State v. Kirkland

962 So. 2d 1173, 2007 WL 2323335
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 15, 2007
Docket42,397-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 962 So. 2d 1173 (State v. Kirkland) 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. Kirkland, 962 So. 2d 1173, 2007 WL 2323335 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

962 So.2d 1173 (2007)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Christopher KIRKLAND, Appellant.

No. 42,397-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 15, 2007.

*1174 Louisiana Appellate Project, by Sherry Watters, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, John F. McWilliams, Jr., Dhu Thompson, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before STEWART, CARAWAY and LOLLEY, JJ.

LOLLEY, J.

This criminal appeal arises from the First Judicial District Court, Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana where, after a jury trial, Christopher Kirkland was convicted as charged of second degree battery *1175 and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment at hard labor as a second-felony offender. Kirkland now appeals. For the following reasons, the conviction and sentence is affirmed.

FACTS

On October 12, 2005, the defendant, Christopher Kirkland, and his girlfriend were in the parking lot of H & H Grocery, a convenience store in Caddo Parish, owned by husband and wife, Bobby and Ruth Coleman. Bobby, a 70-year old man, was in the store keeping Ruth company.

At some point, Kirkland went to purchase something from the store for his girlfriend. One store patron, Marla Faherty, testified that she was putting gas in her car when she saw Kirkland arguing with a woman in the store's parking lot. Faherty explained that she saw Kirkland head toward the store and "shove" the door open, nearly hitting her 11-year-old son who was already inside. Because Kirkland shoved the door open and nearly hit the child, Ruth testified she ordered Kirkland to leave the store, saying "we don't want you coming in here like that." When Kirkland did not leave the store, Ruth ordered him to leave a second time.

According to Bobby, when Kirkland did not leave the store, Bobby said "she told you to leave," but Kirkland refused again. At this point Bobby put his hand under Kirkland's arm and escorted him out of the store. Kirkland came back inside the store and Bobby escorted him out once again. This last time, Bobby had turned around and was walking back into the store. Faherty testified that she then saw Kirkland come into the store a third time, but this time Kirkland "had one fist raised in the air when he came through the door." Ruth shouted "No!," and when Bobby turned back toward the door to see what was wrong, Kirkland hit Bobby in the face. Kirkland then walked away.

Ruth called the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office ("CPSO"), and deputies Jackie Winston and Richard Porter responded. Deputy Porter found Kirkland at his trailer home located down the street from the H & H Grocery. Kirkland told Dep. Porter that Bobby had hit him three times before Kirkland hit Bobby; Kirkland claimed that he hit Bobby in self-defense the third time. In the meantime, Bobby was transported by ambulance to the hospital. As a result of being hit in the face, Bobby suffered numerous broken bones in his face, great pain, and the swelling around his left eye caused him to have a loss of vision in that eye because of nerve damage. Both the CPSO and Ruth took pictures of Bobby's injuries after the incident.

The state charged Kirkland with second degree battery. The case was called for a jury trial on May 11, 2006. In addition to the witnesses listed above, two of Bobby's doctors testified about the nature and extent of the his wounds. After the state rested its case, Kirkland elected to testify. Kirkland testified that he did not believe that Faherty or her son were in the store. He further testified that the deputies lied about the statements Kirkland made at the time of the incident. Kirkland gave details of the convictions in his criminal history as reflected in the rap sheet provided by the state. He then gave his version of the incident. Kirkland said that the store's door was hard to open, so that is why he pushed the door open "a little harder than what [he] should have had." He stated that Bobby then looked at him and ordered him out of the store, which he did not understand because Kirkland felt Bobby had been friendly in the past. Kirkland said that Bobby then grabbed his arm from the door and pushed him away. Kirkland explained that he did not understand *1176 what was happening, so he attempted to go into the store again, at which point Bobby again grabbed Kirkland's arm and pushed him down the steps going into the store. The last time, Kirkland said that he opened the door and made yet another attempt to enter the store when:

[Bobby] grabbed the door, jerked it open and raised his fist at me. I thought that he was going to punch me, and when I-I was up on the top step when I touched his door. When I stepped back my balance come back, and he was up over me with his fist raised, and that's when I swung, because he was about to swing at me. He started jerking at me, and then that's when I swung, and it made contact.

The jury of six unanimously voted to convict Kirkland of second degree battery. Kirkland filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal and new trial. The state filed a habitual offender bill charging Kirkland as a second felony offender. On September 28, 2006, the trial court denied Kirkland's motions. On that same day, Kirkland opted to plead guilty to the second felony offender bill and was then sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment at hard labor. This appeal ensued.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Kirkland urges that the evidence was insufficient to convict him. When issues are raised on appeal both as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine the sufficiency of the evidence. The reason for reviewing sufficiency first is that the accused may be entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v. Louisiana, 450 U.S. 40, 101 S.Ct. 970, 67 L.Ed.2d 30 (1981), if a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in accord with Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not reasonably conclude that all of the elements of the offense have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App. 2d Cir.04/02/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333.

The Jackson standard, now legislatively embodied in La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford, XXXX-XXXX (La.02/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; State v. Robertson, XXXX-XXXX (La.10/04/96), 680 So.2d 1165. The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, XXXX-XXXX (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442. A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Gilliam, 36,118 (La. App. 2d Cir.08/30/02), 827 So.2d 508, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.11/14/03), 858 So.2d 422.

Louisiana R.S. 14:34.1 provides, in part:

Second degree battery is a battery committed without the consent of the victim when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
962 So. 2d 1173, 2007 WL 2323335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kirkland-lactapp-2007.