State v. Myers

737 So. 2d 255, 1999 WL 345401
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 19, 1999
Docket98-KA-899
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 737 So. 2d 255 (State v. Myers) 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. Myers, 737 So. 2d 255, 1999 WL 345401 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

737 So.2d 255 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Coby MYERS.

No. 98-KA-899.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

May 19, 1999.

*257 Katherine M. Franks, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Attorney for Appellant.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney 24th Judicial District, Terry M. Boudreaux, Ellen S. Fantaci, Michael S. Futrell, Richard C. Bates, Assistant District Attorneys, Attorneys for Appellee.

Panel composed of Judges H. CHARLES GAUDIN, JAMES L. CANNELLA and MARION F. EDWARDS.

EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant/appellant Coby Myers appeals the judgment of the trial court finding him guilty of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.2. For the following reasons, we affirm and remand with instructions.

Defendant was arrested for a break-in which occurred on June 28, 1996. On the date in question, Sergeant Wayne Kron of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office was dispatched to 2504 Arizona Street in response to a burglar alarm. Upon arriving at the home, Sergeant Kron noticed that a screen had been pulled off and a side window had been broken. While investigating, the officer heard a disturbance in the front of the house. He observed two black males running from the front of the house and ordered them to stop. The two perpetrators looked directly at the officer, smiled, and continued their escape. Sergeant Kron was unable to apprehend them.

Approximately ten days after the burglary, Sergeant Kron viewed two photographic line-ups in an attempt to identify the perpetrators. He immediately identified the defendant as one of the persons he witnessed flee from the residence. Based on this identification, defendant was arrested and charged with the crime of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.2.

Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment on October 23, 1996. Following the *258 denial of defendant's Motion to Suppress Evidence and Identification, a twelve-person jury was empaneled on July 15, 1997. After viewing the testimony and evidence presented, they returned a verdict of guilty as charged. The trial judge sentenced defendant to ten (10) years at hard labor. The State then filed a multiple offender bill of information alleging that defendant was a second felony offender.

On November 12, 1997, the trial court adjudicated defendant a second felony offender and vacated his prior sentence. The trial court then sentenced defendant to twelve (12) years at hard labor. Defense counsel objected to the excessiveness of the sentence and immediately filed a Motion for Appeal. The matter is now before this Court for review.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

Defendant alleges six assignments of error for this Court's review. Assignments of Error One and Two, which shall be discussed jointly, allege that certain jurors were excluded strictly on the basis of race in violation of equal protection guarantees. Assignment of Error Three alleges that the evidence introduced was insufficient to form the basis for a conviction where the identification evidence elicited by the State was unreliable and did not negate the probability of misidentification and no physical evidence connected defendant to the burglary. Assignment of Error Four alleges that the sentence imposed by the trial court was excessive. Assignment of Error Five alleges ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to file a Motion to Reconsider Sentence following defendant's resentencing. The defendant has also requested a review of the record for errors patent. The State of Louisiana has filed a Motion to Correct Illegally Lenient Sentence, which was incorporated into its response brief. This issue is also before the Court for review.

Assignment of error one alleges that the trial judge erred in not sustaining the defense objection to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to exclude jurors on the basis of race. Assignment of error two alleges that the trial judge erred in not requesting race-neutral reasons for excluding six black jurors where the defense established a prima facie case that the prosecutor's peremptory challenges were based solely on the race of the prospective jurors. These issues shall be addressed jointly as follows.

Equal protection guarantees that criminal defendants have the right to be tried by a jury selected by nondiscriminatory criteria. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 14; Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). It has been established that the use of peremptory challenges based solely on a juror's race is prohibited. Id.

To prevail on a Batson claim that a prosecutor used peremptory challenges in a manner violative of the Equal Protection Clause, a defendant must first make a prima facie showing that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of a juror's cognizable racial background. In determining whether the defendant has established a prima facie case of discrimination, the trial judge should consider all relevant circumstances, including any pattern of strikes by the prosecutor against minority jurors, and any questions or statements by the prosecutor during voir dire examination or in the exercise of his challenges, which may support or refute an inference of purposeful discrimination. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. at 98, 106 S.Ct. at 1722-1723; State v. Collier, 553 So.2d 815, 819 (La. 1989). If the defendant is unable to make a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination in the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges, the Batson challenge automatically fails and it is not necessary for the State to offer race-neutral explanations. State v. Green, 94-0887 (La.5/22/95), 655 So.2d 272; State v. Jackson, 96-661 (La.App. 5th Cir. 4/9/97), 694 So.2d 440; writs denied, 97-1050 *259 (La.10/13/97), 703 So.2d 609, and 97-1255 (La.10/13/97), 703 So.2d 612.

In the present case before the bar, defense counsel objected to the rejection of two black jurors in each of the three panels of potential jurors. However, defendant has not made a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. There is no proof in the record that the rejection of these six potential jurors was in any way predicated upon race. This Court in the two recent decisions of State v. Jackson, supra and State v. Alas, 622 So.2d 836 (La.App. 5th Cir.1993); writ denied, 629 So.2d 397 (La.1993), was faced with similar Batson challenges. In those cases, this Court found that the defendant had failed to make a prima facie showing by simply objecting to the State's use of peremptory challenges.

Due to the lack of evidence presented by defendant of improper use of peremptory challenges by the State, it is the opinion of this Court that defendant has failed to make a prima facie case and the Batson challenge must automatically fail. State v. Green, supra.

In his third assignment of error, the defendant alleges that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to form the basis of a conviction. More specifically, defendant alleges that the method of identification used by the State was unreliable and did not negate the probability of misidentification.

A defendant who seeks to suppress an identification must prove that the identification itself was suggestive and that there was a likelihood of misidentification as a result of the identification procedure. State v. Lowenfield, 495 So.2d 1245 (La. 1985); cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1153, 106 S.Ct. 2259, 90 L.Ed.2d 704 (1986);

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
737 So. 2d 255, 1999 WL 345401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-myers-lactapp-1999.