State v. Dupre

500 So. 2d 873
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 23, 1986
Docket86 KA 0557
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 500 So. 2d 873 (State v. Dupre) 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. Dupre, 500 So. 2d 873 (La. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

500 So.2d 873 (1986)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Dallas DUPRE.

No. 86 KA 0557.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 23, 1986.

*875 Bryan Bush, Dist. Atty., Office of the Dist. Atty., Baton Rouge by Brenda Creswell, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Boren, Holthaus, & Perez, by James E. Boren, Anthony M. Bertucci, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.

Before SAVOIE, CRAIN and JOHN S. COVINGTON, JJ.

CRAIN, Judge.

Dallas Dupre was charged by grand jury indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder, in violation of La.R.S. 14:26, 14:30 and 14:27, 14:30, respectively. Prior to trial, the state elected to proceed only with the attempted first degree murder charge. Following trial by jury, Dupre was convicted as charged. The trial court sentenced him to a forty year term of imprisonment at hard labor.

FACTS

The state sought to establish that Dallas Dupre attempted to murder a former deputy sheriff because the deputy had played a key role in a criminal investigation which led to Dupre's previous arrest and conviction for felony theft. Dupre's accomplice in the prior felony theft was Jerry Carmena. Carmena was also involved in this case as the undercover informant who reported to the police Dupre's desire to obtain a contract to murder the former deputy.

Jerry Carmena testified that in October of 1984, Dupre told him of his plans to have a "hit man" kill the former deputy. After that conversation, Carmena contacted the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office and informed it of Dupre's intention. Carmena also agreed to assist the police in their investigation. On October 23, 1984, and October 29, 1984, telephone conversations between Carmena and Dupre were tape recorded. Thereafter, Lt. Bud Connor of the sheriff's office enlisted the aid of Lloyd Grafton, a special agent for the United States Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, to pose as a "hit man". A meeting was arranged by Carmena to introduce the undercover agent to Dupre. This meeting took place, under police surveillance, on October 31, 1984. Present were Dupre, Carmena, and Grafton, who had a recording device hidden in his boot.

Carmena and Grafton both testified that at the meeting Grafton and Dupre reached an agreement. Grafton represented that he would have the former deputy killed within a week. Defendant agreed to provide Grafton with an automatic firearm or two thousand dollars after receiving proof of the intended victim's death.

After the initial meeting between Dupre and Grafton, Lt. Connor contacted the intended victim who agreed to cooperate in the investigation. The former deputy was transported to a remote area where he was made up to appear mortally wounded and then photographed.

Grafton contacted defendant on November 6, 1984, when they met at a Baton Rouge hotel. At that meeting, Grafton showed Dupre a billfold belonging to the former deputy and various photographs of the former deputy with apparent bullet wounds through his head and neck. Since it appeared that Grafton had fulfilled his obligation, defendant had two thousand dollars placed in a bus station locker and left the locker key with the hotel desk clerk. Later that day, defendant was arrested at his home pursuant to an arrest warrant.

TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

In bringing this appeal, defendant urges twenty-one assignments of error. We find merit in assignment of error number two, which is dispositive of the instant appeal.

*876 Defendant urges that the trial court erred in not granting his motion for new trial on the grounds that the trial court failed to determine that defendant knowingly and intelligently relinquished the benefits of representation by counsel. We agree.

The record reveals that defendant appeared in court without counsel for arraignment on the instant charge on January 7, 1985. When asked if he was going to be able to hire an attorney Dupre responded, "No, sir, and I don't want one." Thereafter, the following colloquy took place between defendant and the trial court:

THE COURT: Well, you see, these are very serious charges against you, Mr. Dupre, and you are going to need an attorney to represent you in this matter, at least to sit in with you and advise you on the procedures. I am going to go ahead and let you represent yourself, but it's going to be with a co-counsel of an attorney involved in this particular matter. Now, if you are able to hire an attorney, I'm going to require you to go ahead and hire an attorney to represent you on this matter, or at least sit in with you on the matter. If you are unable to hire one, I will consider appointing one for you.
MR. DUPRE: Sir, I don't have any money, and I just sold my home to pay my debts. I don't want one.
THE COURT: Well, for the time being, Mr. Dupre, I am going to go ahead and appoint the public defender to represent you in this matter as co-counsel. I am going to let you represent yourself in the matter, if it gets down to it, but I'm going to let the public defender sit in with you as co-counsel to advise you on legal aspects of your defense.

* * * * * *

So we are going to go ahead with the arraignment today and I am going to appoint the public defender as co-counsel for the time being, Mr. Dupre, to represent you in this matter. I will let you represent yourself and the public defender will be as co-counsel regarding this matter.

MR. DUPRE: Your Honor, that is — co-counsel, does that mean they will assist me?
THE COURT: Yes, sir. In other words, you are going to represent yourself, but it's going to be like you have two attorneys, one is going to be you and one is going to be Mr. Knight and his office, the public defender's office, so they can assist you in the preparation of your defense in this matter. Okay.
MR. DUPRE: Okay.

In February of 1985, Dan Taylor, a privately retained advisor, was substituted for the public defender's office as co-counsel.[1] Throughout pretrial hearings and at trial on the merits, Mr. Taylor assisted defendant in his pro se defense. In addition to counseling defendant on technical points, Mr. Taylor argued before the trial court and examined many witnesses. Taylor did not, however, assume all of the duties of defense counsel. For example, defendant presented the opening statement and examined several witnesses. In addition, defendant formulated and presented his major defense that he was actually engaged in a double sting operation when arrested for attempting to kill the former deputy.

THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL

For the reasons we set forth below, we have determined that Dupre did not "knowingly and intelligently" waive his right to counsel. Therefore, the first issue we must address is whether the appointment of co-counsel to assist Dupre satisfied his right to proper legal representation at trial.

The Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution guarantee that a person brought to trial must be afforded the right to assistance of *877 counsel before he can be validly convicted and punished by imprisonment. The Sixth Amendment further grants to an accused the right of self-representation. State v. Carpenter, 390 So.2d 1296 (La.1980). In Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
500 So. 2d 873, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dupre-lactapp-1986.