State v. Robinson

696 So. 2d 207, 97 La.App. 3 Cir. 170, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 1523, 1997 WL 292713
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 4, 1997
DocketNo. CR97-170
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 696 So. 2d 207 (State v. Robinson) 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. Robinson, 696 So. 2d 207, 97 La.App. 3 Cir. 170, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 1523, 1997 WL 292713 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

liSULLIVAN, Judge.

Defendant, Robert Robinson, was charged by bill of information filed on January 18, 1996, with unlawfully introducing contraband, to wit: marijuana, into or upon the grounds of the Allen Correctional Center, in violation of La.R.S. 14:402. Robinson was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. The trial court set a trial date of August 26, 1996. On that date, Robinson filed a motion to quash and/or a motion in arrest of judgment. Therein, Robinson maintained that, because the Allen Correctional Center is operated by the Wackenhut Corrections Corporation (Wackenhut) and is therefore not a “state correctional institution” as required by La. R.S. 14:402, the offense charged is not punishable under a valid statute. The trial court conducted a hearing on this motion and then denied the motion.

Defendant withdrew his former plea and entered a plea of no contest, reserving his Crosby1 right to appeal the trial court’s denial of the motion to quash and/or motionj^n arrest of judgment. Before accepting Robinson’s plea of no contest, the trial judge fully Boykinized him. On September 24, 1996, the trial court sentenced Robinson to serve three years in the parish jail without hard labor, two of which were suspended. He now appeals assigning one error.

FACTS

On or about December 2, 1995, Robinson, who was a correctional officer at Allen Correctional Center, unlawfully introduced marijuana into or upon the grounds of the facility. The facility is operated by Wackenhut under an agreement with the State of Louisiana, which owns the facility and land. The facility houses State Department of Corrections prisoners. Robinson was employed by Wackenhut.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. The record contains two errors patent.

The record indicates the trial court did not give Robinson credit toward service of his sentence for time he spent in actual custody prior to the imposition of the sentence. Thus, this court amends the sentence to reflect that Robinson is given credit for time served prior to the execution of the sentence and the case is remanded. The district court is ordered to amend the commitment and minute entry of the sentence to reflect credit for time served in conformity with La.Code Crim.P. art. 880. . See La.Code Crim.P. art. 882(A) and State v. Moore, 93-1632 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/4/94); 640 So.2d 561, writ denied, 94-1455 (La.3/30/95); 651 So.2d 858.

Additionally, the trial court did not inform Robinson of the three-year time limit for filing post-conviction relief as is required by La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8. Thus, we also order the district court to inform him of the provisions of Article 930.8 by sending ^appropriate written notice to him within ten days of the rendition of this opinion and to file written proof that Robinson received the notice in the record of the proceedings. See State v. Fontenot, 616 So.2d 1353 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writ denied, 623 So.2d 1334 (La.1993).

[209]*209ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

Robinson claims the offense charged is not punishable under La.R.S. 14:402 since that statute is applicable to state correctional facilities and does not apply to private correctional facilities. Defendant further argues that even if La.R.S. 39:1800.1, et seq., the Louisiana Corrections Private Management Act, is applicable in this case, the crime was not committed “by or with regard to the inmates,” therefore, La.R.S. 39:1800.7(A) would not be applicable to the crime charged. This particular statute provides, in paragraph (A):

Any offense which, if committed at a state or local correctional facility would be a crime, shall be a crime if committed by or with regard to inmates at facilities operated pursuant to a contract under this Chapter.

For the following reasons, Robinson’s contention has no merit.

At the August 26, 1996 hearing on Robinson’s motion, Mr. Otis Kent Andrews, Warden of the Allen Correctional Center, testified that the facility is owned by the State of Louisiana, which contracted with Wackenhut to operate the facility. Wackenhut is a private corporation and is not a subdivision or agent of the State. The employees of Wack-enhut are not accorded state retirement nor other state benefits. Allen Correctional Center houses Louisiana Department of Corrections inmates.

La.R.S. 14:402(A) provides: “No person shall introduce contraband into or upon the grounds of any state correctional institution.” In Robinson’s case, the basis of his claim is that the statute, though possibly valid and applicable in some | circumstances, cannot be utilized to prosecute him because the facility at which he was employed is not a state correctional institution. An allegation constituting a defense to the charged offense, based on the alleged innocence of a defendant, is not a proper ground for a motion to quash. See State v. Edgecombe, 275 So.2d 740 (La.1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1075, 94 S.Ct. 591, 38 L.Ed.2d 482 (1973). However, Robinson is not presenting a defense in his motion to quash, nor is he stating that the statute is generally invalid. Nevertheless, the State waived any objections to the propriety of the grounds in Robinson’s motion by agreeing that such grounds could be presented for review as part of his Crosby plea. Further, La.Code Crim.P. art. 531 mandates that “all pleas or defenses raised before trial ... shall be urged by a motion to quash.” Defendant’s claim could constitute a defense and therefore is proper under the broad language of Article 531.

A motion to quash must be filed before the start of trial. See La.Code Crim.P. art. 535. The motion was filed after the jury was seated and the first witness was called to testify. The State waived its objection to the untimeliness of defendant’s motion by this same agreement.

In support of his argument that La. R.S. 14:402 does not apply to private facilities, Robinson cites State v. Gates, 572 So.2d 247 (La.App. 1 Cir.1990). In that case, the defendant was a state inmate who was a resident of a halfway house, a private correctional facility. He was charged with possession of contraband upon the ground of a state correctional institution. The court ruled that La.R.S. 14:402 “proscribes the possession of contraband only upon grounds of a public correctional institution of the state, i.e., one which the state itself owns or leases, and operates.” Gates, 572 So.2d at 249. The first circuit affirmed the trial court’s ruling granting the defendant’s motion to quash. Gates dealt with a privately owned, privately constructed, and | sprivately operated community rehabilitation center that contracted with the Louisiana Department of Corrections to accept inmates.

Although the defendant in Gates was in a private halfway house, the court noted in a footnote that a community rehabilitation center is a correctional facility. In affirming the granting of the motion to quash, the court relied on the difference between a public and private correctional facility. In its holding, the Gates court concluded:

A reading of LSA-R.S. 14:402 together with the definition of “state” in LSA-R.S. 14:2(10), convinces us that the phrase “state correctional institution” as employed in LSA-R.S. 14:402 B (when given a genu

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748 So. 2d 57 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
696 So. 2d 207, 97 La.App. 3 Cir. 170, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 1523, 1997 WL 292713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robinson-lactapp-1997.