State v. Guice

645 So. 2d 1193, 1994 WL 583285
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 26, 1994
Docket26440-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 645 So. 2d 1193 (State v. Guice) 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. Guice, 645 So. 2d 1193, 1994 WL 583285 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

645 So.2d 1193 (1994)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Corey GUICE, aka Guice, Appellant.

No. 26440-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 26, 1994.
Rehearing Denied December 1, 1994.

*1194 John Focke, Monroe, for appellant.

Jerry Jones, Dist. Atty. and Charles Cook, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before LINDSAY, BROWN and STEWART, JJ.

BROWN, Judge.

A jury found Corey Guice guilty as charged of second degree murder, LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant was thereafter sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which was subsequently denied by the trial court. Reserving three assignments of error, he now appeals. For reasons stated below, we affirm.

FACTS

On May 8, 1992, Jerry Butler was beaten to death outside a home he was visiting in Monroe, Louisiana. Butler had been asked to step out of the house by defendant, Corey Guice. While the chain of events is not entirely clear, the consensus of the testimony adduced at trial indicated that defendant struck Butler in the head at least one time *1195 with a baseball bat. Defendant and two companions, Gerald Thompson and Robert Shaw, then fled the scene. Butler died three days later.

Thompson and Shaw were apprehended almost immediately. Each gave a statement to police indicating that he had been picked up by Guice, who had offered them a ride. The trio cruised the area, ultimately stopping at a house on Short Thomas Street in Monroe. According to Thompson and Shaw, defendant exited the vehicle alone, entered the house and later exited, followed by Mr. Butler. An altercation ensued and, at some point, defendant retrieved a baseball bat from his car. While Thompson and Shaw watched from the car, defendant struck Butler with the bat.

Cynthia Gardener occupied the house on Short Thomas Street where the altercation occurred. In an initial statement to police, Ms. Gardener stated that she too saw defendant strike Butler with a bat. However, she also stated that she saw Thompson and Shaw involved in the melee. Based upon her statement, the two men were charged with second degree murder. Defendant was apprehended approximately one month after the incident and was likewise charged with second degree murder.

Eventually, the state dismissed the charges against Thompson and Shaw due to a lack of evidence. In October 1993, a trial was had in which Gardener and former codefendants, Thompson and Shaw, testified against defendant. A jury found Guice guilty as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Following sentencing, defendant filed a motion for new trial on the grounds that the verdict was contrary to the law and evidence and that new and material evidence previously undiscovered had come to light that might change the verdict. This alleged new evidence concerned a possible undisclosed deal between prosecutors and former codefendants, Thompson and Shaw, involving an exchange of testimony for dismissed charges. Following a hearing on December 21, 1993, defendant's motion was denied. Defendant appeals, urging the following assignments of error:

1) The verdict is contrary to the law and the evidence;
2) The evidence does not sustain the verdict;
3) The court erred in failing to sustain defendant's request for a new trial based upon prosecutorial misconduct.

DISCUSSION

The Weight of the Evidence

In his motion for new trial, defendant claims that the verdict is contrary to the law and the evidence. See LSA-C.Cr.P. Art 851(1). In response to such a motion, only the weight of the evidence may be reviewed by the trial judge. State v. Thomas, 609 So.2d 1078 (La.App.2d Cir.1992), writ denied, 617 So.2d 905 (La.1993); State v. Korman, 439 So.2d 1099 (La.App. 1st Cir.1983). See also Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31, 102 S.Ct. 2211, 72 L.Ed.2d 652 (1982). Moreover, the refusal to grant such a motion is not subject to appellate review. LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 858; State v. Thomas, supra; State v. Korman, supra.

While defendant's motion itself alludes to this ground in support of a new trial, defendant did not address this contention in the memorandum in support of his motion. Furthermore, defendant failed to present any argument concerning this ground for new trial at the hearing on the motion. Defendant's failure to support and argue this basis for new trial resulted in the trial court's refusal to grant the motion on the proffered ground. Such refusal is not subject to appellate review and we therefore decline to entertain this assignment of error.

The Sufficiency of the Evidence

The preferable procedural vehicle for raising the issue of sufficiency of the evidence is by a motion in the trial court for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 821. Defendant did not present the sufficiency issue to the trial court, but raises it on appeal by arguing that the evidence does not support the verdict. Under Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), the proper standard *1196 of appellate review for a sufficiency of 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 proven beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Bellamy, 599 So.2d 326 (La.App.2d Cir.1992), writ denied, 605 So.2d 1089 (La. 1992). The standard enunciated in Jackson and legislatively embodied in LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 821 is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. State v. Smith, 441 So.2d 739 (La.1983); State v. Thomas, supra; State v. Willis, 446 So.2d 795 (La.App.2d Cir.1984).

The assessment of credibility and resolution of conflicting testimony remain functions to be exercised by the jury. State v. Klar, 400 So.2d 610 (La.1981); State v. Thomas, supra; State v. Bonnett, 524 So.2d 932 (La.App.2d Cir.1988), writ denied, 532 So.2d 148 (La.1988). Where the trier of fact has made a rational determination, an appellate court should not disturb it. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305 (La.1988); State v. Thomas, supra; State v. Combs, 600 So.2d 751 (La.App.2d Cir.1992), writ denied, 604 So.2d 973 (La.1992). In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, the testimony of one witness, if believed by the fact-trier, is sufficient to support the requisite factual conclusion. State v. Thomas, supra; State v. Reaves, 569 So.2d 650 (La.App.2d Cir.1990), writ denied, 576 So.2d 25 (La.1991); State v. Shepherd, 566 So.2d 1127 (La.App. 2nd Cir. 1990).

Second degree murder is defined in part as the killing of a human being when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. LSA-R.S. 14:30.1(A)(1). To support a conviction of second degree murder, the state must show that defendant had specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm. State v. Brooks, 505 So.2d 714 (La.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 947, 108 S.Ct. 337, 98 L.Ed.2d 363 (1987).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
645 So. 2d 1193, 1994 WL 583285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-guice-lactapp-1994.