State v. Gaspard

709 So. 2d 213, 1998 WL 52029
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 11, 1998
Docket96-1279
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 709 So. 2d 213 (State v. Gaspard) 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. Gaspard, 709 So. 2d 213, 1998 WL 52029 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

709 So.2d 213 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Shawn James GASPARD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 96-1279.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 11, 1998.

*215 Michael Harson, Lafayette, Keith A. Stutes, Asst. Dist. Atty., for State.

Alfred Frem Boustany, II, Lafayette, for Shawn James Gaspard.

Before THIBODEAUX, PETERS and SULLIVAN, JJ.

THIBODEAUX, Judge.

This supervisory writ application by Shawn Gaspard is the third time he has called upon this court to review the trial court's ruling on his motion to suppress his confession and inculpatory statements to the police. The state has charged the defendant with first degree murder. Originally, this court issued an unpublished writ opinion in State v. Gaspard, 95-1643 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1/25/96) which stated:

WRIT DENIED: There is no error in the trial court's rulings. The other crimes evidence is admissible at this time, subject to later review at trial on the merits. La. Code Evid. art. 1104; Huddleston v. U.S., 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496 [99 L.Ed.2d 771] (1988). We further find the issue of special jury instructions concerning the aggravating circumstances of La.Code Crim.P. art. 905.4(A)(7) is premature.

The defendant, Gaspard, applied for a writ of certiorari with the Louisiana Supreme Court on February 1, 1996, and the supreme court granted the stay and remanded the matter to this court for briefing, argument, and issuance of an opinion concerning the suppression motion. State v. Gaspard, 96-0300 (La.2/5/96); 667 So.2d 525.

This court received additional briefs from the parties, heard oral arguments, and issued an opinion again denying the motion to suppress *216 filed by the defendant. State v. Gaspard, 95-1643 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/8/96); 685 So.2d 151. The defendant, Gaspard, sought supervisory writs with the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Louisiana Supreme Court granted Gaspard's writ application and issued the following order:

Granted. The ruling of the admissibility of relator's statement is vacated and this case is remanded to the district court for retrial of the motion to suppress. See State v. Stevenson, 374 So.2d 1189, 1191 [(La.1979) ]; State v. Simmons, 328 So.2d 149, 153 (La.1976). The state shall have the opportunity to rebut, if it can, relator's allegations with regard to the manner in which he was detained in the hours before he made his statement. The district court shall rule anew on the voluntariness of relator's statement in light of any additional testimony and with specific reference to the pre-interrogation circumstances of relator's custodial detention. Relator may seek review in the court of appeal of any adverse ruling.

State v. Gaspard, 96-1390 (La.6/28/96); 675 So.2d 1100.

The trial court conducted the second suppression hearing on August 23, 1996, and both the state and the defendant introduced all evidence from the first suppression hearing conducted on November 27, 1995. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial judge again denied the motion to suppress. We are now called upon to review the correctness of that ruling and to address as specifically as possible the issue articulated in the Louisiana Supreme Court's order granting Gaspard's writ.

FACTS

The facts of the murder and the investigation are detailed in the prior opinion by this court in Gaspard, 685 So.2d 151. When the supreme court vacated all prior rulings that the defendant's statements and confession were admissible, it did not rule that the rulings were wrong, but remanded the matter for another hearing on specific issues. The supreme court ordered that at this second hearing the district court would rule again on the voluntariness of Gaspard's statement with specific reference to the pre-interrogation circumstances of his custodial detention, and that the state would have the opportunity to rebut, if it could, relator's allegations with regard to the manner in which he was detained in the hours before he made his statement. See Gaspard, 675 So.2d 1100.

At the second suppression hearing, the defendant introduced enhanced audio of the videotape of Gaspard while he was in the interrogation room. The defendant presented no additional witnesses, but the state presented the testimony of Detectives Ted Blaine Vincent and Kelly Gibson, who had testified at the first suppression hearing.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial judge ruled:

BY THE COURT:
Okay, the Court is ready to render its ruling on the motion to suppress.
After a review of the transcript of the November, 1992[sic] hearing which I held on defendant's motion to suppress, and the additional testimony of Officers Gibson and Vincent, the Court finds that:
(1) The confession of defendant Shawn James Gaspard was given freely and voluntarily and not made under the influence of fear, duress, intimidation, menaces, threats, inducements, or promises.
(2) The defendant was handcuffed with one hand to a steel ring attached to a wall in the interview room, in a seated position for a period of up to six to seven hours. There was evidence that during his period of interrogation he was moved to another area for at least forty-five minutes while Detective Vincent interviewed co-defendant Mitchell Hebert in the interview room.
(3) Defendant Gaspard was offered and given food and the use of the restroom facility during the initial period prior to 6:30 p.m., when the videotape was turned on. Again, at approximately eight o'clock Detective Vincent offered food to the defendant.
(4) Defendant never once complained of any physical discomfort due to his being restrained to the wall.
*217 (5) The procedure use [sic] by the police to cuff defendant to the wall was done for security and safety reasons and not to obtain a confession from the defendant.
(6) There is no evidence that defendant confessed due to any physical discomfort, lack of food, use of bathroom facilities, or otherwise. The Court finds the defendant was not under duress by being restrained to the wall, nor due to any alleged lack of food or use of bathroom facilities. I further find defendant was not intimidated, threatened, or induced to confess by the manner in which he was interrogated or by the length of time of the interrogation process.
As a result, the defendant's motion to suppress is denied.

The defendant objected and gave notice of intent to seek supervisory writs.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

The defendant entreats us to grant this writ and reverse the trial court action which denied his motion to suppress. The arguments by the defendant can be separated into three issues: (1) did the defendant indicate in any manner that he wanted to remain silent? (2) could the police use the allegedly unconstitutionally-obtained statement of codefendant Mitchell Hebert to convince Gaspard to change his mind and confess? and, (3) were Gaspard's statements given freely and voluntarily?

Before a confession may be introduced in evidence, the state has the burden of proving that it was given freely and voluntarily, and not made under the influence of fear, duress, intimidation, menaces, threats, inducements, or promises. La.R.S. 15:451; La.Code Crim.P. art. 703(D).

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Bluebook (online)
709 So. 2d 213, 1998 WL 52029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gaspard-lactapp-1998.