State v. Harris

754 So. 2d 304, 2000 WL 204383
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 18, 2000
Docket99 KA 0820
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 754 So. 2d 304 (State v. Harris) 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. Harris, 754 So. 2d 304, 2000 WL 204383 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

754 So.2d 304 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Carlos HARRIS.

No. 99 KA 0820.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

February 18, 2000.

*305 Walter P. Reed, District Attorney, Dorothy Pendergrast, Assistant District Attorney, Baton Rouge, for Appellee State of Louisiana.

Frank Sloan, Covington, for Defendant-Appellant Carlos Harris.

Before: CARTER, LeBLANC, and PETTIGREW, JJ.

PETTIGREW, J.

Defendant, Carlos Harris, was charged by a bill of information with obscenity, a violation of La. R.S. 14:106. He pled not guilty. On the day of trial, defendant changed his plea to not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. A trial was conducted and after deliberation, the jury returned the verdict of guilty as charged. The trial court ordered a pre-sentence investigation report. Defendant filed a motion for new trial and a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal, which were denied. The trial court sentenced defendant to five years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, *306 or suspension of sentence. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentence, which was denied by the trial judge. Defendant now appeals.

FACTS

Darlene Williams, a St. Tammany Parish bus driver, testified that on March 20, 1997, she drove her usual afternoon bus route. As she dropped off some children directly across from the defendant's camper-trailer, she saw defendant standing in the open doorway of his trailer, naked from the waist down, shaking his penis toward the driver and the children on the bus. The defendant's tongue was also hanging outside of his mouth. Ms. Williams made certain that the children she had dropped off had walked up the driveway to their home before she drove away. According to Ms. Williams, the bus contained about 28 children ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade. Ms. Williams, who had no doubt about her identification of defendant in court, stated that the children also witnessed the actions of the defendant. After completing her route, Ms. Williams reported the incident to the parish school board and to the sheriff's office. She was advised by school board personnel that some parents had already called and made complaints about the defendant's actions.

Sergeant Russell Kahl, a St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office deputy, testified that on the date in question, he responded to Ms. Williams's complaint. After interviewing Ms. Williams, Sergeant Kahl called for backup and went to the defendant's trailer where the defendant was placed under arrest. When Sergeant Kahl arrived at the trailer, the defendant was dressed in shorts and a shirt. Sergeant Kahl estimated that the defendant's trailer was situated no more than 25 feet from the road, and agreed that there was a clear, unobstructed view from the road to the trailer. Sergeant Kahl testified that he was with the defendant for at least 1½ hours, and that during that time, the defendant appeared very calm, and was able to understand and answer questions. The defendant did not appear to be insane.

Deputy Terry Kennedy testified that he also participated in the arrest of the defendant and that he read the defendant his Miranda rights. According to Deputy Kennedy, the defendant appeared to have his mental faculties about him when he advised Deputy Kennedy that he understood his rights. Deputy Kennedy also stated that the defendant was clothed and had a calm demeanor at the time of his arrest.

Dr. Rafael Salcedo testified on the defendant's behalf, as an expert in the field of forensic psychology. He stated that he had been appointed by the court to serve as a member of a sanity commission called to determine the defendant's competency for trial. Dr. Salcedo stated that his original examination of the defendant took place in May of 1997 when defendant was in an isolation cell at the St. Tammany Parish Jail. At that time defendant was "stark naked .... [and] rambling, talking to himself at an extremely rapid pace of speech." In Dr. Salcedo's opinion, it was clear that the defendant was "actively delusional and psychotic, floridly so in a very dramatic way." The defendant's condition was obvious to the other members of the sanity commission as well and, consequently, the court found the defendant incompetent to proceed to trial. The defendant was transferred to Feliciana Forensic Facility where he was treated with anti-psychotic medication.

Dr. Salcedo saw the defendant again on July 8, 1998. Describing the defendant as a "good medication responder," Dr. Salcedo noted that "like many chronically mentally ill individuals suffering from schizophrenia,... [the defendant] lacks insight into the fact that he's mentally ill." In Dr. Salcedo's opinion, the defendant's "response is remarkable in that he recovers well when he's taking his medications." Dr. Salcedo stated that while the defendant still presented some psychotic symptoms, *307 he was greatly improved and lucid enough to understand the nature of the charges against him. At that point, Dr. Salcedo stated that he recommended to the court that the defendant be found competent to proceed to trial.

Dr. Salcedo testified that because he had been able to observe what happens when the defendant does not take his medication, there was a "pretty good chance that at the time of the alleged offense, [the defendant] was not taking his medications and was probably psychotic." While the defendant purportedly told Dr. Salcedo that he was not taking his medications at the time of the alleged offense, Dr. Salcedo conceded that he had no way to verify this claim. If the defendant was not taking his medications, Dr. Salcedo stated that he had little doubt that the defendant would have met the criteria for insanity and would not be able to distinguish right from wrong.

Dr. Salcedo was also asked if the defendant's alleged act of obscenity was consistent with the defendant's behavior when not on medication. Based upon his review of the defendant's numerous psychiatric hospitalizations, Dr. Salcedo stated that it appeared to be part of the defendant's symptomatology to strip naked and become very confused about his sexuality. Dr. Salcedo could not explain how the defendant could purportedly not know the difference between right and wrong while appearing calm to the deputies who arrested him. Recalling that when he first saw the defendant in jail, the defendant would not calm down, Dr. Salcedo could only surmise that the "presence of two deputies and the flashing lights might have been sufficient to maybe spook" the defendant into calming down. Dr. Salcedo further stated that while it was conceivable that the defendant possessed some degree of control when something really dramatic is happening, this did not negate the possibility or the likelihood that the defendant was actively psychotic. In his testimony, Dr. Salcedo also indicated that the defendant's behavior in stopping his medication was consistent with what is typically seen in chronic schizophrenics. Dr. Salcedo further opined that in his opinion, the defendant was not malingering. On cross-examination, Dr. Salcedo conceded that his first examination of the defendant did not take place until two months after the incident.

The defendant also presented the testimony of lay witnesses. Captain Gregory Longino, the assistant warden of the St. Tammany Parish Jail, testified that he personally observed the defendant's strange behavior. While in an isolation cell, the defendant usually remained naked and masturbated. Captain Longino related that on one occasion, he observed the defendant with a lighter in his cell.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
754 So. 2d 304, 2000 WL 204383, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harris-lactapp-2000.