State v. Hines

663 So. 2d 199, 1995 WL 579552
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 4, 1995
DocketCR95-111
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 663 So. 2d 199 (State v. Hines) 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. Hines, 663 So. 2d 199, 1995 WL 579552 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

663 So.2d 199 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Thomas Edward HINES, III, Defendant-Appellant.

No. CR95-111.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

October 4, 1995.
Writ Denied February 9, 1996.

*200 Michael Harson, Dist. Atty., Rickey Wayne Miniex, Asst. Dist. Atty., Lafayette, for State of Louisiana.

Carrol Lee Spell Jr., Lafayette, for Thomas Edward Hines, III.

Before SAUNDERS and SULLIVAN, JJ., and KNIGHT,[1] J. Pro Tem.

SAUNDERS, Judge.

The defendant pled guilty to one count of vehicular homicide, a violation of La.R.S. 14:32.1, and was sentenced to fifteen (15) years at hard labor. Defendant appeals his sentence alleging that it is excessive. We agree and reverse.

FACTS

On February 27, 1993, defendant, while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, caused a head-on collision resulting in the death of John Henry Mattire, Jr.

Defendant pled guilty to one count of vehicular homicide and received a sentence of fifteen (15) years at hard labor, the maximum prison sentence allowed under La.R.S. 14:32.1. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentence which was denied by the trial court. After receiving information negating many of his alleged prior criminal convictions, he subsequently filed an amending and supplemental motion to reconsider the sentence. This motion was also denied by the trial court.

Defendant now seeks review with this court alleging the following seven assignments of error.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
1. The sentence imposed by the trial court is unconstitutionally excessive and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
2. The sentence imposed by the trial court exceeds, without justification, the Louisiana Sentencing Guidelines.
3. The trial court improperly considered as aggravating factors elements which had previously been considered by the Louisiana Sentencing Commission in the formulation of the Louisiana Sentencing Guidelines.
4. The trial court failed to consider and/or give any weight to the mitigating factors present in this matter.
*201 5. The trial court erred in failing to balance its expressed sympathy for the victims with acceptable penal goals of the State of Louisiana in sentencing the defendant.
6. The trial court erred in classifying defendant as a third felony offender without sufficient evidence of the disposition of prior charges in the State of Florida.
7. The trial court erred in finding that defendant had three prior misdemeanor convictions of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

ERRORS PATENT

La.Code Crim.P. art. 920 provides the scope of review on appeal as follows:

The following matters and no others shall be considered on appeal:

(1) An error designated in the assignment of errors; and
(2) An error that is discoverable by a mere inspection of the pleadings and proceedings without inspection of the evidence.

In accordance with this article, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. After review of the record, we find there is one error patent. The sentence imposed was not in accordance with the requirements of La.R.S. 14:32.1(B) which reads as follows:

Whoever commits the crime of vehicular homicide shall be fined not less than two thousand dollars nor more than fifteen thousand dollars and shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not less than two years nor more than fifteen years.

In State v. Stein, 611 So.2d 800 at 801 (La.App. 3 Cir.1992), this court, quoting the Louisiana Supreme Court in State v. Jackson, 452 So.2d 682 (La.1984), stated:

[W]hen a defendant alone appeals and the record contains a patent error favorable to the defendant, the appellate court should ignore the error, unless the prosecution, having properly raised the issue in the trial court, has sought the appellate review.

In the case sub judice, the trial court noted the statutory mandate of both a fine and imprisonment, but chose not to impose a fine, a departure from the terms of La.R.S. 14:32.1(B). Nonetheless, because the State has not sought review of the sentence, we will ignore this relatively insignificant error.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1, 6 & 7:

Next, we turn to defendant's assigned errors.

By the defendant's first assignment of error, he alleges that the sentence imposed by the trial court is excessive.

In support of his first assigned error, the defendant argues that his sentence is excessive in comparison with other sentences imposed for similar crimes by the same court, or other courts, and that maximum sentences should be reserved for the most egregious and blameworthy of offenders.

In support of his sixth assignment of error, defendant argues the trial court erred in classifying him as a third felony offender without sufficient evidence of the disposition of the prior charges in the State of Florida. By his seventh, he argues the trial court erred in finding that defendant had three (3) prior misdemeanor convictions of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

We find merit to each of these arguments. The sentencing court was misinformed as to defendant's prior felony and misdemeanor conviction record.

Defendant contends there was no evidence adduced of convictions of driving under the influence in Florida in 1983 and 1987. The State contends defendant's criminal activity consists of three (3) prior driving while intoxicated convictions, one in 1983, one in 1987, and one in 1992.

Citing State v. Palmer, 448 So.2d 765 (La.App. 2 Cir.), writ denied, 452 So.2d 695 (La.1984), the State contends the trial court, in sentencing defendant, is not limited to considering only defendant's prior convictions but may properly consider all prior criminal activity. This is true.

*202 In State v. Lemelle, 502 So.2d 130 at 132 (La.App. 3 Cir.1987), this court stated, "A trial court may consider a plea bargain by a defendant, State v. Lanclos, 419 So.2d 475 (La.1982), and a trial court may also consider criminal activity not leading to a conviction, State v. Brown, 410 So.2d 1043 (La.1982)." In accord, State v. Berry, 630 So.2d 1330 at 1335 (La.App. 4 Cir.1993) ("[A] trial court could consider unadjudicated criminal activity in sentencing.") The sources of information from which a sentencing court may draw are extensive, and traditional rules of evidence are not bars to consideration of otherwise relevant information. State v. Douglas, 389 So.2d 1263 (La.1980). Berry, 630 So.2d at 1335; State v. Bouie, 532 So.2d 791, 793 (La.App. 4 Cir.1988).

Nonetheless, this general rule cannot be applied so broadly as to permit a criminal sentence to stand even when the sentence is clearly based on erroneous information. To the contrary: "Sentences must be individualized to be compatible with the offenders as well as the offenses." State v. Jones, 398 So.2d 1049, 1051 (La.1981).

Art. 1, § 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 authorizes appellate review of individual sentences for excessiveness. State v. Sepulvado, 367 So.2d 762 (La.1979). A sentence meted out within statutory limits can be excessive, State v. Sepulvado,

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Bluebook (online)
663 So. 2d 199, 1995 WL 579552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hines-lactapp-1995.