State v. Robinson

275 So. 3d 938
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 10, 2019
DocketNO. 2018 KA 1005
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 275 So. 3d 938 (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, 275 So. 3d 938 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

CRAIN, J.

The defendant, Demetri Robinson, pled guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murder. See La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1. He was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment at hard labor on each count, to be served concurrently. The trial court granted a motion to modify the sentences, and resentenced the defendant to 40 years imprisonment at hard labor on each count, to be served concurrently.1 We affirm the convictions and sentences.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Because the defendant pled guilty, the facts of the case were not fully developed in the record. Based on pleadings and other documentation in the record, on September 17, 2011, the defendant, armed with a gun, entered the Cajun Circus Casino in Port Allen and shot at three people, striking one in the head.

The defendant initially pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to all charges. The trial court, with Judge J. Robin Free presiding, appointed a sanity commission. The commission members evaluated the defendant, concluded he was competent to stand trial, and issued reports of their respective findings to the trial court. The defendant and his counsel thereafter appeared in court and agreed to submit the competency issue based on the doctors' reports. The trial court assigned a trial date. On August 18, 2014, the defendant withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and, at a Boykin hearing, pled guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murder. On March 5, 2015, the trial court sentenced him to the maximum of 50 years imprisonment at hard labor for each count, to be served concurrently.

The defendant retained new counsel who filed a motion to vacate the guilty pleas or alternatively to modify the sentences, asserting the defendant was provided ineffective assistance by his prior counsel. According to the defendant, his former attorney allowed him to plead guilty while the defendant allegedly suffered from a significant mental illness that rendered him incompetent. At a hearing on January 13, 2016, the defendant presented testimony from a forensic psychiatrist, who opined the defendant had bipolar disorder type 1 with psychotic features, and was incompetent at the time of his plea and sentencing. The trial court denied the motion to vacate the guilty pleas, finding the pleas were knowing and voluntary.

*942The trial court, however, held open the motion to modify the sentences and ordered the defendant transferred to Elayn Hunt Correctional Center where he was to undergo another psychological evaluation. The trial court explained that the duration of the defendant's sentences was due, in part, to his conduct at sentencing, specifically his smiling during the victim impact statements, which the court interpreted to show a lack of remorse. The trial court stated it might reconsider the sentences if an evaluation found the defendant's conduct was due to psychological issues.

The defendant was examined by a psychiatrist at Elayn Hunt, who issued a report finding the defendant likely had a preexisting mental health disorder that possibly played a role in his behavior at sentencing. At a hearing on January 10, 2018, with Judge Pro Tem Edward J. Gaidry now presiding, the trial court granted the motion to modify the sentences, and resentenced the defendant to 40 years imprisonment at hard labor on each count, to run concurrently.

Procedure for Competency Review and Determination

In his first assignment of error, the defendant asserts the trial court erred in accepting his guilty pleas without first making a determination of his competency.

A criminal defendant has a constitutional right not to be tried while legally incompetent. State v. Carmouche , 01-0405 (La. 5/14/02), 872 So.2d 1020, 1041. A state must observe procedures adequate to protect a defendant's right not to be tried while incompetent, and its failure to do so deprives the defendant of his due process right to a fair trial. Carmouche , 872 So.2d at 1041.

The procedures applicable herein are set forth in Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure articles 641, et seq. A trial court must order a mental examination of a defendant when it has "reasonable ground to doubt the defendant's mental capacity to proceed." La. Code Crim. Pro. art. 643. When a defendant enters a combined plea of "not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity," the court may appoint a sanity commission to make an examination as to the defendant's mental condition at the time of the offense. The court may also order the commission to make an examination as to the defendant's present mental capacity to proceed. See La. Code Crim. Pro. arts. 644, 650. If a defendant's mental incapacity has been properly raised, no further steps can be taken in the prosecution until the defendant is found to have the mental capacity to proceed. La. Code Crim. P. art. 642. The competency issue must be determined by the court in a contradictory hearing. La. Code Crim. Pro. art. 647. While the defendant cannot waive the requirement of a competency determination, he can agree to submit the matter to the trial court for a decision based on the sanity commission's reports. See State v. McCray , 11-1913, 2012 WL 1552257 *2 (La. App. 1 Cir. 5/2/12) ; State v. Darnell , 43,048 (La. App. 2 Cir. 8/13/08), 988 So.2d 870, 876-77.

The trial court appointed a sanity commission of three doctors, all of whom found the defendant competent to proceed to trial. According to a minute entry dated October 3, 2012, "[t]he doctors on the sanity commission were present and will be present at the next hearing to discuss this case." The next minute entry, dated January 9, 2013, confirms the prosecutor, defense attorney, and the defendant were present in court, and "[t]he sanity was submitted on the reports." The trial court then set a trial date. The trial date was continued until August 18, 2014, the day the defendant withdrew his insanity plea and pled guilty to all charges.

*943While no minute entry indicates the trial court specifically found the defendant competent to proceed prior to accepting his guilty pleas, the trial court's setting of the trial date indicates it found the defendant competent to proceed. See State v. Bonicard , 98-0665 (La. App. 4 Cir. 8/4/99), 752 So.2d 184, 185, writ denied , 99-2632 (La. 3/17/00), 756 So.2d 324. Thereafter, the trial court twice stated on the record that the defendant was competent to proceed on the day he pled guilty. At the hearing on the motion to vacate the guilty pleas, Judge Free recalled the defendant's condition at the guilty plea hearing and confirmed:

He appeared like you and I are right here.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
275 So. 3d 938, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robinson-lactapp-2019.