State v. Jeansonne

580 So. 2d 1010, 1991 WL 86247
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 22, 1991
DocketCr 89-972
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 580 So. 2d 1010 (State v. Jeansonne) 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. Jeansonne, 580 So. 2d 1010, 1991 WL 86247 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

580 So.2d 1010 (1991)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Numa JEANSONNE, Jr.

No. Cr 89-972.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 22, 1991.

*1011 Charles G. Gravel, Alexandria, for defendant-appellant.

J. Edward Knoll, Dist. Atty., Marksville, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before STOKER, DOUCET and KING, JJ.

STOKER, Judge.

As directed and authorized by the Louisiana Supreme Court 572 So.2d 81 we reconsider our holding on original hearing in this case which is set forth in State v. Jeansonne, 567 So.2d 802 (La.App.3d Cir.1990). We find that the record we considered was defective. On the basis of the defective record we reversed the defendant's conviction of incest and remanded the case for a new trial. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed and set aside our ruling and remanded the case to us with instructions. We now affirm the defendant's conviction.

THE DEFICIENT RECORD

As our opinion at 567 So.2d 802 reflects, we found (on the basis of the record we considered) that the trial judge erred in admitting into evidence a written medical evaluation report prepared by Dr. S. Moore which he made for the Office of Human Development, Division of Children, Youth and Family Services. Our holding in this regard was correct and we adhere to it. However, after the defective record was corrected we noted that another part of the record sets forth Dr. Moore's findings. These findings appear on one of the pages of the six-page certified copy of the record of the Huey P. Long Regional Medical Center (S-1) pertaining to Wendy Ann Jeansonne (WAJ). Because this certified hospital record was admissable under LSA-R.S. 13:3714, the report of Dr. Moore made to the Office of Human Development was merely repetitive.

We did not note the information contained in the hospital report from Huey P. Long Medical Center (S-1) because the page on which the information was recorded by Dr. Moore was defective. It was not properly printed in the duplicating process *1012 in the record which we considered. Following the rendition of our opinion on original hearing on October 3, 1990, (the opinion reported at 567 So.2d 802), the State discovered the fact that the page of the hospital record had been defectively reproduced. As the time for applying for rehearing before this court had expired, the State applied to the Louisiana Supreme Court for extraordinary relief. On January 11, 1991, the Louisiana Supreme Court granted the State relief and issued the following order:

"January 11, 1991
"GRANTED.
"On applicant's representation that the record on appeal contained an incomplete copy of the six-page hospital record introduced as State's Exhibit S1, omitting that part of the exhibit containing the emergency room evaluation and diagnosis, the judgment of the court of appeal is reversed and set aside and the case is remanded to the court of appeal for clarification and correction of the record, if appropriate, and reconsideration of the issues presented on appeal on the record as clarified or corrected."

In compliance with this order we determined that one of the two records of trial forwarded to this court in connection with the appeal contained the defectively duplicated page, and unfortunately that record was the record used by us. We now set forth in detail the facts concerning the defects and the information which the proper record discloses.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

(Reconsidered on the Basis of the Corrected Record)

By the first Assignment of Error, defendant challenges the admissibility of S-1, the hospital records.

The victim, the defendants' twelve-year-old daughter, WAJ, did not tell anyone about the crime until one month later. Her mother took her to Huey P. Long Regional Medical Center emergency where WAJ was examined by Dr. Moore. Dr. Moore's emergency room report and the lab tests comprise the six pages of certified hospital records in S-1. This certified hospital record was properly admitted in evidence pursuant to La.R.S. 13:3714. Also included in S-1, but not a certified hospital record and therefore not admissible, was a four-page report by Dr. Moore sent to the Office of Human Development, Division of Children, Youth and Family Services. This four-page report is easily distinguishable from the other six-page hospital report.

When this appeal was originally considered, the photocopy of S-1 was not a complete copy of the original exhibit. Part of the page containing the emergency room doctor's evaluation and diagnosis of WAJ failed to print about half-way down the page. The original report considered by the court stated, in pertinent part:

"12 yo WF presents c/o rape by father. Rape occurred one month ago. See white sheet for details. Child now has"

The complete report states, in pertinent part:

"12 yo WF presents c/o rape by father. Rape occurred one month ago. See white sheet for details. Child now has vaginal D/C and lower abd. pain.
PE. Alert in no resp. distress.
Pelvic: hymen irregular c preponderence of tags inferiorly. opening 1½ cm. yellowish mucoid discharge in vaginal vault and around vulva, no tears or ulcerations. 0 cervical motion tenderness.
Working Diagnosis
1) Sexual abuse 2) vaginitis"

Conceivably the "white sheet" referred to in the quotations set forth above may have been intended by Dr. Moore as a reference to his four-page report, meaning that he intended to incorporate it in the hospital report. However, the four-page report is dated January 19, 1989, whereas the hospital record page in question is dated two days earlier.

In the original opinion of State v. Jeansonne, supra, this court stated:

"The trial judge specified three reasons in his oral reasons for finding defendant guilty of incest: (1) the credibility of the victim's testimony, (2) testimony by Dr. Lonowski as to the victim's psychological injury, and (3) the physical evidence that *1013 the victim had engaged in intercourse. The only evidence that the victim had previously engaged in intercourse was the finding of Dr. Moore, resulting from his physical examination of the victim one month after the alleged incident, and the victim's own testimony. Thus, the objective physical finding in Dr. Moore's report was not merely cumulative. Dr. Moore's report seems to have contributed to defendant's conviction. We cannot agree that its admission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Although it might be argued that there is other sufficient evidence to support defendant's conviction, the Louisiana Supreme Court has clearly held that a violation of the accused's constitutional right of confrontation is reversible error under LSA-C. Cr.P. art. 921."

This court now has before it the completely printed report of the Emergency Room examination of WAJ by Dr. Moore. The working diagnosis of the emergency room doctor was "1) sexual abuse 2) vaginitis." The report of the pelvic examination is quoted above. It contains objective physical findings which support the allegations of WAJ of prior sexual intercourse.

Therefore, in light of the complete emergency room report of Dr. Moore, this court should reconsider whether the admission of the four-page Moore report to the Office of Human Development was reversible error.

It is apparent that the four-page Moore report did not constitute the sole basis for the defendant's conviction. Dr.

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

Related

State of Louisiana v. Andrew Chestley Mayo
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State v. Carmouche
977 So. 2d 310 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State of Louisiana v. Brian Carmouche
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008
State in the Interest of S. R.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007
State v. Ware
929 So. 2d 240 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State of Louisiana v. Calvin Ware
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006
State v. Judge
758 So. 2d 313 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
State v. Bernard
734 So. 2d 687 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
State v. Dronet
721 So. 2d 1038 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Colomb
720 So. 2d 374 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. President
715 So. 2d 745 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Roberts
683 So. 2d 1335 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Walker
684 So. 2d 12 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Johnson
664 So. 2d 766 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Guidry
664 So. 2d 698 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Fisher
649 So. 2d 604 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
State v. Diaz
635 So. 2d 499 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
State v. Corley
617 So. 2d 1292 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
State v. Butler
615 So. 2d 496 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
State v. Hillman
613 So. 2d 1053 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
580 So. 2d 1010, 1991 WL 86247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jeansonne-lactapp-1991.