State v. Payton

Supreme Court of Louisiana

State v. Payton

219 So. 3d 1095, 2017 WL 2200497, 2017 La. LEXIS 1109

CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana

DecidedMay 19, 2017

DocketNo. 2017-KK-0489

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 219 So. 3d 1095 (State v. Payton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

State v. Payton, 219 So. 3d 1095, 2017 WL 2200497, 2017 La. LEXIS 1109 (La. 2017).

Pincite

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

|,Writ granted. The district court erred in granting the state’s pretrial motion to exclude a self-defense jury charge. The court shall charge the jury as to the law applicablé to the case.- La.C.Cr.P. art. 802. Furthermore, the time to charge the jury is “after the presentation of all evidence and arguments.”' La.C.Cr.P. art. 801(A); see also State v. Tarrance, 252 La. 396, 411-12, 211 So.2d 304, 310 (1968) (rejecting the proposition that counsel ought to be afforded a copy of the charge before closing remarks); State v. Brown, 245 La. 112, 114-15, 157 So.2d 459, 460-61 (1963) (finding the trial judge correctly refused to charge the jury before any evidence was adduced). While a party may request before the first witness is sworn that the court reduce its charge to writing, the court need only deliver that written charge to the defendant and the state prior to [1096]*1096reading it to the jury. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 801(A). Considering that the availability vel non of a justification defense is a highly fact-intensive inquiry that will depend on the evidence presented at trial, the district court’s ruling is premature.

GUIDRY, J., would deny the writ application. CLARK, J., would deny the writ application. CRICHTON, J., would deny.

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PER CURIAM:

|,Writ granted. The district court erred in granting the state’s pretrial motion to exclude a self-defense jury charge. The court shall charge the jury as to the law applicablé to the case.- La.C.Cr.P. art. 802. Furthermore, the time to charge the jury is “after the presentation of all evidence and arguments.”' La.C.Cr.P. art. 801(A); see also State v. Tarrance, 252 La. 396, 411-12, 211 So.2d 304, 310 (1968) (rejecting the proposition that counsel ought to be afforded a copy of the charge before closing remarks); State v. Brown, 245 La. 112, 114-15, 157 So.2d 459, 460-61 (1963) (finding the trial judge correctly refused to charge the jury before any evidence was adduced). While a party may request before the first witness is sworn that the court reduce its charge to writing, the court need only deliver that written charge to the defendant and the state prior to [1096]*1096reading it to the jury. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 801(A). Considering that the availability vel non of a justification defense is a highly fact-intensive inquiry that will depend on the evidence presented at trial, the district court’s ruling is premature.

GUIDRY, J., would deny the writ application. CLARK, J., would deny the writ application. CRICHTON, J., would deny.

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Bluebook (online)

219 So. 3d 1095, 2017 WL 2200497, 2017 La. LEXIS 1109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-payton-la-2017.

Opinion

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