State v. Ford

608 So. 2d 1058, 1992 WL 298134
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 16, 1992
DocketKA 91 1302, KA 91 1303
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 608 So. 2d 1058 (State v. Ford) 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. Ford, 608 So. 2d 1058, 1992 WL 298134 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

608 So.2d 1058 (1992)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Henry FORD. (Two Cases)

Nos. KA 91 1302, KA 91 1303.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

October 16, 1992.

*1059 Doug Moreau, Dist. Atty. by Jesse Bankston, Asst. Dist. Atty., Baton Rouge, for plaintiff/appellee.

Sam Streeter, Baton Rouge, for defendant/appellant.

Before EDWARDS, SHORTESS and WHIPPLE, JJ.

EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant was charged by bill of information with armed robbery, a violation of La.R.S. 14:64, and with aggravated burglary, a violation of La.R.S. 14:60. He pled not guilty. After a jury trial, defendant was found guilty as charged of both offenses. Thereafter, the state filed an habitual *1060 offender bill of information as to the armed robbery conviction. After a hearing, defendant was adjudicated a third felony offender. He was sentenced to 75 years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence for the armed robbery conviction. For the aggravated burglary conviction, defendant was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor, to be served concurrently with the sentence for armed robbery. He now appeals, urging six assignments of error. Assignment of error number two regarding defendant's objection to the introduction of certain state exhibits was expressly abandoned in defendant's brief.

FACTS

At about 8 p.m. on June 16, 1990, as the victim was exiting her car outside her Baton Rouge home, she heard a man say, "[h]old it." The man (later identified as defendant) was holding a gun to the back of her head.[1] Defendant forced her into her home, turned on the lights and asked if anyone else was at home. Although the victim answered "no," defendant forced the victim to walk with him into the other rooms, where he turned on the lights and looked for other persons. Defendant threatened to kill her if she lied about other persons being in the house or about them not returning home. When they returned to the kitchen, defendant asked for money and stole $50 in cash, an address book, and the victim's car keys. Then, he fled the home in the victim's car. Subsequently, the victim called the police.

Two days later, Edmund Brown, a friend of the victim, drove the victim around to look for her stolen car. About twelve blocks away from her home, the victim saw defendant sweeping out the inside of her vehicle. As they drove past the car, defendant spoke to Brown, who was driving. Apparently, defendant did not see the victim until he leaned down and looked into the vehicle. Suddenly, he threw down the broom, entered the stolen car and drove off. The victim recognized defendant as the same man who had robbed and threatened her. The next day, Brown saw the car parked near Prescott Street.

Both the victim and Brown identified defendant in a photo lineup. Brown also identified defendant in an out-of-court physical lineup.

At the trial, defendant presented an alibi defense. His mother testified that he was at her sister-in-law's house in Kenner on June 16. However, she admitted that she did not actually see her son on that day. She denied seeing her son in the victim's vehicle but admitted that in June, 1990, she and her son lived in an apartment complex located on Prescott Street.

Patricia Chaney, defendant's aunt and his mother's sister-in-law, testified that defendant came to her house in Kenner the weekend the offenses occurred. However, because she was at work, Ms. Chaney was not with defendant the night of June 16.

Mayola Palmer, another aunt of defendant, testified that defendant was at her house in River Ridge (near Kenner) on June 16 for a crawfish boil. Defendant arrived at about 3 a.m. that morning and stayed until about 10:30 p.m. He was never out of her sight for more than 30 minutes between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

EXPERT TESTIMONY

By means of assignment of error number one, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to allow testimony from an expert witness as to the fallibility of eyewitness identification.

In State v. Stucke, 419 So.2d 939, 945 (La.1982), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding testimony of defendant's expert witness regarding the quality of an identification. That Court, in addressing the then res nova issue, reasoned as follows:

[T]he prejudicial effect of such testimony outweighs its probative value because of the substantial risk that the potential *1061 persuasive appearance of the expert witness will have a greater influence on the jury than the other evidence presented during the trial. Such testimony invades the province of the jury and usurps its function.

State v. Stucke, 419 So.2d at 945.

Other Louisiana decisions addressing the same issue have relied upon the Stucke decision and found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness identification. See State v. Gurley, 565 So.2d 1055, 1057-1058 (La.App. 4th Cir.1990), writ denied, 575 So.2d 386 (La. 1991); State v. Coleman, 486 So.2d 995, 1000 (La.App. 2d Cir.), writ denied, 493 So.2d 634 (La.1986).

In State v. Chapman, 436 So.2d 451, 453 (La.1983), the trial court allowed expert testimony concerning studies which generally reflected the fallibility of eyewitness identification in some circumstances. Although the question of admissibility was not an issue in that case on appeal, the Louisiana Supreme Court, in a footnote, cited Stucke, and discussed Stucke's concurring opinion, which emphasized the trial court's discretion in admitting such evidence, in the interest of justice, when the court determines that the proffered evidence would assist the jury in deciding the question of identity.

The Stucke decision was rendered prior to the enactment of the Louisiana Code of Evidence and repeal, by Acts 1988, No. 515, § 8 of the provisions in La.R.S. 15:464 et seq., regarding expert testimony. Since the trial in the instant case occurred after January 1, 1989, the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Evidence are applicable to the case herein.

La.C.E. art. 403 states:
Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, or waste of time.
La.C.E. art. 702 states:
If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.

From our review of the record, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's ruling that defendant's expert testimony was inadmissible. The Stucke decision is consistent with the Louisiana Code of Evidence articles regarding expert testimony and is applicable to the instant case. Herein, there was testimony from which the jury could determine the facts based on common knowledge, education and experience. The opinion evidence about the fallibility of human perception and memory in general was not necessary for the jury to resolve the identity issue.

Thus, this assignment of error lacks merit.

JURY CHARGE

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Bluebook (online)
608 So. 2d 1058, 1992 WL 298134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ford-lactapp-1992.