State v. Joseph

802 So. 2d 735, 2001 WL 1242232
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 17, 2001
Docket01-KA-360
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 802 So. 2d 735 (State v. Joseph) 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. Joseph, 802 So. 2d 735, 2001 WL 1242232 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

802 So.2d 735 (2001)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Ulysses JOSEPH.

No. 01-KA-360.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

October 17, 2001.

*737 Margaret S. Sollars, Louisiana Appellate Project, Thibodaux, LA, Counsel for Ulysses Joseph, Defendant-Appellant.

Harry J. Morel, Jr., District Attorney, Kim K. McElwee, Assistant District Attorney, Hahnville, LA, Counsel for the State of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee.

Panel composed of Judges EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, JR., SUSAN M. CHEHARDY and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Judge.

On May 22, 2000, the St. Charles Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Ulysses Joseph, with violation of La.R.S. 14:64 (armed robbery) and La.R.S. 14:44.1 (second degree kidnapping) by robbing and kidnapping Kevin Cicet while armed with a knife. Defendant was arraigned on October 3, 2000 and pleaded not guilty.

On August 31, 2000, the defense filed a motion to quash the bill of information, alleging that St. John the Baptist Parish, not St. Charles Parish, was the proper venue for the armed robbery prosecution. The motion was argued on September 1, 2000 and was denied.

Defendant was tried by a twelve-member jury on October 4 and 5, 2000. At the conclusion of trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty of the lesser charges of simple robbery (La.R.S.14:65) and simple kidnapping (La.R.S.14:45). On October 17, 2000, defendant filed a motion for new trial and a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. On November 7, 2000, the trial court heard and denied both motions. On November 15, 2000,[1] the court sentenced defendant to seven years at hard labor for the robbery and to five years at hard labor for the simple kidnapping. The court ordered that the sentences be served consecutively.

*738 Defendant made a timely oral motion for appeal. He filed a written motion for appeal on November 20, 2000.

FACTS

Kevin Cicet testified that, on the morning of May 7, 2000, he drove his 1986 Chevrolet Caprice automobile to a canal on Prescott Road in Montz, in St. Charles Parish, in order to fish. While Cicet was fishing, defendant, Ulysses Joseph, approached him, brandishing a twelve-inch serrated kitchen knife. Defendant held the knife to Cicet's right side. Defendant had a bicycle with him and demanded that Cicet put it into the trunk of his car. Defendant then ordered Cicet to drive him to LaPlace. Cicet complied.

While Cicet drove, defendant continued to hold the knife to his side. He directed Cicet to a carwash in LaPlace, in St. John the Baptist Parish. Before exiting the car, defendant took Cicet's driver's license and $80 in cash. He warned Cicet not to notify police, or he would kill him. Defendant also told the victim that Lieutenant Juan Watkins of the St. John Sheriff's Office was a friend of his. Defendant rode away on his bicycle.

At trial, Cicet identified the defendant as the man who robbed him.

Cicet drove to his parents' house and told them what had happened. Shirley Cicet, his mother, telephoned 9-1-1 to report the incident. She related that her son had been robbed at the canal in Montz, because that was what he had told her.

Deputy Steven Brens of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office met with Kevin Cicet, who recounted what had happened that day and gave a description of the perpetrator. Brens testified that Cicet told him the robbery took place at the canal in Montz. Brens contacted Deputy Gregory Baker of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office to enlist his help in developing a suspect. Baker relayed the information to Lieutenant Juan Watkins.

Watkins testified that he and defendant grew up in the same neighborhood, and that he has known defendant since childhood. Shortly before hearing from Baker, Watkins saw defendant riding his bicycle past his (Watkins') house. Defendant's clothing and bicycle fit the victim's description. Watkins attempted to locate defendant that day, but was unsuccessful.

On May 10, 2000 Detective Renee Kinler of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office compiled a photographic lineup that included a picture of defendant. She presented the lineup to Kevin Cicet at her office in St. Rose. He immediately identified defendant as the perpetrator. Detective Kinler conducted a tape-recorded interview with Cicet that day, which was transcribed.[2] Kinler testified that Cicet told her defendant held a knife to his neck once they reached LaPlace and robbed him there.

Defendant was arrested that day by St. John authorities. Detective Kinler advised defendant of his Miranda rights. Defendant waived his rights and agreed to be interviewed. However, defendant refused to allow Kinler to tape-record the interview. Kinler testified that she wrote a synopsis of the interview at her office afterwards.

According to Kinler, when questioned about the events of May 7, 2000, defendant admitted having encountered Cicet at the Prescott Canal. He told her that he did not have a knife, that he and Cicet engaged in conversation, and that Cicet willingly *739 agreed to drive defendant and his bicycle to LaPlace. The two stopped at a store along the way. Cicet dropped defendant off in LaPlace. Defendant denied having robbed Cicet.

Defense witness Robert Lee testified that he was cutting grass in LaPlace on May 7, 2000 and saw a small green car stop. A white man and defendant exited and the two men talked for some time. Lee said the conversation appeared amicable. The white man took defendant's bicycle out of the car's trunk and defendant rode the bike into the nearby housing project. The white man stayed there for 20 to 30 minutes, then left in the car. Lee did not see defendant with a knife.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The Trial Court erred in not finding a pattern of purposeful discrimination when the prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude eight jurors on the basis of race.

By this assignment of error, defendant claims the trial court erred in failing to recognize that the State used its peremptory challenges to systematically exclude eight African-Americans from the jury on the basis of race.

It is well established that the use of peremptory challenges based solely on a juror's race is prohibited. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986).

The United States Supreme Court has established a three-step analysis to be applied when addressing a claim that peremptory challenges were exercised in a manner violative of the Equal Protection Clause.

First, a defendant must establish a prima facie case of discrimination by showing facts and relevant circumstances that raise an inference that the prosecutor used his or her peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors on the basis of race. Batson, 476 U.S. at 94, 106 S.Ct. at 1721, 90 L.Ed.2d at 86. If the defendant fails to make a prima facie case, then the challenge fails.

Second, if a prima facie case is established, the burden then shifts to the State to come forward with a race-neutral explanation for its peremptory challenges. Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 767, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 1771, 131 L.Ed.2d 834, 839 (1995). To be facially valid, the prosecutor's explanation need not be persuasive, or even plausible; thus, unless the discriminatory intent is inherent in the prosecutor's explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race-neutral. Purkett, 514 U.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
802 So. 2d 735, 2001 WL 1242232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-joseph-lactapp-2001.