State v. Woodfork

764 So. 2d 132, 2000 WL 725458
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 17, 2000
Docket99-KA-0859
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 764 So. 2d 132 (State v. Woodfork) 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. Woodfork, 764 So. 2d 132, 2000 WL 725458 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

764 So.2d 132 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Joseph C. WOODFORK.

No. 99-KA-0859.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

May 17, 2000.
Writ Denied July 28, 2000.

Christopher A. Aberle, Louisiana Appellate Project, Mandeville, Louisiana, (Attorney for Defendant/Appellant, Joseph Woodfork).

*133 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Cate L. Bartholomew, Assistant District Attorney, Juliet Clark, Assistant District Attorney of Orleans Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana, (Attorneys for Appellee, The State of Louisiana).

(Court composed of Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG, Judge PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY and Judge PHILIP C. CIACCIO, Pro Tempore).

MURRAY, Judge.

On May 11, 1998, Laura Schulte was attacked and her purse stolen. Joseph Woodfork subsequently was arrested, tried and convicted of purse snatching. He was found to be a multiple offender and sentenced to life in prison as a multiple offender. Mr. Woodfork appeals his conviction arguing that it was based on insufficient evidence. He also contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to introduce certain evidence.

FACTS LEADING TO JOSEPH WOODFORK'S ARREST:

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on May 11, 1998, Laura Schulte, an employee of the NO/AIDS Task Force, drove her car to 4223 Palmyra Street in order to call on Larry Hornbeck, one of her clients. Ms. Schulte parked her car, and entered the alley leading to Mr. Hornbeck's house. She sensed someone behind her, and turned to see a man who put his finger to his lips and told her to "Shh—be quiet." Ms. Schulte fell forward, started screaming, and began to pound on Mr. Hornbeck's door. The man grabbed her by the arm, and started hitting her. When Mr. Hornbeck began to open the door, Ms. Schulte's attacker grabbed her purse and fled. Mr. Hornbeck chased the man for approximately three blocks, but was unable to catch him.

The attack was reported to the police at approximately 2:18 p.m. Officers Bradley Glaudi and Chris Billiot responded to the call. The officers interviewed Ms. Schulte, who described the man who attacked her as a black male, clean shaven, probably brown eyes, dressed in a type of school uniform—khaki pants, white tennis shoes, and white polo shirt. Mr. Hornbeck, who stated that he had not seen the attacker's face, also was interviewed. The record does not indicate that either witness was asked to view Bureau of Identification photos in an effort to identify her attacker.

Three months later, Ms. Schulte met Joseph Woodfork at her office at the NO/ AIDS Task Force. During this meeting, which lasted approximately five minutes, she explained the assessment process, and scheduled an in-depth interview, which typically takes an hour and a half. Two days later, approximately forty-five minutes into the assessment interview, Ms. Schulte started looking at Mr. Woodfork and started feeling "really funny." She excused herself in order to "regroup." She returned to complete the interview. While doing so she looked at Mr. Woodfork's face, his head, eyes, the color of his skin and his build. She noted that his clothing was identical to that worn by her attacker — white tennis shoes, khaki pants with a pleat, a cotton polo shirt and a white baseball cap. She was extremely distressed by even the remote possibility that the person who had attacked her could be the person in her office.

Not wanting to wrongly accuse someone, Ms. Schulte did not call the police immediately after Mr. Woodfork left her office. Five to seven days later, she contacted Officer Billiott[1]. That same day, Ms. *134 Schulte identified Joseph Woodfork from a photographic lineup compiled by Officer Billiott in response to that contact. Larry Hornbeck also selected Mr. Woodfork's photograph from the line-up, although he admitted having some difficulty in doing so. Joseph Woodfork was arrested and charged with purse snatching. He pled not guilty. On October 13, 1998, following a trial that lasted two hours, a six-person jury found Mr. Woodfork guilty as charged. On January 7, 1999, he was sentenced to serve twenty years. The State filed a multiple bill under La.R.S. 15:529.1. Mr. Woodfork was found to be a quadruple offender, his sentence was vacated, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment[2].

DISCUSSION:

By his first assignment of error Mr. Woodfork contends that the evidence presented at his trial was not constitutionally sufficient to support his conviction.

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects a person accused of a crime from being convicted unless the State proves every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. This constitutional protection is the basis of a reviewing court's duty to determine the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict a defendant. State v. Monds, 91-0589 (La.App. 4 Cir.1994), 631 So.2d 536, writ denied 94-0626 (La.4/22/94), 637 So.2d 164. In deciding whether evidence is constitutionally sufficient to support a conviction, the appellate court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817 (La. 1987).

The appellate court may not disregard this duty simply because the record contains evidence that tends to support each fact necessary to constitute the crime. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305, 1311 (La.1988); State v. Monds, supra at p. 4, 631 So.2d at 539. If the reviewing court finds that no rational trier-of-fact, viewing all the evidence from a rational pro-prosecution viewpoint, could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction cannot stand constitutional muster. Mussall, supra.

The reviewing court, however, is not called upon to decide whether it believes the witnesses or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence. State v. Smith, 600 So.2d 1319, 1324 (La.1992); Mussall, supra. As noted by the Supreme Court, "the court is not to substitute its judgment of what the verdict should be for that of the jury, but at the same time the jury cannot be permitted to speculate if the evidence is such that reasonable jurors must have a reasonable doubt." Mussall, supra, citing 2 Charles Allen Wright, Federal Practice & Procedure, Criminal 2d, Sec. 467, at 660-661 & n. 23 (2d ed.1982).

In this case, Mr. Woodfork gave notice that he would present alibi evidence. Consequently, the key issue in this case was whether he was the person who attacked Ms. Schulte. Therefore, in order to carry its burden of proof under the Jackson rationale, the State was required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification. State v. Edwards, 97-1797 (La.7/2/99), 750 So.2d 893, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 120 S.Ct. 542, 145 L.Ed.2d 421 (1999); State v. Smith, 430 So.2d 31, 45 (La.1983).

The identifications of Mr. Woodfork by Ms. Schulte and Mr. Hornbeck were the only evidence that linked him to this *135 crime.

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764 So. 2d 132, 2000 WL 725458, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-woodfork-lactapp-2000.