State v. Watson

911 So. 2d 396, 2005 WL 2291942
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 21, 2005·No. 40,059-KA·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

911 So.2d 396 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
James WATSON, Appellant.

No. 40,059-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 21, 2005.

*398 James E. Beal, Jonesboro, for Appellant.

Walter E. May, Jr., District Attorney, Jonathan M. Stewart, Robert A. Moore, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, GASKINS and CARAWAY, JJ.

WILLIAMS, J.

The defendant, James Watson, was charged by bill of information with driving while intoxicated, fourth offense, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:98. After the trial court denied the defendant's motion to quash the bill of information, the defendant entered a plea of guilty, reserving his right to appeal pursuant to State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). The defendant was sentenced to serve thirty years imprisonment at hard labor with all but sixty days suspended, placed under house arrest and supervised probation for a period of five years with numerous conditions, and fined $5,000.00 plus costs. The defendant appeals the denial of the motion to quash. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court's ruling on the motion to quash and the defendant's adjudication as a fourth-time offender. We amend the defendant's sentence to clarify the sentence of supervised probation for a period of five years, home incarceration for the remainder of the term of probation, and the seizure and sale of the vehicle being driven at the time of the offense. We affirm the defendant's sentence as amended.

FACTS

On September 15, 2004, the defendant was arrested for driving while intoxicated ("DWI") on Interstate 20 in Bienville Parish. A state trooper observed the defendant hit the fog line twice, cross the center white line once, and nearly collide with a passing tractor trailer. Once the trooper stopped the defendant, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on the defendant's breath and noticed that the defendant swayed from side to side and was unsteady on his feet. The defendant attempted to perform field sobriety tests and was unable to do so. The state trooper placed the defendant under arrest, advised him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), and administered a breathalyzer test. The result was .304 grams.

On December 18, 2004, the district attorney filed a bill of information, charging the defendant with DWI — Fourth Offense, alleging:

[D]efendant having previously operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on June 1, 1996, and having been convicted of that offense on August 27, 1996, in the Little Rock City Court, in Docket Number 96-4188;
and defendant having been previously been [sic] convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, having operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on November 10, 1999, and having been convicted of that offense on October 12, 2000, in the Perryville District Court, in Docket Number 5991217;
and defendant having been previously been [sic] convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, having operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on August 30, 2002, and having been convicted of that offense on September 16, 2003, in the Searcy District Court, in Docket Number 22051.

*399 In response to the bill of information, the defendant filed a motion to quash the bill of information. After the trial court denied the motion, the defendant appeared with counsel and entered a plea of guilty to the charge of DWI — Fourth Offense, reserving his right to appeal the ruling on the motion to quash pursuant to State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). The defendant was sentenced to serve thirty years imprisonment at hard labor, with all but sixty days suspended. He was placed under house arrest and supervised probation for a period of five years with numerous conditions mandated under LSA-R.S. 14:98(E), and fined $5,000.00 and costs. The defendant now appeals.

DISCUSSION

The defendant challenges his conviction as a fourth time offender, contending there was no testimony adduced to establish that he was the person with the three prior convictions in Arkansas. He also argues that even if his identity had been established, the evidence of the prior convictions was inadequate to show that he was advised of his rights under Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), and that he knowingly and voluntarily entered into the guilty pleas in the prior proceedings.

In Boykin, supra, on appeal of a criminal conviction following a guilty plea, the United States Supreme Court held "[i]t was error, plain on the face of the record, for the trial judge to accept petitioner's guilty plea without an affirmative showing that it was intelligent and voluntary." Rather, the trial court should "canvass the matter with the accused to make sure he has a full understanding of what the plea connotes and of its consequence." Boykin, 395 U.S. at 244, 89 S.Ct. 1709. Concerning the record of such a guilty plea on appeal, the Court found that because a guilty plea constitutes a waiver of several constitutional rights, including the privilege against self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury and the right to confront one's accusers, the prosecution was required to "spread on the record the prerequisites of a valid waiver" of these rights. Thus, the Court held that it could not presume a voluntary and knowing waiver of these three rights "from a silent record." To insure an adequate record on review, the Court stated a trial court would be "best advised to conduct an on the record examination of the defendant which should include, inter alia, an attempt to satisfy itself that the defendant understands the nature of the charges, his right to a jury trial, the acts sufficient to constitute the offenses for which he is charged and the permissible range of sentences." Id., 395 U.S. at 244 n. 7, 89 S.Ct. 1709 (quoting Commonwealth ex rel. West v. Rundle, 428 Pa. 102, 237 A.2d 196, 197-98 (1968)).

A presumption of regularity attaches to prior convictions in multiple-offender DWI cases, and the burden is on the defendant to prove the prior plea is constitutionally deficient. State v. Carlos, 98-1366 (La.7/7/99), 738 So.2d 556. In Carlos, the court also found that the burden shifting principles set forth in State v. Shelton, 621 So.2d 769 (La.1993), apply to the DWI provisions found in LSA-R.S. 14:98.[1] In Shelton, the Louisiana Supreme *400 Court discussed the burden of proof in habitual offender proceedings as follows:

If the defendant denies the allegations of the bill of information, the burden is on the State to prove the existence of the prior guilty pleas and that the defendant was represented by counsel when they were taken. If the State meets this burden, the defendant has the burden to produce some affirmative evidence showing an infringement of his rights or a procedural irregularity in the taking of the plea. (Footnote omitted).

Shelton, 621 So.2d at 779.[2]

In State v. O'Neal, 34,814 (La.App. 2 Cir. 10/21/01), 795 So.2d 1292, writ denied,

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