possessing a firearm for a number of years after their conviction. In connection with a motion to quash the bill of information filed by the defendant in this case, the district court found the provisions of the criminal statute violate article I, section 11 of the Louisiana Constitution. This state constitutional provision, which was recently amended, proclaims that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right and provides any restriction of that right must be subjected to strict scrutiny. After reviewing the defendant’s claim, and taking into account his status as a probationer at the time of his arrest for the instant offense, we reverse the district court judgment declaring the criminal statute unconstitutional and quashing the charge against the defendant.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

We begin our recitation of the facts with the defendant’s prior felony conviction, as it bears directly on the scope of our review in this case. The record in Case No. 500-141, Section J of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court shows that on February 22, 2011, Glen Draughter entered a guilty plea to one count of [^attempted simple burglary.1 He was sentenced that day to a term of imprisonment of two years at hard labor, suspended, with two years of active probation, and credit for time served.

On April 18, 2012, a little over a year later, Draughter was arrested for the instant offense and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, a violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1. La. R.S. 14.95.1 is entitled “Possession of firearm or carrying concealed weapon by a person convicted of certain felonies” and provides:

A. It is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B) which is a felony or simple burglary, burglary of a pharmacy, burglary of an inhabited dwelling, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, felony illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities, manufacture or possession of a delayed action incendiary device, manufacture or possession of a bomb, or possession of a firearm while in the possession of or during the sale or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, or any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law which is a felony, or any crime which is defined as a sex offense in R.S. 15:541, or any crime defined as an attempt to commit one of the above-enumerated offenses under the laws of this state, or who has been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or of any foreign government or country of a crime which, if committed in this state, would be one of the above-enumerated crimes, to possess a firearm or carry a concealed weapon.
B. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten nor more than twenty years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence and be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 14:27, whoever is found guilty of attempting to violate the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard la[859] bor for not more than seven and one-half years and fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars.
C. The provisions of this Section prohibiting the possession of firearms and carrying concealed weapons by persons who have been convicted of certain felonies shall not apply to any person who has not |sbeen convicted of any felony for a period of ten years from the date of completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
D. For the purposes of this Section, “firearm” means any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, submachine gun, black powder weapon, or assault rifle which is designed to fire or is capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile is discharged by an explosive.

Based in part on his arrest for the instant offense,2 Draughter’s probation officer filed an “Affidavit of Probable Cause and Motion for Hearing to Revoke Probation” in the attempted burglary matter. As a probationer, Draughter had been ordered by the judge to refrain from criminal conduct and from owning or possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon. The probation officer asserted Draughter’s arrest for the instant offense violated both of those conditions of probation.3 On January 31, 2018, after a hearing, the district judge, revoked Draughter’s probationary sentence for the attempted burglary eon-viction and made the original sentence of February 22, 2011 executory, with credit for time served.

That same day, January 31, 2013, Draughter filed a motion to quash the bill of information for the present charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued La. R.S. 14:95.1 violated a recent amendment to article I, section 11 of the Louisiana Constitution, regarding a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. The Office of the Louisiana Attorney General exercised its discretionary right to respond to the constitutional challenge to the statute and joined with the Orleans Parish District Attorney in opposing the defendant’s motion to quash.4 After holding hearings on the matter, the district court granted |4the defendant’s motion to quash, ruling that La. R.S. 14:95.1 was “facially unconstitutional, in its entirety.” The district court gave these oral reasons for judgment:

Having reviewed the submission by both the State and the Defense, the Court finds that this statute in its entirety does present an unconstitutional infringement on the constitutional guarantee of [the] right to bear arms; does not pass the strict scrutiny standard as required by law; and the State has failed to demonstrate a compelling State interest in order to be able to meet that standard.

The district court also provided written reasons for judgment, concluding the stat[860] ute “was not narrowly tailored to achieve the government’s interest,” as it “applies without discretion to nearly every felony crime enumerated in the Louisiana Criminal Code.”

Pursuant to article V, section 5(D) of the Louisiana Constitution, the matter proceeded directly to this court for review of the district judge’s declaration of the statute’s unconstitutionality.5 The court has received amicus curiae briefs from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on behalf of the defendant, and from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Major Cities Chiefs Association in support of the state.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

This case requires us to determine the constitutionality of a statute. Such questions of law are reviewed by this court de novo. City of Bossier City v. Vernon, 2012-0078, p. 2 (La.10/16/12); 100 So.3d 301, 303.

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State v. Draughter, 130 So. 3d 855, 2013 WL 6474419, 2013 La. LEXIS 2786 (La. 2013).

130 So. 3d 855 (State v. Draughter) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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