State v. Walter

675 So. 2d 831, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2221, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1111, 1996 WL 293769
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 29, 1996
DocketNo. 94-KA-2221
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 675 So. 2d 831 (State v. Walter) 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. Walter, 675 So. 2d 831, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2221, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1111, 1996 WL 293769 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

hLANDRIEU, Judge.

Sullivan Walter was charged by grand jury indictment with two counts of aggravated crime against nature, one count of aggravated rape, and one count of aggravated burglary on November 13, 1986.1 He was arraigned and pleaded not guilty on December 1, 1986, and the next day a twelve member jury found him guilty of forcible rape and guilty as charged on the remaining counts. Walter was sentenced on December 16, 1986, to serve thirty-five years at hard labor, the first two years to be served without benefit of parole on the forcible rape conviction. He was sentenced to serve fifteen years at hard labor without benefit of parole on each of the remaining counts, all sentences to run concurrently. The State subsequently filed a multiple bill of information alleging that defendant was a second felony offender based upon a 1986 guilty plea to simple burglary. On April 7, 1987, the defendant pleaded guilty as charged. The trial court vacated the ^sentence on the forcible rape conviction and resentenced relator to serve thirty-five years at hard labor without benefit of probation or good time and without benefit of parole for the first half of the sentence. On appeal, the convictions were affirmed. The sentence on the aggravated burglary conviction was amended to reflect that only the first half of the sentence is to be served without benefit of parole, and as amended, [833]*833affirmed. All other sentences were affirmed. The matter was remanded to the trial court to provide Walter with an opportunity to file a motion for new trial based upon a claim of newly discovered evidence, reserving his right to appeal the trial court’s ruling on the motion. State v. Walter, 514 So.2d 620 (La. App. 4th Cir.1987).

A hearing on defendant’s motion for new trial began on April 29, 1988 and concluded on July 1, 1988. The trial court denied the motion, and the defense noted an objection. Walter’s motion for appeal was granted on July 15,1988, but no appeal was ever lodged. However, in response to an application for post conviction relief filed by Walter, this Court ordered the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine the status of Walter’s appeal.2 On August 11, 1992, the status hearing was held and the Orleans Indigent Defender Board was appointed to represent Walter on his appeal.

The facts, taken from the original appeal opinion, are as follows:

On May 10, 1986 at approximately midnight, the victim had just finished cleaning her bedroom carpet and was taking a shower; her eight year old son was sleeping in an adjacent bedroom. She heard a noise at the front of the house and investigated, but found nothing unusual. She returned to showering. Moments later, a young black man stepped into the bathroom -with a yellow rag over his face, carrying a large kitchen knife. He held the knife to the victim’s throat, and told her to be quiet or he would hurt her and her son. He dragged her into her bedroom, pushed her to the floor and ordered her to perform fellatio on him. He then performed cunnilingus Ron the victim and had intercourse with her. In the struggle, the victim sustained lacerations and bruises.
At trial, the victim testified that during the commission of the crimes the assailant dropped the rag from his face and she was able to observe him at a very close range for several minutes in the lighted bedroom. The police detective who handled the case testified that four days after the crimes, he took the victim to a police artist who drew a composite sketch of the perpetrator. When the sketch was circulated through the New Orleans Police Department, another officer recognized the sketch as Sullivan Walter. The victim was then shown a photographic line-up, and she identified Walter as her assailant. She also identified Walter at trial.

Walter, 514 So.2d at 621.

A review of the record for errors patent shows an error in two of appellant’s sentences. First, La.Rev.Stat.Ann. 14:60 (West 1986), aggravated burglary, does not require that the sentence be served without the benefit of parole. The trial court sentenced defendant to serve fifteen years at hard labor without benefit of parole. On appeal, this Court amended the sentence to reflect that only the first half of the sentence is to be served without benefit of parole, citing La. Rev.Stat.Ann. 15:574.4 (West 1992). Walter, 514 So.2d at 622. Because La.Rev.Stat. 14:60 does not prohibit parole, the defendant’s parole eligibility is determined by the Department of Corrections in accordance with La.Rev.Stat. 15:574.4. Although our original opinion merely restated the law as set out in La.Rev.Stat. 15:574.4, the final determination is left to the Department of Corrections.

Second, neither La.Rev.Stat.Ann. 14:42 (West 1982) or La.Rev.Stat. Ann. 15:529.1 (West 1992) provides for the denial of good time. Accordingly, defendant’s sentence on the forcible rape conviction is amended to delete the denial of good time. State v. Melancon, 536 So.2d 430 (La.App. 4th Cir.1988).

In his first assignment of error, Walter asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial under circumstances which indicate not only that he was denied a fair trial due to discovery violations, but which also show the |4existence of scientific evidence that may exculpate him or at least rebut proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

In his initial appeal, defendant argued that his conviction should be reversed because the State did not produce results of a laboratory [834]*834analysis of seminal fluid from the victim’s clothing until the day of trial. Although the laboratory report was not admitted into evidence, the police criminalist who had performed the analysis and prepared the report testified to its contents.3 The tests results showed the perpetrator as being a non-se-cretor, one of the group that composes only twenty percent of the population. Therefore, defendant argued that there was an eighty percent chance he was not the perpetrator, and that had he known about the test results earlier, he would have conducted tests to exonerate himself by proving that he is a secretor. Walter, 514 So.2d at 621.

After first noting that the defendant did not avail himself of the available remedies or sanctions in the trial court as provided by La.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 729.5 (West 1981), this Court held:

Despite the failure of the defense to avail itself of remedies in the Trial Court and despite the‘weight of the victim’s identification of Walter, we believe his assignment of error has merit.

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Bluebook (online)
675 So. 2d 831, 94 La.App. 4 Cir. 2221, 1996 La. App. LEXIS 1111, 1996 WL 293769, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-walter-lactapp-1996.