State v. Stewart

134 So. 3d 636, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 639, 2014 WL 346638, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 206
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided January 31, 2014·No. No. 13-KA-639·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Chief Judge.

|2This is defendant’s second appeal before this Court. On appeal, defendant challenges his sentence as illegal under the statutory scheme in place on the date of imposition. For the following reasons, we amend defendant’s sentence, affirm as amended, and remand for correction of an error patent.

Facts and Procedural History

The underlying facts were set forth in State v. Robinson, 421 So.2d 229 (La.1982), which was the co-defendant’s appeal:

On August 5, 1980, [Jimmy Robinson, co-defendant] and Keith Stewart knocked at the door of the apartment of Mrs. Joyce Waites, who managed an apartment complex. They told Mrs. Waites that they wanted to apply for a job, but they left when she advised that there were no positions available. Approximately 30 minutes later, Mrs. Waites answered another knock at the door and was confronted by the same two men, who drew guns and demanded money. When Mrs. Waites pointed to her purse, [Robinson] placed a gun against her head and told her to lie on the floor.
[Robinson] held the gun to Mrs. Waites’ head, while Stewart searched the house for valuables. Mrs. Waites warned that her husband was coming home for lunch soon and begged them to leave, but they did not do so. When [Mr. Waites] arrived, [Robinson] and Stewart used the gun to require him to lie on the floor next to Mrs. Waites. [Robinson] then made Mrs. Waites accompany him upstairs to search for more money. When they came back downstairs, [Robinson] again told her to lie on the floor next to her husband.
|sMrs. Waites told [Robinson] that she could not stop shaking and asked for a cigarette, which [he] gave her. At [Robinson]’s instruction, she placed her head on the floor and closed her eyes. When she heard a shot, she looked up and started screaming when she saw that her husband had been shot. [Robinson] placed the gun against her head and told her to shut up or she would be next. Shortly thereafter, [Robinson] and Stew[638] art left the apartment with the stolen money in the Waites’ car.
Mr. Waites died of a gunshot wound to the head. Later the same day, [Robinson] was arrested and confessed to the shooting.

State v. Robinson, 421 So.2d at 230.

On August 22, 1980, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury indicted defendant, Keith Stewart, with first degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:3o.1 On January 28, 1982, a jury convicted him of second degree murder in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. On February 5, 1982, the trial judge sentenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed defendant’s conviction and sentence on September 8, 1983. State v. Stewart, 437 So.2d 872 (La.1983).

On August 14, 2012, defendant filed a “Motion to Vacate and Correct an Illegal Sentence,” citing the United States Supreme Court’s pronouncement in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). On March 28, 2013, the trial judge granted the motion, vacated the original sentence, and resen-tenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor with the benefit of parole. That day, the State and the defense both objected to the sentence. Defendant also filed a timely motion for appeal that was granted.2

| JLaw and Argument

Pursuant to accepted procedure,3 appointed appellant counsel has filed an appellate brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967) and State v. Jyles, 96-2669 (La.12/12/97), 704 So.2d 241, 242 (per curiam), asserting that he has thoroughly reviewed the trial court record and cannot find any non-frivolous issues to raise on appeal. Accordingly, appointed counsel requests to withdraw as counsel of record. For the following reasons, we deny counsel’s request.

In addition to a counseled brief, defendant filed supplemental pro se briefs on November 19, 2013 and December 17, 2013. In his pro se briefs, defendant argues that his sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor with parole is not authorized by La. R.S. 14:30.1 and, therefore, the sentence is illegal. Defendant contends that the mandatory minimum life imprisonment sentence is constitutionally excessive under the circumstances of this case (because he did not kill or intend to kill the victim) and that the matter should be remanded to the trial court for resentencing to the “next responsive verdict.”

For those offenders convicted of second degree murder in Louisiana, La. R.S. 14:30.1 mandates a sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. However, as noted above, in 2012, [639] the United States Supreme Court, in Miller v. Alabama, supra, held that a state’s statutory sentencing scheme that mandates life imprisonment without parole, for those offenders under the age of 18 years at the time they committed a homicide offense, violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishments.” Miller v. Alabama, 182 S.Ct. at 2460. The Miller Court |fidid not prohibit life imprisonment without parole for juveniles, but instead required that the statutory sentencing scheme authorize a sentencing court to consider an offender’s youth and attendant characteristics as mitigating circumstances before deciding whether to impose the harshest penalty for juveniles who have committed a homicide offense. State v. Simmons, 11-1810 (La.10/12/12), 99 So.3d 28 (per curiam).

In 2018, in response to Miller v. Alabama, supra, the Louisiana Legislature enacted La.C.Cr.P. art. 878.1 and La. R.S. 15:574.4(E)(1).4

La.C.Cr.P. art. 878.1 provides as follows:

A. In any case where an offender is to be sentenced to life imprisonment for a conviction of first degree murder (R.S. 14:30) or second degree murder (R.S. 14:30.1) where the offender was under the age of eighteen years at the time of the commission of the offense, a hearing shall be conducted prior to sentencing to determine whether the sentence shall be imposed with or without parole eligibility pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 15:574.4(E).
B. At the hearing, the prosecution and defense shall be allowed to introduce any aggravating and mitigating evidence that is relevant to the charged offense or the character of the offender, including but not limited to the facts and circumstances of the crime, the criminal history of the offender, the offender’s level of family support, social history, and such other factors as the court may deem relevant. Sentences imposed without parole eligibility should normally be reserved for the worst offenders and the worst cases.

La. R.S. 15:574.4(E)(1) provides in pertinent part as follows:

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State v. Stewart, 134 So. 3d 636, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 639, 2014 WL 346638, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 206 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

134 So. 3d 636 (State v. Stewart) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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