State v. Espinosa

66 So. 2d 323, 223 La. 520, 1953 La. LEXIS 1328
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJune 1, 1953
DocketNo. 41228
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 66 So. 2d 323 (State v. Espinosa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Espinosa, 66 So. 2d 323, 223 La. 520, 1953 La. LEXIS 1328 (La. 1953).

Opinion

MOISE, Justice.

The accused, Felix Espinosa, was prosecuted under a bill of information which charged that he “did wilfully and unlawfully obtain a narcotic drug, to-wit 16 dilaudid tablets by forging a prescription in the name of M. W. Miller and presenting same to Auralia Descauments, Pharmacist, contrary to the form of the Statute of the State of Louisiana * * He was tried and convicted and sentenced to serve ten years in the State Penitentiary. From this conviction and sentence he has appealed.

[523]*523Defendant bases his appeal on seven bills of exception.

Bill No. 1.

After the swearing of the jury and the reading of the information to them, and before any witnesses were sworn and put on the stand, counsel for the defendant made the following objection:

“That the charge under which it is sought to try your defendant, is an illegal charge under the Law of Louisiana, as under the law of Louisiana the act defines ‘narcotic drugs’ in [LSA-] Revised Statutes 40:961 as follows:
“ ‘Sub-Section 13 — Narcotic Drugs, means coca leaves, opium, canabis, marijuana, isonipecaine, and every substance neither chemically nor physically distinguishable from them.’
“And
“ ‘Sub-Section 15 — Opium includes morphine, codeine, and heroin, and any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of opium, but does not include apormorphine or any of its salts.’
“That the charge herein which .was that the defendant did
“ ‘Wilfully and unlawfully obtain a narcotic drug, to-wit: 16 dilaudid tablets by forging a prescription in the name of M. W. Miller, and presenting same to Auralia Descauments, Pharmacist’, .
was insufficient under the Law, as this particular drug ‘Dilaudid tablets’ is not defined as a ‘narcotic drug’ by the Law of Louisiana, and therefore that no legal charge was made against the defendant.’’

The trial judge overruled defendant’s objection, stating that if counsel desired to know whether “dilaudid” is a derivative of some particular type of narcotic, a motion for a bill of particulars was the proper procedure. Thereupon, a bill of exception was reserved and the objection and ruling were made a part of the bill.

To be specific, with concrete exaction, the defendant argues that under LSA-Revised Statutes 40:961 ‘dilaudid’ as defined therein is not a narcotic drug.

LSA-R.S. 40:978 which denounces the crime of obtaining or attempting to obtain a narcotic drug by. forgery reads:

“A. No person shall obtain or attempt to obtain a narcotic drug, or procure or attempt to procure the adminis; tration of a narcotic drug:
“(1) By fraud, deceit, misrepresen- . tation, or subterfuge; or
“(2) By the forgery or alteration of a prescription or of any written order; or
“(3) By the concealment of a material fact; or
“(4) By the use of a false name or the giving of a false address. * * * .

[525]*525A bill of particulars calls for specifications. It usually does not cure- a defective indictment or bill of information. State v. Pettifield, 210 La. 609, 27 So.2d 424; State v. Bienvenu, 207 La. 859, 22 So. 2d 196. In the instant case the information is not defective. It sets out that the defendant obtained a narcotic drug, and that the drug was ‘dilaudid’. While a bill of particulars might have been informative, it was not necessary as both the State’s witnesses were qualified to testify — one as to her precautions when selling the narcotic which was sold on prescription only, and the other, as to the contents of the ingredients of the narcotic drug. Therefore, the bill of information was sufficient and the State has fully borne its burden of proving that ‘dilaudid’ is a narcotic drug. State v. Matassa, 222 La. 263, 62 So.2d 609.

Bill No. 2.

This bill was taken to the refusal of the trial judge to instruct the jury that it could bring in a verdict of attempt. '

The statute reads:

“No person shall obtain or attempt to obtain a narcotic drug”. LSA-R.S. 40:978.

The penalties as set out in LSA-R.S. 40:981 are the same for obtaining or attempting to obtain a narcotic drug.

LSA-R.S. 14:27 provides for the crime of Attempt. It prescribes that

“(3) In all other cases he shall be fined or imprisoned, or both, in the same manner as for the offense attempted ; but such fine or imprisonment. shall not exceed one-half of the largest fine, or one-half of the longest term of imprisonment prescribed for the offense so attempted, or both.”

In State v. Broadnax, 216 La. 1003, 45 So.2d 604, 610, it is stated:

“We do not agree that Section 17 shows any intention of the redactors of the Code to exclude Section 2 of the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act from the application of Article 27.”

In 1952, the Legislature amended the Narcotic Act — Act No. 429 of 1952, LSA-R.S. 40:981. This act provided for a lesser penalty for the crime of attempting to obtain a narcotic drug. The Legislature must have had in mind a reconciliation of Article 27 of the Criminal Code and the Narcotic Act.

Be that as it may, the defendant was charged with obtaining a narcotic, and his confession which was admitted in evidence states that he did obtain the drug through forgery.

The judge’s ruling in refusing this charge was correct.

Bill No. 3.

This bill was taken to the refusal of the trial judge to give the following charge -to the jury:

“I charge you, that in this case, to get a conviction that the State must [527]*527prove to your satisfaction' and beyond all reasonable doubt the following:
“1. That the alleged dilaudid tablets which the defendant is charged with having secured, actually contained a narcotic drug.
“2. The law defines narcotic drugs as coca leaves, opium, canabis, marijuana, isonipecaine, and every substance neither chemically nor physically distinguishable from them.
“If the State does not prove that these particular 16 tablets contained any of the substances set' forth in the definition which I have just given you, then it will be your duty to find a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’.
“That this defendant himself forged a prescription in order to get these tablets.
“3. That he is the person who actually presented the said prescription and obtained the said tablets.
“If the State fails to prove those things or any one of them, or if you have a reasonable doubt • about either the narcotic in the tablet, or the forgery, or the person of Espinosa, defendant herein, then it would be your duty under the law to give the benefit of such reasonable doubt to the defendant, and find him ‘Not Guilty’.

This bill is without merit.

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

Related

State v. Ragsdale
187 So. 2d 427 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1966)
State v. Garner
115 So. 2d 855 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1959)
State v. Straughan
87 So. 2d 523 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1956)
State v. Marshfield
85 So. 2d 28 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1956)
State v. McQueen
87 So. 2d 727 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1955)
State v. Dabbs
84 So. 2d 601 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1955)
State v. Nicolosi
81 So. 2d 771 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 So. 2d 323, 223 La. 520, 1953 La. LEXIS 1328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-espinosa-la-1953.