State v. Morris

719 So. 2d 1076, 1998 WL 637214
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 16, 1998
Docket98-KA-236
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 719 So. 2d 1076 (State v. Morris) 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. Morris, 719 So. 2d 1076, 1998 WL 637214 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

719 So.2d 1076 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Philip R. MORRIS.

No. 98-KA-236.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

September 16, 1998.

*1078 Laurie A. White, New Orleans, for Defendant/Appellant.

Paul D. Connick, Sr., District Attorney, Alison Wallis, Terry M. Boudreaux, George C. Wallace, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Before CANNELLA and DALEY, JJ., and ROBERT M. MURPHY, J. Pro Tem.

DALEY, Judge.

Defendant, Philip Morris, appeals his conviction and sentence for simple burglary, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62. On appeal, he makes the following assignments of error:

1. The appellant was denied his right to Due Process of law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 2 of the Louisiana Constitution as there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict.
2. Appellant was denied his right to a fair trial as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Sections 2 and 16 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 as his trial counsel was ineffective when she failed to pursue her pre-trial motions to obtain a trial court ruling determining whether evidence seized was admissible or inadmissible at trial.
3. Appellant was denied his right to judicial review pursuant to Article I, Section 19 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, as the trial record does not contain the trial court's decisions regarding seized evidence.
4. The trial court erred in imposing a maximum sentence and an illegal sentence of twelve (12) years imprisonment at hard labor upon the appellant for simple burglary and attempting to obtain a controlled dangerous substance by fraud, as the sentences are excessive and thereby violate the appellant's rights under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.

We affirm defendant's conviction.

On November 28, 1995, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a Bill of Information charging the defendant, Philip Morris, with simple burglary, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62. The defendant was arraigned on April 9, 1996, and entered a plea of not guilty.

A jury trial was held on October 20, 1997. A jury of six found the defendant guilty as charged. On November 17, 1997, the trial court sentenced the defendant to imprisonment at hard labor for twelve (12) years, with credit for time served. On November 21, 1997, defense counsel filed a Motion to Reconsider Sentence, which the trial court denied on November 26, 1997. On the same day, the defendant filed a Motion for an Appeal, which the trial court granted on November 26, 1998.

FACTS

The following facts were developed from trial testimony. Deputy Joe Moore of the *1079 Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified that on November 5, 1995, he responded to a call reporting an alarm going off at 6305 Airline Highway, a Hibernia Bank location. He arrived at the scene one minute later and saw the defendant exiting an ATM kiosk carrying a crowbar and another tool. He asked the defendant what he was doing, and the defendant replied that he was working. He asked the defendant again what he was doing, and the defendant replied he worked there, could gain access any time, and that he lost his card in the ATM machine and was trying to get it back. Again, the defendant told Deputy Moore he worked there. Deputy Moore handcuffed the defendant and waited for the Hibernia representative to arrive. Upon arrival the Hibernia representative, Mr. Moran, told Deputy Moore that the defendant did not work for the company. Inspection of the ATM kiosk revealed that the door was hammered in and the ATM machine was "torn up." Captain Doug Champagne of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office corroborated Deputy Moore's testimony.

Mr. William Moran, the Vice President of the Corporate Security Department for Hibernia Bank, testified that he responded to the alarm on November 5, 1995. He told the jury that he investigated the damage to the ATM machine and estimated that there was about $3,000.00 worth of damage done to the machine and the structure housing it. He testified that the building housing the ATM was a self-contained structure into which the public is never allowed.

The defendant did not offer any witnesses or testimony on his own behalf. Based on the foregoing, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The appellant was denied his right to Due Process of Law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 2 of the Louisiana Constitution as there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict.

The defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to show that, 1) the ATM kiosk was a "structure" as defined by LSA-R.S. 14:62; and 2) the defendant had the requisite intent to commit simple burglary.

The standard for reviewing the sufficiency of evidence was set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), and adopted by Louisiana in State v. Abercrombie, 375 So.2d 1170, 1177-1178 (La.1979), cert. denied, Abercrombie v. Louisiana, 446 U.S. 935, 100 S.Ct. 2151, 64 L.Ed.2d 787 (1980). See also State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305 (La.1988).

In Jackson, the court held that Due Process requires the reviewing court to determine "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d at 573. Under Jackson a review of a criminal conviction record for sufficiency of evidence does not require a court to ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A reviewing court is required to consider the whole record, and determine whether a rational trier of fact would have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The actual trier of fact is presumed to have acted rationally until it appears otherwise. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d at 1310 (La.1988).

The defendant in this case was charged with a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62 which states:

Simple burglary is the unauthorized entering of any dwelling, vehicle, watercraft, or other structure, movable or immovable, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, other than as set forth in Section 60.

The defendant argues that the ATM kiosk was not a "structure" as contemplated by LSA-R.S. 14:62. This Court addressed a similar argument in State v. Lopez, 95-558 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/27/95), 666 So.2d 1200. In Lopez the defendant argued that a locked storage trailer was not a structure for purposes of 14:62.4. This Court via Black's Law Dictionary defined a structure as:

Any construction, or any production or piece of work artificially built up or composed *1080 of parts joined together in some definite manner. That which is built or constructed; an edifice or building of any kind.
A combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy, use or ornamentation whether installed on, above, or below the surface of a parcel of land.
Lopez at 1203.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
719 So. 2d 1076, 1998 WL 637214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morris-lactapp-1998.