State v. Wright

690 So. 2d 850, 1997 WL 66577
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 19, 1997
DocketCR96-786
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 690 So. 2d 850 (State v. Wright) 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. Wright, 690 So. 2d 850, 1997 WL 66577 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

690 So.2d 850 (1997)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
George WRIGHT.

No. CR96-786.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 19, 1997.

*851 Michael Harson, Daniel M. Landry, III, Asst. Dist. Atty., Lafayette, for State of Louisiana.

*852 G. Paul Marx, Lafayette, for George Wright.

Before WOODARD, PETERS and GREMILLION, JJ.

WOODARD, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of aggravated rape of a juvenile. At trial, the victim was allowed to testify via two-way television. Defendant asserts that such testimony violated his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation and appeals his conviction. We reverse and remand.

FACTS

On September 20, 1995, the defendant, George Wright, was convicted of aggravated rape of a juvenile, in violation of La.R.S. 14:42, after a jury trial on September 18 through 20, 1995. At the trial, the victim, a nine-year-old boy, was allowed to testify by two-way, closed-circuit television pursuant to La.R.S. 15:283. On January 18, 1996, the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Defendant now appeals his conviction.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
Defendant claims the following assignments of error:
(1) The trial court erred in that it authorized testimony by a rape victim on video camera, without sufficient showing of compelling need, in violation of the right to confront the witness.
(2) The trial court erred in admitting a photo lineup and the identifications resulting from that lineup, because the photo lineup was unduly suggestive.
(3) The trial court erred in finding that a statement in response to questions was admissible despite the failure of the officers to give the Miranda warning.
(4) The evidence was insufficient to convict of the consummated offense because the state did not offer medical evidence to confirm penetration.

LAW

In his first assignment of error, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred in authorizing the use of two-way cameras, in order for the victim to testify, without sufficient showing of compelling need, in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser. La.R.S. 15:283, the statute authorizing such testimony, states in pertinent part:

A. On its own motion or on the motion of the attorney for any party, a court may order that the testimony of a child under fourteen years of age who may have been physically or sexually abused be taken in a room other than the courtroom and be simultaneously televised by closed circuit television to the court and jury, when the court makes a specific finding of necessity based upon both of the following:
(1) Expert testimony that the child would be likely to suffer serious emotional distress if forced to give testimony in open court.
(2) Expert testimony that, without such simultaneous televised testimony, the child cannot reasonably communicate his testimony to the court or jury.
B. The court shall ensure that the child cannot see or hear the accused unless such viewing or hearing is requested for purposes of identification. However, the court shall ensure that the accused is afforded the ability to consult with his attorney during the testimony of the child.

Defendant asserts that the specific finding of necessity, as required by section 15:283(A)(1), was not met because the trial court heard no testimony, and made no findings, regarding whether the child would suffer trauma from testifying in the presence of the defendant himself, and not the courtroom environment in general. Because the defendant argues that his constitutional right to confrontation has been violated by this procedure, we must consider the defendant's claim in light of prior United States Supreme Court jurisprudence.

RIGHT TO CONFRONTATION

The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution *853 provides that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.... " U.S. Const. amend. VI. This amendment is made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment and has been held to provide "two types of protections for a criminal defendant: the right physically to face those who testify against him, and the right to conduct cross-examination." Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012, 1017, 108 S.Ct. 2798, 2801, 101 L.Ed.2d 857 (1988) (quoting Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 51, 107 S.Ct. 989, 998, 94 L.Ed.2d 40 (1987)). The Supreme Court has further held that they "have never doubted, therefore, that the Confrontation Clause guarantees the defendant a face-to-face meeting with witnesses appearing before the trier of fact." Id. at 1016, 108 S.Ct. at 2801.

Although a defendant's right to physical, face-to-face confrontation is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, the Supreme Court, in Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 849, 110 S.Ct. 3157, 3165, 111 L.Ed.2d 666 (1990) (quoting Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 63, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 2537, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980)), held that "our precedents establish that `the Confrontation Clause reflects a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial.' " The Court further stated that:

Thus, though we reaffirm the importance of face-to-face confrontation with witnesses appearing at trial, we cannot say that such confrontation is an indispensable element of the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the right to confront one's accusers.

Id. at 849-850, 110 S.Ct. at 3165-3166. This preference for physical, face-to-face confrontation "may be overcome in a particular case if close examination of `competing interests' so warrants." Coy, 487 U.S. at 1024, 108 S.Ct. at 2805. In determining whether the circumstances of a particular case warrant an abridgment of the right to physical confrontation, the Court agreed with the reasoning of the appellate court and held that:

"[T]he question of whether a child is unavailable to testify ... should not be asked in terms of inability to testify in the ordinary courtroom setting, but in the much narrower terms of the witness's inability to testify in the presence of the accused."

Craig, 497 U.S. at 858, 110 S.Ct. at 3170 (quoting Craig v. Maryland, 316 Md. 551, 564, 560 A.2d 1120, 1126 (1989)). Thus, the Confrontation Clause requires, as a prerequisite to use of a statute authorizing video testimony in such cases, that the trial court make a specific finding that the procedure requested is necessary to protect the welfare of the particular child witness who seeks to testify and that "the child witness would be traumatized, not by the courtroom generally, but by the presence of the defendant." Id. at 856, 110 S.Ct. at 3169. Furthermore, the trial court "must find that the emotional distress suffered ... is more than de minimis, i.e., more than `mere nervousness or excitement or some reluctance to testify.'" Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
690 So. 2d 850, 1997 WL 66577, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wright-lactapp-1997.