State v. Powell

671 So. 2d 493, 1995 WL 588359
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 6, 1995
Docket94 KA 1390
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 671 So. 2d 493 (State v. Powell) 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. Powell, 671 So. 2d 493, 1995 WL 588359 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

671 So.2d 493 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Johnny POWELL.

No. 94 KA 1390.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

October 6, 1995.
Writ Denied February 9, 1996.

*495 Doug Moreau, District Attorney by Barry Fontenot, Baton Rouge, for Appellee State of Louisiana.

David Price, Office of Public Defender, Baton Rouge, for Defendant/Appellant Johnny Powell.

Before SHORTESS, PARRO and KUHN, JJ.

KUHN, Judge.

Defendant, Johnny Powell, was charged by grand jury indictment with one count of second degree murder, a violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1, and one count of second degree feticide, a violation of La.R.S. 14:32.7. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was found guilty as charged on each count. Defendant was sentenced for his conviction of second degree murder to life in prison at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. In addition, defendant was sentenced to five years at hard labor, with credit for time served, for the second degree feticide conviction; the sentences to be served concurrently. Defendant appeals raising the following assignments of error:

1. The trial court erred in denying his motion to quash.
2. The trial court erred in denying production of the rap sheets of two state witnesses.
3. The trial court erred in denying the defendant's instruction on negligent homicide.
4. The trial court erred in refusing to give instruction on how to determine the reasonableness of the defendant's actions.
5. The evidence was insufficient to support the convictions.
6. The convictions of both counts unconstitutionally punishes the defendant twice for one act and violates double jeopardy principles.

Because defendant expressly abandoned assignments of error numbers one and three in his brief, we will not address them.

FACTS:

On May 9, 1993, outside Jodice's Club on Scenic Highway in East Baton Rouge Parish, defendant and another man had pulled guns on each other. They were separated by Trade Variste. Defendant proceeded to the rear of the club and returned to the front as a passenger in an automobile, firing a gun numerous times from over the top of the vehicle. One of the bullets struck the victim, Bridgett Stewart, who bled to death as a result of the gunshot wound. The victim was pregnant at the time and the gestational age of the fetus, which also died, was estimated to be two months old. Defendant subsequently was arrested for the shooting after being identified by witnesses.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER TWO:

In his second assignment of error, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying the production of the rap sheets of two state witnesses. Maintaining he should have been allowed to have copies of the rap sheets of two "key" witnesses, defendant argues he was denied a fair trial because examination of witnesses was limited to questions about "deals" made with the state and because he was refused access to evidence of pending charges which could have been used to attack the witnesses' credibility.

At the beginning of trial, the trial court granted the state a hearing on a motion in limine to determine whether the defense *496 could be permitted to question two state witnesses, Tracie Variste and Paulette Dunn, regarding their arrests the night before. At the hearing, defendant stated the rap sheets were being sought solely for impeachment purposes. The court limited defense counsel's inquiries to questions about any deals or agreements the witnesses may have had with the state. The court noted in addition to a general discovery motion, a written motion requesting the rap sheets had not been filed, and denied defendant's request for the rap sheets. Defense counsel did not object to the trial court's ruling.

To preserve the right to appeal an erroneous trial court ruling, the objecting party must make a timely objection and state the specific ground of the objection. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 841. Because defendant failed to object to the trial court's denial of access to the witnesses' rap sheets during the hearing on the state's motion, defendant did not preserve this issue for review on appeal.

Moreover, we find the trial court's denial of defendant's request for witnesses' rap sheets to be harmless error. In its reasons for not requiring production of rap sheets, the court relied on State v. Hooks, 421 So.2d 880 (La.1982). In Hooks, the supreme court stated the defendant is "almost automatically" entitled to a witness' prior criminal records where the witness is a co-defendant or co-conspirator with the defendant on trial. However, the court stated that there was no reason to require the state to furnish the criminal records of "civilian" witnesses who were not connected with the perpetration of the crime. Hooks further explains the defense has no statutory right to request the witnesses' criminal records from the state "even for the impeachment of the witnesses' credibility" as it is "irrelevant" where all of the witnesses were only observers, not participants. State v. Hooks, 421 So.2d at 883.

Defendant argues State v. Brumfield, 546 So.2d 1241 (La.App. 1st Cir.1989), writ denied, 556 So.2d 54 (La.1990), recognizes the right to cross-examine a witness about pending criminal charges. Defendant argues he was refused access to evidence (rap sheets) which may have been used to attack the witnesses' credibility and that the trial court erred when it would not permit defendant to question state witnesses about charges pending against each of them.

In Brumfield, the defendant asserted the testimony he sought to elicit from a witness was not general bad character evidence but, rather, evidence to specifically show the witness was corrupted or biased. The Brumfield court found the failure to permit cross-examination of a state witness about pending criminal charges to allow defendant to show bias or interest was reversible error. However, in the instant case, the record shows defendant gave general impeachment as the purpose for questioning the witnesses about pending charges. Defendant also stated he wanted to determine if the state and the witnesses had any "deals" involving the exchange of testimony for reduced sentences on any charges pending against the witnesses. The trial court allowed the defendant to ask about any pending "deals" but it would not allow defendant to have the witnesses' rap sheets "absent a showing of a particular need... other than just general impeachment" or to question the witnesses about any pending charges "absent a showing of some special circumstances." The court indicated it would have allowed questioning about the witnesses' pending charges if defendant could give any specific reason for the questioning. Thus we find no merit in defendant's reliance on Brumfield.

Defendant cites State v. Laird, 551 So.2d 1310 (La.1989) as additional authority for his argument that he should have been given the rap sheets. In Laird, the supreme court stated:

The state should make available rap sheets on all state witnesses in its possession or available to it on its computer system.

In the case at hand, there was no indication whether the state was in possession of the witnesses' rap sheets. The only evidence of pending charges in the record were the arrests that occurred the night before the hearing.

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Bluebook (online)
671 So. 2d 493, 1995 WL 588359, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-powell-lactapp-1995.