State v. Sanderson

715 So. 2d 483, 1998 WL 251651
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 13, 1998
Docket97-1281
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 715 So. 2d 483 (State v. Sanderson) 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. Sanderson, 715 So. 2d 483, 1998 WL 251651 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

715 So.2d 483 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
James SANDERSON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 97-1281.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 13, 1998.

Michael Harson, Lafayette, Ted Ayo, Asst. Dist. Atty., Abbeville, for State.

Patricia A. Thomas, Abbeville, for James Sanderson.

Before YELVERTON, SAUNDERS and PICKETT, JJ.

PICKETT, Judge.

This is an out-of-time appeal of a conviction and sentence, and particularly a condition of probation imposed upon suspension of the sentence. The Defendant is James Sanderson, *484 and he pled no contest to the charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, La.R.S. 14:80, on May 17, 1994. Later, the trial court sentenced him to three (3) years at hard labor, and suspended this sentence and placed the Defendant on five (5) years probation. The probation was subject to general and special conditions; one of these conditions of probation has led to this appeal.[1]

The Defendant engaged in a sexual relationship in 1992 with a sixteen-year-old girl who was in the foster care of the State of Louisiana. The victim was mentally retarded and the State learned that she was being sexually abused by other men in her family and neighborhood. The victim gave birth to a son, Kristoff, and the State suspected that the Defendant was the father of this child.

The State charged the Defendant with carnal knowledge of a juvenile and the case proceeded to trial on May 17, 1994. During trial, the Defendant decided to plead no contest to the charge. The trial judge ordered a presentence investigation report. At sentencing on December 5, 1994, the victim testified that she was not sure who was the father of her son, but that the Defendant had acknowledged verbally he was the father and the people with OCS had said the Defendant was Kristoff's father. The victim also said she did not want the Defendant to go to jail since she did not have a father while she was growing up and she wanted her child to have a father.

The trial judge sentenced the Defendant to three (3) years at hard labor; this was the maximum sentence recommended by the then applicable Sentencing Guidelines Grid. The trial judge suspended all of the sentence and placed the Defendant on five (5) years supervised probation, subject to general conditions of La.Code Crim.P. art. 895 and three special conditions. The first special condition was that the Defendant was under house arrest or home incarceration for one year. The second special condition was that the Defendant cooperate fully with the State, Department of Social Services, on all matters concerning the child born to the victim. The third condition was that the Defendant submit to a blood test for DNA paternity testing to be reviewed by the Department of Social Services. If the test results showed a probability of paternity exceeding 99%, "then without further ado, you will be ordered to make restitution to the State of Louisiana for the cost it has incurred in the foster care of this child to date, whatever the date of the testing is." The trial judge also noted that if the blood tests proved the Defendant was the father, then the State would seek further judgments against the Defendant.

On January 25, 1995, the State filed a Motion and Order for Paternity Blood Test. This motion was filed in the criminal case, but it relied upon the provisions of La.R.S. 9:396 et seq., Uniform Act on Blood Tests to Determine Paternity, to obtain the court order for the tests. A report of the test results was prepared on March 29, 1995, and filed in the record on April 7, 1995. The Defendant was not excluded as the biological father of the child, and the probability of paternity was 99.97%.

The record indicates that the Defendant's probation officer informed the court on September 28, 1995, that the total amount due for child foster care and child support was approximately $30,211.23, that this amount was beyond the Defendant's capacity to pay, and that a determination was needed for the total amount of restitution and monthly payment. The court minutes indicate that a probation revocation hearing occurred on November 6, 1995, and the trial court realized that the Defendant was ordered to reimburse the State the cost of care for the child and not the mother; therefore, the $30,211.23 amount was incorrect. The minutes show that the State was ordered to provide accurate information concerning the costs of care for the child; the Defendant's probation was not revoked.

Nothing happened in this case until May of 1997. A second probation revocation hearing was invoked by the Defendant's probation *485 officer. On May 12, 1997, all alleged violations of the Defendant's probation were resolved except the issue of how much restitution the Defendant owed the State of Louisiana for the foster care of the child. The trial court ordered OCS, Office of Child Support, to show the court within 30 days the amount of foster care restitution owed or the court would remove this condition of probation. The court minutes for the May 12, 1997 hearing end with a reference to the civil case against the Defendant, under docket number 69126. On May 23, 1997, a motion to transfer referred to the civil suit to establish paternity and child support obligation being filed April 2, 1997.

When OCS failed to produce the required information within 30 days, counsel for the Defendant filed a Motion to Remove Special Condition of Probation on July 28, 1997, 47 days after the deadline set by the court. A third hearing occurred on August 11, 1997, and it has resulted in the present appeal.

At the hearing, counsel for the Defendant objected, on the grounds of hearsay, to the court using a computer printout of the costs of care of Kristoff and his mother without the State presenting a witness who could explain the charges. The trial judge overruled the objection and said he calculated that the foster care costs for Kristoff totaled $14,404.89.[2] The trial judge also ruled that the untimeliness of the OCS response to its request did not prejudice anybody.

The Defendant now appeals the ruling of the trial court setting a final determinate figure for restitution owed to the State. Although initially sentenced in 1994, the precise amount of restitution owed was not set by the trial court until the August 11, 1997 hearing. This issue may be reviewed as part of the assignment of error or as an error patent since the sentence may be considered illegal. Cf. State v. Iles, 96-256 (La.App.3 Cir. 11/6/96); 684 So.2d 38.

The Defendant argues the sentence imposed upon him is illegal because the restitution to the State of Louisiana for the costs of care of the child born from the illegal sexual encounters between the Defendant and the victim is not permitted by law. The assignment of error refers specifically to the evidence presented and the lack of a proper foundation. However, since ordering restitution in the first place may have been inappropriate, we have combined our error patent review with the assigned error review.

When the court places a defendant on probation, the court may require as a condition of that probation the defendant's payment in restitution of any monetary loss or medical expenses incurred by the victim or his family. La.Code Crim.P. art. 895.1. The court has discretion to order further restitution for the victim's inconvenience. La.Code Crim.P. art. 895.1. The jurisprudence has established that restitution is not limited to only those actual pecuniary losses sustained by the victim or his family. State v. Elkins, 489 So.2d 232 (La.1986); State v. Alleman, 439 So.2d 418 (La.1983);

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Bluebook (online)
715 So. 2d 483, 1998 WL 251651, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sanderson-lactapp-1998.