State v. Frank

635 So. 2d 634, 1994 WL 113595
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 1994
DocketCR 93-1402
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 635 So. 2d 634 (State v. Frank) 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. Frank, 635 So. 2d 634, 1994 WL 113595 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

635 So.2d 634 (1994)

STATE of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Paul FRANK, Defendant-Appellant.

No. CR 93-1402.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 6, 1994.

*635 Glenda Huddleston, New Iberia, for State.

William Robert Collins, New Iberia, for Paul Frank.

Before DOUCET and THIBODEAUX, JJ., and BERTRAND[*], J. Pro Tem.

THIBODEAUX, Judge.

The defendant, Paul John Frank, was charged with forcible rape, a violation of La.R.S. 14:42.1. After trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged on April 20, 1993. The defendant was sentenced on May 19, 1993, to serve forty years at hard labor, with at least two years to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The defendant made both an oral and a written motion for reconsideration of sentence. The motion was denied on June 7, 1993. The defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence.

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the conviction of the defendant, but remand for resentencing.

FACTS

On the evening of May 1, 1993, the victim, Beverly Guillory, accompanied by friends went out for the evening. She and her friends went to an establishment called "Mary's Place." The victim had three or four beers and danced with a few of the *636 young men at the club, including the defendant.

After one of the dances, Frank grabbed Ms. Guillory from the back by the hair and threatened her not to try to make a move or he would get her first. The defendant then forced her to go with him outside to the parking lot. While in the parking lot, the defendant released her hair and grabbed her by the arms. The defendant then forced the victim to walk down the road until they reached several sheds. The defendant found an open one and they entered. At this point, the defendant began kissing and undressing the victim. Several times the victim requested that he stop. By restraining the victim's arms and using force, the defendant was able to penetrate the victim's vagina several times. He also placed his penis in her mouth. In restraining the victim, the defendant banged her head against the ground. During this time, the victim continued to ask the defendant to stop and she tried to scratch the defendant.

When the defendant was finished, he became still. The victim quickly collected her clothes and got dressed, while keeping an eye on the defendant. The victim returned to the night club where she found a relative of hers, Frank Mitchell. A sheriff's deputy was also in the parking lot, but she did not speak to him. Instead, she had Mitchell bring her home. Once she got home she told her mother that she had been raped. The police were then contacted and the victim proceeded to the hospital. The victim identified the defendant as the rapist.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

The defendant alleges that the trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial based on the last statement made by the prosecutor in her rebuttal argument. The prosecutor made the following statement, "And don't let this man get away with raping this woman. Come back with a guilty verdict, not only for Beverly, but for everyone else." The defendant argues that this was an improper reference to inadmissible other crimes evidence. In addition, the defendant argues that even if it were not an improper reference to other crimes evidence, his conviction must be reversed based solely on the inflammatory nature of the remark.

La.Code Crim.P. art. 770 provides that:

Upon motion of a defendant, a mistrial shall be ordered when a remark or comment, made within the hearing of the jury by the judge, district attorney, or a court official, during the trial or in argument, refers directly or indirectly to:
* * * * * *
(2) Another crime committed or alleged to have been committed by the defendant as to which evidence is not admissible.

The denial of a motion for mistrial based on a prosecutor's reference which falls within the scope of the article is per se a substantial violation of a statutory right. State v. Nuccio, 454 So.2d 93 (La.1984); State v. Ramoin, 554 So.2d 278 (La.App. 3d Cir.1989). To be within the scope of La.Code Crim.P. art. 770(2) the remark complained of must be an unambiguous reference to crimes alleged to have been committed by the defendant. State v. Robertson, 421 So.2d 843 (La.1982).

The trial judge in ruling on the motion stated that:

BY THE COURT: So the motion for a mistrial was certainly made timely.
The reason I didn't grant it, I do have some problem with the remark, but it— first of all, it has nothing to do with other crimes. It—it tends to maybe be somewhat inflammatory when—when the jury's called upon to return a verdict of guilty for the benefit of everyone else. But I think that's consistent with the law, because—and it's consistent with the theory of criminal prosecutions, that criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the State, because, unlike a civil case—unlike, say, a quasi-offense, a tort, where—which is an offense committed on one victim, that's not the case with crimes. The people are the victim in a criminal case. In a lot of jurisdictions, instead of prosecutions being brought in the name of the State, they're brought in the name of the people. And so that a crime is an affront to all the people. And so, when you look at it in that light, then Miss Huddleston's remark was not *637 improper and certainly not the basis for a mistrial.

As the trial judge stated, the remark made by the prosecutor is subject to more than one interpretation. Therefore, it is not an unambiguous reference to inadmissible other crimes evidence and does not call for a mandatory mistrial.

Inflammatory remarks by the prosecutor are not covered by La.Code Crim.P. art. 770 calling for a mandatory mistrial. Rather, it is covered by La.Code Crim.P. art. 771 which leaves the granting of a mistrial to the discretion of the trial judge. We feel that the statement was not of such a nature that it would rob the defendant of a fair trial. Therefore, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying the defendant's motion for mistrial.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2

The defendant alleges that the trial court erred in finding him guilty of forcible rape since if the jury reviewed all the evidence in a light most favorable to the state, a rational trier of fact could not have found, beyond reasonable doubt, that he was guilty. The defendant admits having a sexual encounter with the victim, but claims that it was consensual.

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court 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 proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559, at 563 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981).

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Bluebook (online)
635 So. 2d 634, 1994 WL 113595, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-frank-lactapp-1994.