In re State
| Decision Date | 30 October 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 13–KA–128.,13–KA–128. |
| Citation | 128 So.3d 1118 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana in the Interest of C.M. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Assistant District Attorney, Gretna, Louisiana, Amanda L. Calogero, Elizabeth B. Curren, John Messina, Assistant District Attorneys, Harvey, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellee, The State of Louisiana.
Katherine M. Franks, Attorney at Law, Louisiana Appellate Project, Abita Springs, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant, C.M.
Panel composed of Judges SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, MARC E. JOHNSON, and STEPHEN J. WINDHORST.
On November 2, 2012, C.M.,1 a 16–year–old 2 juvenile, was charged by petition in juvenile court with violation of La. R.S. 14:95.8, illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile, alleged to have occurred on October 28, 2012. On November 5, 2012, C.M. entered a denial to the charged offense. C.M. proceeded to trial on November 28, 2012, and was adjudicated delinquent. A disposition hearing was held on January 10, 2013, at which time C.M. received a six-month sentence, to be served with the Office of Juvenile Justice in non-secure placement.3
On January 15, 2013, C.M. filed a timely motion for appeal, which was granted by the juvenile court. We affirm, but remand with orders to correct patent errors.
C.M.'s mother testified that on October 28, 2012, C.M. had spent the weekend with her. His father did not come to get him, so she dropped C.M. off at his father's house. C.M. had a backpack with him when he exited his mother's car. Before approaching the house, C.M. put his backpackin his father's truck, which was parked in the driveway. S.M. testified that when C.M. knocked on the door, she observed someone open the door and then “slam it” in C.M.'s face. C.M. again knocked on the door, which was answered this time by his father. Both C.M. and his father went inside the house.
According to S.M., approximately two minutes later C.M. exited the house, visibly upset. S.M. testified that C.M. kicked or punched his father's truck, which prompted his father to pull out an aluminum baseball bat from the back of the truck and strike C.M. on the arm with it.4 S.M., who was still parked in the street in front of the residence, got out of her car to confront C.M.'s father. C.M. got up from where he had fallen in the yard after his father had struck him, opened the gate leading out of the driveway, proceeded to the other side of S.M.'s double-parked car and lay in the grass. S.M. and C.M.'s father “exchanged words” for “about a minute and a half” before his father went back inside his house, where he remained.
S.M. then went by her car to check on her son. When C.M. stood up she observed, for the first time, a gun in C.M.'s hand. She testified she did not see C.M. with the gun while he was kicking his father's truck or when his father struck C.M.'s arm with the bat. S.M. testified that C.M. never pointed the gun at his father because “by the time he [C.M.] came around the car, his dad had done made it up the steps and into the house.”
S.M. asked C.M. to give her the gun, but C.M. put the gun in his right back pocket and ran down the street away from his father's home. By the time S.M. caught up with C.M., a sheriff's deputy had arrived on the scene. The officer stopped C.M., at which time S.M. reached into C.M.'s right back pocket, pulled out the gun, and handed it to the deputy.
Deputy Andrew Mulino of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified he placed C.M. under arrest and advised him of his Miranda5 rights. He transported C.M. to the hospital, due to complaints that his arm was hurting him since his father hit it with a baseball bat. While at the hospital, C.M. told Deputy Mulino that he had placed the gun in his father's truck before the incident occurred. C.M. said he took the weapon out of the truck after he was struck with the bat. C.M. explained he made an emotional decision that he knew was wrong. C.M. never indicated to Deputy Mulino that he was using the weapon to defend himself, and further stated that he never took the gun out of his back pocket.
In his first assignment of error, the appellant asserts that the State failed to establish each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, he contends that the trial judge erred not only in adjudicating C.M. delinquent without proof of age, but also in not finding that C.M. was justified in having the weapon on his person.
C.M. argues the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was under the age of 17 at the time of the offense. C.M. contends that the only reference to his age was made at the beginning of the adjudication hearing, when the trial judge asked him to state his name and date of birth for the record. C.M. argues that this statement is insufficient evidence because it was not made under oath and because the hearing on the merits of the case had not yet begun. Since the State failed to offer any other evidence as to C.M.'s age at trial, C.M. contends the State failed to prove that he committed the crime of possession of a handgun by a juvenile beyond a reasonable doubt.
C.M. also argues that he was justified in arming himself with the gun in self-defense. C.M. maintains that the trial testimony established he had a right to defend himself and his mother against any further attack by his father and, thus, he was justified in arming himself with the gun.
In response, the State argues it proved beyond a reasonable doubt that C.M. knowingly possessed a handgun on his person and that C.M. was not acting in justifiable self-defense when he armed himself. First, the State submits that it proved C.M. was 16 years old at the time he committed the offense, as established during trial and at prior proceedings where C.M. identified his date of birth for the juvenile court. The State further submits that C.M.'s date of birth is an adjudicative fact that was known to the court at the time of trial. The State contends that under La. C.E. art. 201, the court can take judicial notice of an adjudicative fact sua sponte. The State further submits that the juvenile court, as the sole fact-finder, can judicially notice C.M.'s age as evidence presented to it in earlier proceedings of the same case.
Second, the State argues it proved that C.M. knowingly possessed a handgun on his person, as evidenced by the testimony of Deputy Mulino and S.M., who testified that C.M. was carrying the gun in his pocket. Finally, the State argues that C.M.'s actions do not support a claim of self-defense. The State contends that the altercation with C.M.'s father had ended by the time C.M. retrieved the gun from the truck. Moreover, the State maintains that C.M. possessed the gun long before the encounter with his father, and at a time when there was no evidence that his father posed a threat to him.
C.M. filed a reply brief, in which he argues that the mere mention of a date is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offense. He further states that La. C.E. art. 201 only requires a court to take judicial notice of an adjudicative fact when a request to do so is made. Here, C.M. argues that no request was made and that the trial judge did not notify the parties of its intent to take notice of the fact. Thus, C.M. asserts that no evidence was submitted to prove the statutory age requirement.
“In order for the court to adjudicate a child delinquent, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child committed a delinquent act alleged in the petition.” La. Ch.C. art. 883. The constitutional standard for testing the sufficiency of evidence in delinquency proceedings, as in criminal proceedings against an adult, requires that the evidence, direct or circumstantial, or a mixture of both, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, in accord with Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). State ex rel. D.W., 09–855, p. 6 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/14/10), 47 So.3d 1048, 1053.
In a juvenile delinquency proceeding, the State's burden of proof is the same as in a criminal proceeding against an adult, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the offense alleged in the petition. Id.
The rule as to circumstantial evidence is that “assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.” La. R.S. 15:438. This is not a separate test from the Jackson standard, but rather provides a helpful basis for determining the existence of reasonable doubt. State v. Wooten, 99–181, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 6/1/99), 738 So.2d 672, 675,writ denied,99–2057 (La.1/14/00), 753 So.2d 208. Ultimately, all evidence, both direct and circumstantial, must be sufficient to support the conclusion that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
In juvenile proceedings, the scope of review on appeal extends to both law and facts. SeeLa. Const. art. V, § 10(B); State in the Interest of D.F., 08–0182, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/6/08), 991 So.2d 1082, 1084, 1085,writ denied,08–1540 (La.3/27/09), 5 So.3d 138. The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal has held that the “clearly wrong-manifest error” standard of review should be used to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to satisfy the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. State ex rel. C.N., 11–0074, p. 5 (La.App. 4 Cir. 6/29/11), 69 So.3d 711, 714.
Although appellate review of juvenile cases extends to law and fact, the juvenile judge observes the conduct and demeanor of the witnesses and is thus in a far better position to determine credibility and weigh the evidence. State ex rel. C.J., 10–1588, pp. 3–4 (...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- State v. Castillo, 13–KA–552.
- In re State
- State v. Carter, 13–KA–94.
- State v. McKinney