State v. Wiggins

556 So. 2d 622, 1990 WL 5431
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 17, 1990
Docket89-KA-607
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 556 So. 2d 622 (State v. Wiggins) 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. Wiggins, 556 So. 2d 622, 1990 WL 5431 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

556 So.2d 622 (1990)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
William J. WIGGINS.

No. 89-KA-607.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

January 17, 1990.

*624 Martha E. Sassone, Staff Appellate Counsel, Twenty-Fourth Judicial District, Indigent Defender Bd., Gretna, for appellant.

John M. Mamoulides, Dist. Atty., Twenty-Fourth Judicial District, Parish of Jefferson, State of La., Denis Ganucheau, Asst. Dist. Atty., Dorothy A. Pendergast, Asst. Dist. Atty., Louise Korns, of counsel, Office of the Dist. Atty., Gretna, for appellee.

Before CHEHARDY, C.J., and GRISBAUM and DUFRESNE, JJ.

CHEHARDY, Chief Judge.

Defendant, William Wiggins, appeals from his convictions of aggravated burglary (LSA-R.S. 14:60) and attempted aggravated rape (LSA-R.S. 14:27, 14:42).

On appeal defendant presents seven assignments of error. In the first, defendant asserts the trial judge erred in denying his motion to produce R.A.P. (rap) sheets of the prospective jurors. Next, defendant contends the trial judge erred in denying defendant's motion for a mistrial based on remarks made by a state witness, Detective Glen Toca. Defendant further complains the trial judge erroneously refused to use defendant's jury charge regarding identification, and in denying his motion to argue the penalty resulting from the State's intention to file a multiple bill. In addition, defendant asserts the trial judge erred in allowing the State to impeach the credibility of defense witness Debbie Hill through the use of a prior "conviction" under LSA-R.S. 40:983. Defendant also contends the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict and, finally, asks this court to review the record for patent errors.

On May 19, 1987, the 16-year-old victim and her mother entertained relatives in their home. During the evening, the teenager retired to her room to complete her homework, after which she watched the television in her bedroom for awhile before going to sleep. The victim did not turn the television off prior to falling asleep.

The guests left the house sometime after midnight and, at approximately 2 a.m., the victim's mother left the house after deciding to get gas in the car in order to save a trip in the morning when she would be driving her daughter to school. She returned to the house at approximately 2:40 a.m.

While her mother was gone, the victim was awakened from sleep by the touch of someone's hand on her face. The person touching her then moved closer to her face and asked her to kiss him. By the light of the television set, a nearby street light shining into her room, and the intruder's voice, the victim recognized the male intruder as the defendant whom she knew through her friendship with his sister.

As defendant approached closer to the victim she observed he was nude and noticed he had an erection. She then started screaming for her mother. Defendant responded by punching her in the arms and chest and ordering her to remove her underwear. She resisted defendant's advances, but he ultimately succeeded in forcefully removing her panties. The perpetrator then pushed the victim into the middle of the bed and got on top of her. He ordered her to touch his penis and insert it into her vagina. She refused and continued to resist her attacker's advances, and, although there was no penetration, the defendant's penis touched the surface of the victim's vagina. At that point, the attack was interrupted when defendant suddenly looked toward the living room as if he heard someone approaching. He then got off the bed and left the room walking toward the front door.

The victim heard the front door being unlocked, but remained in bed fearing defendant *625 was still in the house and hoping her mother would return. She finally got out of bed, replaced her underwear and ran to a neighbor's house, dressed only in her bra-type garment and panties, crying hysterically. She remained there until the police arrived. At that time, she gave a statement to the police describing the attack and identifying defendant as the perpetrator. The police investigation later revealed the intruder's entry into the house was made through a rear window after he removed a screen.

Defendant was later arrested, tried and convicted of the aforementioned crimes. He, however, contended he was innocent and at trial produced a witness to support his allegation that he was baby-sitting at the time of the incident. His witness, Debbie Hill, asserted he was baby-sitting her three-year-old son between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2:55 a.m. on the dates in question. She stated she telephoned a neighbor at 12:45 a.m., asking her to check on defendant and her son. Minutes later, Ms. Hill testified, the neighbor told her defendant answered the door and apparently all was well. Ms. Hill could not, however, verify defendant's whereabouts or activities between the hours of 12:45 a.m. and 2:55 a.m., when she arrived home to find defendant present in her apartment.

Defendant first contends the trial judge erred in denying his motion for the State to produce the rap sheets of prospective jurors. In this respect he argues the denial resulted in a violation of his right to due process. He argues the State has access to such records and that without the information he could not conduct a full voir dire examination and could not secure information giving him a basis for exercising his peremptory challenges or challenges for cause.

A defendant on trial has the right to a full and complete voir dire examination of potential jurors. LSA-Const. Art 1, 17; LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 786. The purposes of the voir dire examination are to allow for the evaluation of the qualifications of prospective jurors by testing their impartiality and competency, and in order to discover the basis for the intelligent exercise of peremptory challenges and/or challenges for cause. State v. Gabriel, 542 So.2d 528 (La.App. 5 Cir.1989).

The defendant should be given wide latitude during voir dire. State v. Jackson, 450 So.2d 621 (La.1984). This does not mean, however, that a defendant is necessarily entitled to the rap sheets of prospective jurors. State v. Jackson, supra; State v. Weiland, 540 So.2d 1288 (La.App. 5 Cir. 1989). Consideration must be given to the particular facts and circumstances in each case. In addition, a trial judge has great discretion in his rulings on the scope of voir dire and those rulings will not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Jackson, supra.

In this case, while the trial judge denied the motion for production of the prospective jurors' rap sheets, he also ordered the State to provide defendant with any arrest or conviction information used by it to challenge any juror for cause. In addition, the State had already voluntarily provided defense with certain arrest information it relied on to challenge a particular prospective juror for cause. Under these circumstances, we find the defendant's voir dire rights were fully protected and that the trial judge did not err in denying defendant's motion.

Defendant next complains that a defense witness made prejudicial remarks in his testimony and as a result a mistrial should have been granted. Defendant points out the remarks complained of relate to his refusal to give a statement to police and to his refusal to do so on the advice of counsel. Although the trial judge admonished the jury to disregard the testimony, defendant asserts the admonishment was not sufficient to assure defendant a fair trial and a mistrial was warranted, citing LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 771.

Under LSA-C.Cr.P. art.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
556 So. 2d 622, 1990 WL 5431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wiggins-lactapp-1990.