State v. Savoy

916 So. 2d 339, 2005 WL 2863901
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 2, 2005
Docket05-92
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 916 So. 2d 339 (State v. Savoy) 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. Savoy, 916 So. 2d 339, 2005 WL 2863901 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

916 So.2d 339 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Justin SAVOY.

No. 05-92.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

November 2, 2005.

*340 Michael Harson, District Attorney, J.N. Prather, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Lafayette, LA, for State-Appellee, State of Louisiana.

Jason Wayne Robideaux, Attorney at Law, Lafayette, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Justin Savoy.

James E. Beal, Louisiana Appellate Project, Jonesboro, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Justin Savoy.

Court composed of ULYSSES GENE THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge, MICHAEL G. SULLIVAN, and ELIZABETH A. PICKETT, Judges.

PICKETT, Judge.

FACTS

On December 5, 2003, the defendant, Justin Savoy, had an altercation with Jermaine "Tito" Duhon. Later, the defendant appeared in the street near Duhon's grandmother's house, where Duhon had gone after that altercation had ended. During a second altercation at that location, the defendant stabbed Duhon, who subsequently died as a result of the stab wounds.

On January 21, 2004, the defendant was indicted by a grand jury for second degree murder, a violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1.

On August 27, 2004, following the trial, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged. On that same date, the defendant waived the delay in sentencing, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment at hard labor. The trial court further specified that the sentence was to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

On September 9, 2004, the defendant filed a motion for appeal. The defendant is now before this court on appeal and alleges, as assignment of error, that the evidence was not sufficient to convict him of second degree murder.

On March 24, 2005, the defendant filed a supplemental brief, pursuant to an order by the clerk of this court, asserting an additional assignment of error. In that brief, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred in allowing the jury, during deliberations, to listen to an audiotape of his confession and to view written evidence without a waiver of his rights under La. Code Crim.P. art. 793.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by this court for errors patent on the face of the record. *341 After reviewing the record, we find there are no errors patent.

ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In his appeal to this court, the defendant asserts that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain his conviction of second degree murder, but rather shows that the homicide was committed in self-defense.

The elements of second degree murder are set forth in La.R.S. 14:30.1, which provides, in pertinent part, that "[s]econd degree murder is the killing of a human being: (1)[w]hen the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm...." The defendant claimed at trial that he acted in self-defense and that the evidence was, therefore, insufficient to sustain his conviction for second degree murder. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:20 provides that a homicide is justifiable: "(1) [w]hen committed in self-defense by one who reasonably believes that he is in imminent danger of losing his life or receiving great bodily harm and that the killing is necessary to save himself from that danger."

The analysis for a claim of insufficient evidence is well-settled:

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La. 1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determinations of the triers of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, 436 So.2d 559 (citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983)). In order for this Court to affirm a conviction, however, the record must reflect that the state has satisfied its burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Kennerson, 96-1518, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367, 1371.

This court recently recognized that "[w]hen a defendant claims that he acted in self-defense, the State has the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self defense." State v. Alexander, 04-788, p. 1 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/17/04), 888 So.2d 401, 402. (citing State v. Brown, 414 So.2d 726 (La.1982)). The defendant claims that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the homicide was not committed in self-defense; thus, the conviction should be reversed. Under the Jackson standard, this court must determine whether any rational finder of fact could have found that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. In his brief to this court, the defendant does not enumerate facts alleged to support his allegation that he reasonably believed he was in imminent danger, sufficient to show that the homicide was justifiable under La.R.S. 14:20. Therefore, in order to fully analyze the defendant's claim, we will discuss all of the events occurring on the night in question in light of the actions or statements which the defendant may have reasonably perceived to be threatening. In order to clarify the events, we will discuss the two altercations separately.

*342 At trial, five witnesses testified that they were present at either one or both of the two separate altercations between the defendant and Duhon on the night of December 5, 2003. The defendant also testified. The testimony of the various witnesses conflicts on several points.

THE FIRST ALTERCATION

On the evening in question, the defendant and Duhon were "hanging out" with Jason Christian and Nathaniel Davis. At some point during that evening, the defendant and Duhon began an argument which escalated into a physical fight. Both Christian and Davis testified that they broke up the fight, and that Duhon and the defendant each left the scene separately. However, the defendant testified that Christian and Davis, rather than breaking it up, encouraged the fight, and then held onto his arm and his shirt as he was trying to walk away.

Before leaving the scene, Duhon allegedly made threatening statements to the defendant. According to Christian's testimony, Duhon told the defendant he was going to "burn" him. Whitney Phillips, who witnessed the fight, also testified that she heard Duhon tell the defendant "I'm going to burn you before you burn me."

Davis testified that after the fight, he continued to talk to the defendant, who had gone down the street to use a pay phone. Davis also stated that after the defendant made a call, a gray car pulled up, and the defendant asked its occupants to take him to his home so that he could get his gun.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Dontrelon Thomas
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015
State v. R.W.W.
953 So. 2d 131 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State of Louisiana v. R.W.W.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007
State ex rel. M.M.
941 So. 2d 716 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State of Louisiana in the Interest of M. M.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
916 So. 2d 339, 2005 WL 2863901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-savoy-lactapp-2005.