State v. Sorden

45 So. 3d 181, 2009 La.App. 4 Cir. 1416, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1127, 2010 WL 3133248
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 4, 2010
Docket2009-KA-1416
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 45 So. 3d 181 (State v. Sorden) 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. Sorden, 45 So. 3d 181, 2009 La.App. 4 Cir. 1416, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1127, 2010 WL 3133248 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

PAUL A. BONIN, Judge.

hThe prosecution appeals the court-ordered dismissal of the bill of information for aggravated battery and the discharge of Ericka Sorden, the defendant. See La. C.Cr.P. arts. 538 and 912. The prosecution contends that the trial court erred in granting Ms. Sorden’s motion to quash the bill of information pursuant to Article 581 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure because her constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated. We need not conclude that she was deprived of her constitutional speedy trial right in order to find that the statutory period of limitation on the commencement of trial had expired on Ms. Sorden’s charge prior to the trial court’s granting of her motion to quash. We hold that the trial court did not err in sustaining the motion, dismissing the charges, and discharging Ms. Sorden, and we accordingly affirm. We explain our conclusion in greater detail in the following Parts.

_bi

In this Part we address the timeline in this prosecution.

*183 Initially, Ericka Sorden was charged by bill of information with one count of aggravated battery on Rose Johnson under case number 460-306 on June 13, 2005. She was released on her own recognizance (ROR). After pleading not guilty at a reset arraignment, Ms. Sorden appeared for motion hearings on August 16, 2005. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Ms. Sorden evacuated her Treme home. Temporarily sheltering in Texas, Ms. Sorden did not return to live in New Orleans until 2008.

Some months after the district court resumed its normal functioning, a status hearing was set for October 18, 2006. The prosecution requested service of a subpoena by mail on Ms. Sorden at her home address previously identified on her ROR bond. Of course, the notice was undeliverable and the letter (with subpoena) returned. The prosecution requested and obtained an alias capias for her arrest. The status hearing was reset to December 19, 2006, at which hearing Ms. Sorden drove in to New Orleans from Texas to appear. On that date, the prosecution in open court and in the presence of Ms. Sorden nolle prosequied her charge. Her case was dismissed and the alias capias was recalled.

On February 7, 2007, under case number 468-488 initially allotted to a different section of the district court, the prosecution pursuant to La.C.Cr.P. art. 386 reinstituted the same charge of aggravated battery against Ms. Sorden. The arraignment was scheduled for two days later. Service by mail of her subpoena was again attempted at the abandoned address. Without any knowledge of the reinstitution of the proceedings, much less of the (to say the least) expedited arraignment date, Ms. Sorden was absent for her arraignment. This time the court Rissued an alias capias without bond and set a new hearing date for February 26, 2007. No service of any notice was requested and Ms. Sorden was again absent. According to the minutes, the court granted the prosecution’s motion for bond forfeiture 1 and issued another alias capias with a bond of $25,000. Without objection from the prosecution, the court continued the matter without date.

On June 12, 2009, without counsel, Ms. Sorden appeared for a status hearing. On July 8, 2009, Ms. Sorden was arraigned on the reinstituted charge and, just as she had done before, entered a plea of not guilty. On August 21, 2009, this time with an attorney, Ms. Sorden was present to file a motion to quash pursuant to the grounds set forth in La.C.Cr.P. art. 581. After a contradictory hearing, the trial court granted the motion.

II

In this Part we address first the standard of review which we apply in this matter and then the legislatively-determined time limitations on the commencement of a criminal trial as well as upon which party the burden of persuasion falls. See La. C.E. art. 302(1).

A reviewing court will not disturb a trial court’s ruling on a motion to quash in the absence of an abuse of discretion. See State v. Batiste, 05-1571, p. 9 (La.10/17/06), 939 So.2d 1245, 1251; State v. Love, 00-3347, p. 10 (La.5/23/03), 847 So.2d 1198, 1206-1207.

La.C.Cr.P. art. 578 mandates the time limits on the commencement of trials depending upon the classification of the of *184 fense charged. Article 578 (emphasis supplied) provides:

|4A. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, no trial shall be commenced nor any bail obligation be enforceable:
(1) In capital cases after three years from the date of institution of the prosecution;
(2) In other felony cases after two years from the date of institution of the prosecution; and
(3) In misdemeanor cases after one year from the date of institution of the prosecution.
B. The offense charged shall determine the applicable limitation.

Aggravated battery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:34, is punishable by imprisonment with or without hard labor for not more than ten years; it is also a non-capital felony. See State v. Butler, 302 So.2d 585, 587 (La.1974). Thus, as a general rule, trial shall be commenced within two years of the institution of prosecution.

Prior to our analysis, we make two initial observations. First, we note that this is not a case wherein the defendant challenges the prosecution’s dismissal and reinstitution of charges as an abuse of its nolle prosequi powers. See, e.g., State v. Henderson, 00-511, pp. 6-8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/13/00), 775 So.2d 1138, 1141-1142 (and our discussion infra in Part III). Second, we acknowledge that the prosecution reinstituted the charge against Ms. Sorden well within the time limit for institution of prosecution for non-capital felonies. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 572 (providing that prosecution must be instituted within four years from the time of the offense for a felony not necessarily punishable by imprisonment at hard labor). One method of instituting prosecution of a felony not punishable by death or life imprisonment is by the filing of a bill of information. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 382 A; State v. Jones, 443 So.2d 639 (La.App. 4th Cir.1983). Because the prosecution was instituted against Ms. Sorden, albeit for the second time, on February 7, 2007, |sthe trial must have commenced not later than February 7, 2009, 2 unless some exception applies.

Our jurisprudence has emphasized the importance of enforcing the statutory right of an accused to a speedy trial, as the purpose of the statute is “to prevent the oppression caused by suspending criminal prosecutions over citizens for indefinite periods of time.” State v. Ramirez, 07-652, p. 4 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/9/08), 976 So.2d 204, 207 (citing State v. Walgamotte, 415 So.2d 205, 210 (La.1982)).

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Bluebook (online)
45 So. 3d 181, 2009 La.App. 4 Cir. 1416, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1127, 2010 WL 3133248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sorden-lactapp-2010.