State v. Nine (9) Savings Accounts

540 So. 2d 1055, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 283, 1989 WL 14337
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 22, 1989
DocketNo. 19618-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 540 So. 2d 1055 (State v. Nine (9) Savings Accounts) 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. Nine (9) Savings Accounts, 540 So. 2d 1055, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 283, 1989 WL 14337 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

SEXTON, Judge.

This case is before us on remand from the Louisiana Supreme Court after it granted writs herein on October 28, 1988. 532 So.2d 164.

This case originated when the State of Louisiana attempted to seize nine savings accounts. However, the state initially only proceeded to judgment on seven of those accounts because two of the persons listed, Toylean and Bonestine Johnson, were not served. The judgment against the seven accounts was appealed in No. 19,618-CA. We affirmed. State v. Nine (9) Savings Accounts, 528 So.2d 676 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1988).

The seven accounts which were the subject of the first appeal (No. 19,618-CA) were: (a) four accounts containing the name of Tommy Johnson or his wife, Dorothy, and the name of yet another person; (b) two accounts in the name of Tommy and Dorothy Johnson; and (c) one in the name of Dorothy Johnson only.

The remaining two accounts were in the names of Tommy and Toylean or Tommy and Bonestine Johnson. Toylean and Bo-nestine were subsequently served and a later trial date was set. That judgment was appealed in No. 20,076, the second appeal. We also affirmed. State v. Nine (9) Savings Accounts, 535 So.2d 1097 (La.App. 2d Cir.1988).

A brief synopsis of the two cases is perhaps helpful.

No. 19,618 dealt with seven accounts. Five were listed in the name of the criminal defendant, Tommy Ray Johnson, and another person (other than Toylean or Bones-tine Johnson). One was in the names of Glenda Johnson and Dorothy Johnson, and one was in the name of Dorothy Johnson only. The chronology is as follows:

31 July 1987 — Trial court judgment
18/29 September 1987 — Orders of appeal
4 May 1988 — Opinion, Court of Appeal
9 May 1988 — Writ to Supreme Court
[1056]*105628 October 1988 — Supreme Court order to consolidate (presenting the instant problem)

In this appeal, appellants1 contended (a) that the presumption in LSA-R.S. 32:1550(A)(7)(c) was unconstitutional, citing State v. Spooner, 520 So.2d 336 (La.1988),2 and (b) that the state’s evidence was insufficient to support the forfeiture of the seven accounts.

This court held: (1) that the Spooner rationale was not applicable because the instant forfeiture was under the provisions of Title 15 and therefore not affected by Spooner, and (2) that the lack of a transcript made it “impossible” to determine what evidence was adduced and rejected the insufficient evidence claim.

No. 20,076 dealt with the other two accounts and the only appellant was the criminal defendant, Tommy Ray Johnson. Toy-lean and Bonestine Johnson did not appeal. The chronology is as follows:

10 March 1988 — Trial court judgment
21 March 1988 — Order of appeal
26 October 1988 — Opinion, Court of Appeal
17 November 1988 — Writs to Supreme Court (inquiry indicates writ still pending)

The trial court held that the Title 32 provision which Spooner declared unconstitutional made part of Title 15 unconstitutional as well; nevertheless, the trial court found that the state had carried its burden of proof. In appealing this ruling to us, appellant argued that the Spooner rationale applied in this case as well (but the argument was couched in Title 32 terms) and that the evidence was insufficient to support the seizure.

This court held that the case involved a Title 15 issue, not a Title 32 issue, and that the two titles were separate. We noted that while some language in Title 15 is similar to that in Title 32, the troublesome language in Title 15 only applies to “co-owners” and “lienholders,” none of whom were involved in the appeal as Tommy Ray Johnson was the only appellant. Secondly, we applied a preponderance of the evidence standard for proof under Title 15 citing Justice Cole’s concurrence in Spooner which adopted a preponderance of the evidence standard under Title 32. Finally, we held that the state carried its burden by a preponderance of the evidence.

We believe it necessary to recount the chronology and render a brief review of both appeals because of the nature of the Supreme Court order granting the writ. That order, rendered on a writ grant from the first appeal, our No. 19,618, ordered the remand of that case to this court “to consolidate the forfeiture proceedings of July 31, 1987 and December 2, 1987 and to reconsider the merits of defendant’s claims in light of all the evidence adduced at the hearings.” [emphasis supplied]

We must admit to some confusion as to the meaning of the Supreme Court writ grant order. The use of the singular “defendant” could mean either the criminal defendant, Tommy Ray Johnson; the seven accounts dealt with in the first appeal; or all nine accounts. The word “consolidate” could mean that we are to consider the evidence adduced at both forfeiture proceedings with respect to the claim of whoever/whatever we determine the instant “defendant” to be. It also could mean that we are to disregard the second appeal and to “start over” considering all of the defendants and all of the evidence.

We believe the common sense interpretation of the Supreme Court order is that we are to consider the evidence at both hearings to judge the appellants’ argument in the original appeal concerning the sufficiency of the evidence. We reach this interpretation because the second writ grant was pending before the Supreme Court at the time of the original order and it was not remanded to us in the writ order. Thus, since writs are pending with respect [1057]*1057to the two accounts involved in the second appeal, No. 20,076, it seems logical that the Supreme Court did not intend that case to be affected by the order in question.3

Thus, we will consider the sufficiency of evidence as it relates to the state’s burden of proving drug racketeering activity arising from the forfeiture of seven savings accounts on July 31,1987 after a review of all of the evidence presented at the July 31, 1987 hearing4 and the evidence presented at the December 2, 1987 hearing which forfeited the remaining two accounts.

The names appearing on the accounts which are the subject of this appeal on remand are as follows.

HOMER NATIONAL BANK (Claiborne Parish) Account # 1-00707934 Names: Glenda or Dorothy Johnson Address: Rt. 1, Box 150-B Homer, LA 71040 Suspected Balance: $10,127.51
MINDEN BANK & TRUST COMPANY (Webster Parish) Account #2166895 Names: Glenda or Thomas R. Johnson Address: Rt. 1, Box 150-B Homer, LA 71040 Suspected Balance: $8,790.33
HOMER NATIONAL BANK (Claiborne Parish) Account # 1-007084692 Names: Thomas R. or Dorothy Johnson Address: 1610 Cornell Street Ruston, LA 71270 Suspected Balance: $8,056.92
SECURITY FIRST NATIONAL BANK (Lincoln Parish) Account #00631647 Name: Dorothy Lee Johnson Address: 1610 Cornell Street Ruston, LA 71270 Suspected Balance: $ 439.00

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Related

State v. Nine Sav. Accounts
553 So. 2d 823 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)
State v. Nine (9) Savings Accounts
541 So. 2d 1386 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
540 So. 2d 1055, 1989 La. App. LEXIS 283, 1989 WL 14337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nine-9-savings-accounts-lactapp-1989.