State v. Ellis

880 So. 2d 214, 2004 WL 1837409
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 18, 2004
Docket38,740-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 880 So. 2d 214 (State v. Ellis) 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. Ellis, 880 So. 2d 214, 2004 WL 1837409 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

880 So.2d 214 (2004)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Jeffrey Howard ELLIS, Appellant.

No. 38,740-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 18, 2004.

*216 Lavelle Bernard Salomon, for Appellant.

Jerry L. Jones, District Attorney, Neal Glen Johnson, Hamilton Stephens Winters, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, STEWART, and DREW, JJ.

*217 BROWN, C.J.

Defendant, Jeffery Howard Ellis, was convicted of two counts of molestation of a juvenile and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. He was sentenced to hard labor terms without benefit of parole or probation and without diminution of sentence for good behavior. The combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences resulted in a total of 12 years to be served. He has appealed his convictions and sentences. Finding no error, we affirm.

Brief Factual Synopsis

The original bill of information charged defendant with three counts of sexual battery. After two amendments, the final bill of information charged defendant with two counts of molestation of a juvenile (his seven-year-old daughter), and three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile (count three—his daughter; count four—a friend of his children, "Z.P."; and count five—his daughter and twelve-year-old son).

The state filed a Notice of Intent to Use Evidence of Other Crimes/Acts, notifying defendant that it planned to offer at defendant's trial evidence of prior sexual misconduct with juveniles in accordance with State v. Prieur, 277 So.2d 126 (La.1973). A Prieur hearing was held and the trial court ruled that the state could introduce testimony relating to previous incidents involving his stepdaughter and her friend, who were six or seven at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct.

In December 2002, defendant's court-appointed attorney withdrew after being elected to the district court bench. Thereafter, defendant elected to proceed to trial in proper person. Count four, charging defendant with indecent behavior with a juvenile, "Z.P.", was dismissed when the child victim failed to appear for trial. On July 9, 2003, a jury convicted defendant of the four remaining counts. Defendant was sentenced to eight-year concurrent hard labor terms on counts one and two; four years on count three to be served concurrently with three years on count five; and the sentences on the molestation counts (one and two) and indecent behavior counts (three and five) were then ordered to run consecutively, resulting in a total of 12 years to be served. The judge then ordered that the sentences were to be without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension. Finding that defendant was a sex offender as defined by La. R.S. 15:537, the judge ordered that defendant would not be entitled to diminution of sentence for good behavior.

Defendant has appealed his convictions and sentences.

Discussion

Bill of Information

According to defendant, the second and final amended bill of information is fatally defective as to the two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles. In support, defendant cites State v. Free, 26,267 (La.App.2d Cir.09/21/94), 643 So.2d 767, writ denied, 94-2846 (La.03/10/95), 650 So.2d 1175.

In State v. Free, supra at 774-75, this court reviewed the applicable jurisprudence as follows:

The charged offense [indecent behavior with a juvenile] may be committed in two distinct ways: (1) by the commission of a lewd or lascivious act upon the person; or (2) by the commission of a lewd or lascivious act in the presence of any child under the age of seventeen, with the requisite intent. La. R.S. 14:81. An indictment for indecent behavior with juveniles must inform the accused in which way he is charged with having committed the offense, whether upon the person or in the presence of *218 the person. Otherwise, the defendant would go into court without any knowledge, insofar as the disclosures in the indictment are concerned, of the kind or nature of acts intended be relied on as constituting the offense charged. (Citations omitted).

In the case sub judice, the state concedes that the final amended bill of information tracks the alternative language of La. R.S. 14:81, that is, it charges that defendant committed a prohibited act "upon the person or in the presence of (the victim)" and thus, is defective. See State v. Free, supra. However, as was the case in Free, by virtue of discovery, the previous versions of the bill of information, and the state's answer to defendant's application for a bill of particulars, defendant was aware of all of the evidence the state intended to use to establish its case against him. Likewise, he was aware of the nature and cause of the accusations against him so that he could prepare his defense. As noted by this court in State v. Free, supra at 775, the constitutional mandate that a defendant be informed of the nature and cause against him does not require that he may only be so informed by indictment [or information]. Under the facts and circumstances of this case, defendant had full knowledge of the nature and cause of the charges against him, as well as of the nature and extent of the evidence the state had with which to prove its allegations.

Furthermore, defendant has not claimed any surprise, nor has he shown any prejudice due to this alleged defect. State v. Comeaux, 408 So.2d 1099 (La.1981). A defendant may not complain of technical insufficiency in an indictment or bill of information for the first time after conviction, when the defendant is fairly informed of the charge against him and there is no prejudice caused by the defect. Id.; State v. Shelton, 545 So.2d 1285 (La. App. 2d Cir.1989); State v. Johnson, 02-254 (La.App. 5th Cir.06/26/02), 822 So.2d 840. This assignment of error is without merit.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Under Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), the proper standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime established beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App.2d Cir.04/02/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333. This court's authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case is limited to the sufficiency of the evidence evaluation under Jackson v. Virginia, supra, and does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact. La. Const. art. 5, § 10(B); State v. Williams, 448 So.2d 753 (La.App. 2d Cir.1984). The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. State v. Owens, 30,903 (La.App.2d Cir.09/25/98), 719 So.2d 610, writ denied, 98-2723 (La.02/05/99), 737 So.2d 747.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that the testimony of the victim alone in a sexual assault case is sufficient to convince a reasonable fact finder beyond a reasonable doubt of a defendant's guilt. State v. Rives, 407 So.2d 1195 (La.1981); State v. Smith, 35,699 (La.App.2d Cir. 04/05/02), 815 So.2d 412, writ denied, 02-1502 (La.04/04/03), 840 So.2d 1200; State v.

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Bluebook (online)
880 So. 2d 214, 2004 WL 1837409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ellis-lactapp-2004.