State v. Easter

170 So. 3d 1051, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1630, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 836, 2015 WL 1874822
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 24, 2015
DocketNo. 2014 KA 1630
StatusPublished

This text of 170 So. 3d 1051 (State v. Easter) 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. Easter, 170 So. 3d 1051, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1630, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 836, 2015 WL 1874822 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

McDonald, j.

I ?The defendant, Randy Easter, was charged by amended bill of information with driving while intoxicated (DWI), fourth offense, in violation of La. R.S. 14:98.1 The defendant entered a plea of not guilty. Subsequently, the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to quash. After a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion in arrest of judgment, motion for postverdict judgment of acquittal, and motion for new trial. The defendant was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment at hard labor, with the first two years required to be served without the benefit of parole. The trial court further imposed the payment of a $5,000.00 fine and court costs within two years of release from imprisonment and ninety days imprisonment in the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in default of payment of the fine and court costs. The defendant [1054]*1054now appeals, assigning error to the trial court’s denial of the motion to quash and the trial by a six-person jury. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and the sentence.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On July 29, 2011, about 5:00 a.m., Brody Thibodaux, a former deputy with the La-fourche Parish Sheriffs Office, came into contact with the defendant while patrolling in the south area of the parish. As Thibo-daux travelled southbound on Highway 3235, he observed a green Chevrolet pickup truck travelling on the shoulder of the highway. The vehicle travelled for approximately one hundred yards before it swerved into the right lane of travel without the use of a signal. At that point, Thibodaux conducted a traffic stop, and the driver was identified as the defendant. As Thibodaux requested the defendant’s driver’s license and proof of |ainsurance, he noticed that the defendant had slurred speech and the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage. The defendant swayed when he stepped out of the vehicle and stood unsteadily. (R. 759) Thibodaux further observed that the defendant had a resting nystagmus (described as an eye-twitch). Thibodaux asked the defendant to submit to a standardized field sobriety test, but he refused. Thibodaux advised the defendant of his Miranda2 rights, placed him under arrest, and transported him to the Galliano substation where he was advised of his rights regarding a chemical test and questioned. The defendant refused to sign a waiver of rights form. During the interview, the defendant confirmed that he had been driving and specifically indicated that he was going to the hospital, but refused to respond when asked if had been drinking alcohol. The defendant also refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. At 6:26 a.m., Thibodaux obtained a search warrant for a blood test. The defendant’s blood was drawn at Lady of the Sea General Hospital at 7:05 a.m., collected and stored as evidence, and subsequently sent to the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory for testing. According to the Scientific Analysis Report, the defendant’s blood alcohol content was 0.19 grams percent. The defendant’s three prior DWI offenses also occurred in Lafourche Parish.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In the first assignment of error, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash. The defendant contends that the ten year cleansing period after his first and second-offense DWI pleas (which convictions took place on the same day) had expired before he pled to third-offense DWI. He further specifically notes that when he pled guilty to first and second-offense DWI on October 25, 2001, prior to the .2008 legislative amendment of La. R.S. 14:98, the calculation of the ten-year cleansing period did not exclude the time period |4awaiting trial. He argues that at the time of those two pleas, the trial court misinformed him in indicating that the cleansing period would begin on the date of the pleas and that any subsequent DWI arrest during that subsequent ten-year period would result in a charge of DWI third offense. Thus, the defendant concludes that his guilty pleas were not knowing or voluntary. The defendant further notes that he received a first offender pardon pursuant to La. R.S. 15:572, which only contains an exception for offenders of the Habitual Offender Law, riot DWI offenders. Thus, the defendant argues that his conviction of DWI third-offense should not have been used as a predicate conviction.

[1055]*1055When a trial court denies a motion to quash, factual and credibility determinations should not be reversed in the absence of a clear abuse of the trial court’s discretion. See State v. Odom, 2002-2698 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/27/03), 861 So.2d 187, 191, writ denied, 2003-2142 (La.10/17/03), 855 So.2d 765. However, a trial court’s legal findings are subject to a de novo standard of review. See State v. Smith, 1999-0606, (La.7/6/00), 766 So.2d 501, 504.

In order for a guilty plea to be used as a basis for actual imprisonment, enhancement of actual imprisonment, or conversion of a subsequent misdemeanor into a felony, the trial judge must inform the defendant that by pleading guilty, he waives: (a) his privilege against compulsory self-incrimination; (b) his right to trial and jury trial where applicable; and (c) his right to confront (cross-examine) his accusers. See Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242-43, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1712, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). The judge must also ascertain that the accused understands what the plea connotes and its consequences. State v. Henry, 2000-2250 (La.App. 1st Cir.5/11/01), 788 So.2d 535, 541, writ denied, 2001-2299 (La.6/21/02), 818 So.2d 791. In Louisiana, this rule has been made applicable to misdemeanor guilty pleas. State v. Jones, 404 So.2d 1192, 1198 (La.1981) (per curiam). In State v. Carlos, 1998-1366 (La.7/7/99), 738 So.2d 556, the Louisiana Supreme |aCourt held that the burden-shifting principles of State v. Shelton, 621 So.2d 769 (La.1993), are applicable to multiple-offense DWI cases. Carlos, 738 So.2d at 558-59.

Under this burden-shifting scheme, if the defendant denies the allegations of a bill of information, the State has the initial burden to prove the existence of the prior guilty pleas and that the defendant was represented by counsel when the pleas 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 that reflects a colloquy between the judge and the 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 the defendant’s prior guilty plea was informed and voluntary, and made with an articulated waiver of the three Boykin rights. See Shelton, 621 So.2d at 779-80. The purpose of the rule of Shelton

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. James D. Flemones
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2024

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
170 So. 3d 1051, 2014 La.App. 1 Cir. 1630, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 836, 2015 WL 1874822, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-easter-lactapp-2015.