State v. Jack

285 So. 2d 204
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedOctober 29, 1973
Docket53548
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 285 So. 2d 204 (State v. Jack) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jack, 285 So. 2d 204 (La. 1973).

Opinion

285 So.2d 204 (1973)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Wilford JACK.

No. 53548.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

October 29, 1973.
Rehearing Denied November 20, 1973.

*205 W. Glenn Soileau, Ville Platte, for defendant-appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., LeRoy A. Hartley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Alfred R. Ryder, Dist. Atty., Errol D. Deshotels, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

SANDERS, Chief Justice.

Defendant, Wilford Jack, was tried under an indictment charging him with aggravated rape. R.S. 14:42. Defendant was convicted after a trial by jury and sentenced to life imprisonment in the state penitentiary. Defendant appeals, relying on 11 bills of exceptions.

BILLS OF EXCEPTIONS NOS. 1 and 3

Bill of Exceptions No. 1 was reserved after the trial court denied a motion to quash the jury venire. The motion was grounded upon the alleged exclusion of women, negroes, persons between 21 and 30 years of age, persons not obligated to pay utility bills and those who are not registered voters.

This Court has consistently upheld the constitutionality of Article 402 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, exempting women from jury service. See, e. g., State v. Millsap, La., 274 So.2d 696 (1973); State v. Washington, La., 272 So. 2d 355 (1973); State v. Rollins, La., 271 So.2d 519 (1973); State v. McLeod, La., 271 So.2d 45 (1972); State v. Sinclair, 258 *206 La. 84, 245 So.2d 365, penalty vacated and remanded, 408 U.S. 939, 92 S.Ct. 2871, 33 L.Ed.2d 760 (1971). We adhere to these holdings.[1]

With regard to the exclusion of Negroes from the jury venire, it appears from the hearing on the motion for change of venue and motion to quash the indictment, that there was a member of the black race on the petit jury venire. (Tr. 12). Moreover, on the original jury venire list, chosen at random from the voter registration rolls, 47 of the 350 were of the black race. See LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 408. Thus, there exists no showing of purposeful discrimination in the selection of the jury venire. The circumstance that the general venire was selected from the voter registration rolls does not, of itself, constitute a deprivation of constitutional rights. State v. Douglas, 256 La. 186, 235 So.2d 563, cert. denied, 401 U.S. 914, 91 S.Ct. 888, 27 L.Ed.2d 814 (1970); State v. Poland, 255 La. 746, 232 So.2d 499, penalty vacated and remanded, 408 U.S. 936, 92 S. Ct. 2862, 33 L.Ed.2d 754 (1970).

Moreover, no requirement exists that there be proportionate representation on the jury venire. Rather, the procedures must be reasonably designed to secure a representative sampling of the community. See: Coleman v. Alabama, 389 U.S. 22, 88 S.Ct. 2, 19 L.Ed.2d 22 (1967); Jones v. Georgia, 389 U.S. 24, 88 S.Ct. 4, 19 L.Ed. 2d 25 (1967); Sims v. Georgia, 389 U.S. 404, 88 S.Ct. 523, 19 L.Ed.2d 634 (1967).

Since there has been no showing of discrimination, the bill lacks merit.

Bill of Exceptions No. 3 pertains to the alleged systematic exclusion of college students from the jury.

The record indicates that two college students were excused from jury duty by the judge on their request because they were faced with final examinations in a few days.

Article 783 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure provides:

"The court may excuse a member of the petit jury venire at any time prior to the time he is sworn as a juror to try a particular case."

Excusing prospective jurors in advance of time of trial is within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Williams, 258 La. 801, 248 So.2d 295 (1971). The reasonable exercise of this discretion will not be disturbed unless there is a showing of fraud or collusion resulting in prejudice to the accused. State v. Ceaser, 249 La. 435, 187 So.2d 432 (1966).

No such showing has been made in the present case. Hence, the bill of exceptions lacks merit.

BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NO. 2

This bill of exceptions was reserved when the trial court denied a motion for dismissal and mistrial. The motion was grounded upon an alleged defect in the indictment, in that neither the indictment nor the record indicates that nine grand jurors concurred in the indictment. Attack is also made upon the endorsement by the Grand Jury foreman.

The requirements of an indictment are set forth in Article 383 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure:

"An indictment is a written accusation of crime made by a grand jury. It must be concurred in by not less than nine of the grand jurors, endorsed `a true bill,' and the endorsement must be signed by the foreman. Indictments shall be returned into the district court in open court; but when an indictment has been *207 returned for an offense which is within the trial jurisdiction of another court in the parish, the indictment may be transferred to that court."

This article provides that at least nine Grand Jurors must concur in the true bill. No requirement appears, either in this provision or in the jurisprudence, that the concurrence of the Grand Jurors should be manifested by their signatures on the indictment.

Among the written charges presented by the presiding judge to the Grand Jury was the following:

"At least nine members of the Grand Jury must concur in returning a `True Bill' or `Not a True Bill'". (Tr. 91)

Acting under this charge, the Grand Jury, with 11 jurors present returned an indictment as a "True Bill." This action meets the requirements of Article 383 with regard to an indictment return.

Further, the defendant contends that the indictment was defective because it was not endorsed a "True Bill."

This allegation lacks substance. In the present case, the indictment appeared with the printed words "A TRUE BILL." Under this line appeared the signature of the Foreman of the Grand Jury.

In State ex rel. Lewis v. Henderson, 259 La. 691, 251 So.2d 639 (1971), this Court held that such an endorsement was valid.

"The endorsement `A True Bill' may be printed as here, or typed—it need not be handwritten by the foreman—before it is signed by the foreman of the grand jury."

This bill lacks merit.

BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NO. 4

This bill purports to have been reserved when the trial judge sustained an objection by the state to more than one defense attorney examining a juror. No evidence is attached to or made part of the bill. Moreover, the transcript contains no mention of this bill. Hence, the bill cannot be considered. See State v. Sinclair, supra; State v. Palmer, 251 La. 759, 206 So. 2d 485 (1968).

BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NO. 5

This bill was reserved when the trial court overruled an objection to the state's use of peremptory challenges. Defendant alleges that the state used its peremptory challenges so as to systematically exclude Negroes from the jury.

A peremptory challenge is the statutory right to reject a given juror without disclosure of reason or motive. As such, the exercise of peremptory challenges is outside the control of the court and is not subject to judicial review. State v. Rossi, La., 273 So.2d 265 (1973); State v. Smith, 263 La. 75, 267 So.2d 200 (1972); State v. Square, 257 La. 743, 244 So.2d 200, penalty vacated and remanded, 408 U.S. 938, 92 S.Ct.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Louis Joseph George
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012
State v. Collins
998 So. 2d 765 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State v. KHALFANI
998 So. 2d 756 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State v. Kennedy
584 So. 2d 702 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Conway
556 So. 2d 1323 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
State v. Jones
450 So. 2d 29 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
State v. Vaughn
431 So. 2d 358 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1983)
State v. Kelly
362 So. 2d 1071 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1978)
State v. Reid
340 So. 2d 551 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1976)
State v. Miller
338 So. 2d 678 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1976)
State v. Gilmore
323 So. 2d 459 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Gomez
319 So. 2d 424 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Anderson
315 So. 2d 266 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Elam
312 So. 2d 318 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Johnson
310 So. 2d 600 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Groves
311 So. 2d 230 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Black
305 So. 2d 472 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1974)
State v. Brewer
301 So. 2d 630 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1974)
State v. Frierson
302 So. 2d 605 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1974)
State v. Carter
301 So. 2d 612 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
285 So. 2d 204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jack-la-1973.