State ex rel. K.M.T.

• Decision Date: 19 August 2009
• Docket Number: No. 44,731-JAC.,44,731-JAC.
• Citation: 18 So.3d 183
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana in the Interest of K.M.T.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

18 So.3d 183

STATE of Louisiana in the Interest of K.M.T.

No. 44,731-JAC.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 19, 2009.

Annette F. Roach, Louisiana Appellate Project, for Appellant.

Charles R. Scott, II, District Attorney, Brian H. Barber, Suzanne M. Owen, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before CARAWAY, PEATROSS, and LOLLEY, JJ.

LOLLEY, J.

This juvenile appeal arises from the Juvenile Court in and for the Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana. The juvenile, K.M.T., was adjudicated a delinquent youth for the offense of attempted forcible rape, a violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:42.1. The disposition was to commit him to the Office of Juvenile Justice for two years, with recommendations for the secure care and the Fast Track program. The juvenile now appeals. For the following reasons, his adjudication and disposition are affirmed.

FACTS

On November 12, 2008, a petition was filed charging the juvenile, K.M.T., with the attempted forcible rape of the victim, T.K., on November 7, 2008, a violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:42.1. A detention hearing was held, and K.M.T. was subsequently arraigned. K.M.T. entered a denial to the petition. After an adjudication hearing, the court took the matter under advisement to review all of the evidence and found K.M.T. to be delinquent, having committed "forcible rape."¹ Following the disposition hearing at which a predisposition report and a psychological pre-disposition evaluation were entered into evidence by the state, K.M.T. was committed to the Office of Juvenile Justice for two years, with recommendations for the secure care and the Fast Track program. A motion to reconsider was timely filed, which was denied without a hearing. A motion to amend and amended motion to reconsider sentence was filed under La. C. Cr. P. art. 881.1, which was treated by the court as a motion to modify under La. Ch. C. art. 910 and was denied. The court noted that the disposition was "clearly not excessive for attempted commission of forcible rape." A motion to vacate adjudication and for release was filed on behalf of K.M.T., but was denied without a hearing. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first assignment of error, K.M.T. argues that the evidence introduced at the adjudication hearing of this case, when viewed under the standard set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), was insufficient to prove all of the elements of the offense of attempted forcible rape beyond a reasonable doubt. Among other arguments, he maintains that the state failed to carry its burden of negating any reasonable probability of misidentification and notes the lack of physical evidence (including DNA evidence) connecting him to the crime. He also points out in detail some inconsistencies in the testimony (particularly by the victim) from prior statements and the police unit recordings.

Delinquency Proceedings

This court in State ex rel. E.D.C., 39,892 (La.App. 2d Cir.05/11/05), 903 So.2d 571, writ denied, 2005-1568 (La.01/27/06), 922 So.2d 544, reiterated the applicable law:

The unique nature of the juvenile system is manifested in its noncriminal, or "civil" nature, its focus on rehabilitation and individual treatment rather than retribution, and the state's role as parens patriae in managing the welfare of the juvenile in state custody. The purpose of the Louisiana delinquency proceedings is to accord due process to each child who is accused of having committed a delinquent act and, except as provided for in La. Ch. C. art. 897.1, to insure that he shall receive, preferably in his own home, the care, guidance, and control that will be conducive to his welfare and the best interests of the state and that in those instances when he is removed from the control of his parents, the court shall secure for him care as nearly as possible equivalent to that which the parents should have given him. La. Ch. C. art. 801. The provisions of the Louisiana Children's Code govern and regulate delinquency proceedings, but where procedures are not provided, the court shall proceed in accordance with the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure. La. Ch. C. art. 803. All rights guaranteed to criminal defendants by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Louisiana, except the right to jury trial, shall be applicable in juvenile court delinquency proceedings. La. Ch. C. art. 808.

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. In a juvenile case, the reviewing court is constitutionally compelled to review both facts and law. La. Const. art. 5, § 10(A) and (B). However, the reviewing court must recognize that the juvenile judge observed the conduct and demeanor of the witnesses and was in the best position to determine credibility and weigh the evidence. Therefore, this court grants great deference to the juvenile court's factual findings and credibility determinations and assessment of the weight of particular testimony. Not only does the standard of review in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) apply to juvenile delinquency adjudicatory hearings, but our state constitution mandates that we determine, after reviewing the record evidence, whether the juvenile court was clearly wrong in its fact-findings. (Case citations omitted).

Standard of Review

The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, supra; State v. Tate, 2001-1658 (La.05/20/03), 851 So.2d 921, cert. denied, 541 U.S. 905, 124 S.Ct. 1604, 158 L.Ed.2d 248 (2004); State v. Carter, 42,894 (La. App. 2d Cir.01/09/08), 974 So.2d 181, writ denied, 2008-0499 (La.11/14/08), 996 So.2d 1086. This standard, now legislatively embodied in La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford, 2005-0477 (La.02/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; State v. Dotie, 43,819 (La.App. 2d Cir.01/14/09), 1 So.3d 833. The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, 1994-3116 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442. A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Eason, 43,788 (La. App. 2d Cir.02/25/09), 3 So.3d 685.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the direct evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. When the direct evidence is thus viewed, the facts established by the direct evidence and inferred from the circumstances established by that evidence must be sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of every essential element of the crime. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983); State v. Speed, 43,786 (La.App. 2d Cir.01/14/09), 2 So.3d 582.

Where there is conflicting testimony about factual matters, the resolution of which depends upon a determination of the credibility of the witnesses, the matter is one of the weight of the evidence, not its sufficiency. State v. Speed, supra.

In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Gullette, 43,032 (La.App. 2d Cir.02/13/08), 975 So.2d 753. This is equally applicable to the testimony of victims of sexual assault. State v. Robinson, 36,147 (La.App. 2d Cir.12/11/02), 833 So.2d 1207. Such testimony alone is sufficient even where the state does not introduce medical, scientific, or physical evidence to prove the commission of the offense by the defendant. Id.

Misidentification of Defendant

In cases involving a defendant's claim that he was not the person who committed the crime, the Jackson rationale requires the state to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Hughes, 2005-0992 (La. 11/29/06), 943 So.2d 1047; State v. Powell, 27,959 (La. App. 2d Cir.04/12/96), 677 So.2d 1008, writ denied, 1996-1807 (La.02/21/97), 688 So.2d 520.

A defendant attempting to suppress an identification must prove both that the identification itself was suggestive and that there was a likelihood of misidentification as a result of the identification procedure. Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977); State v. Prudholm, 446 So.2d 729 (La.1984); State v. Chaney, 423 So.2d 1092, 1098 (La.1982). In Manson, the court considered these five factors in determining whether the identification was suggestive: (1) the witness's opportunity to view the defendant at the time the crime was committed; (2) the degree of attention paid by the witness during the commission of the crime; (3) the accuracy of any prior description; (4) the level of the witness's certainty displayed at the time of identification; and (5) the length of time elapsed between the crime and the identification. "Against these factors is to be weighed the corrupting effect of the suggestive identification itself." Id.; State v. Martin, 595 So.2d 592 (La.1992).

Attempted Forcible Rape

To support defendant's conviction, the state must have proved that defendant had the specific intent to commit forcible rape and that he did an act for the purpose of, and tending directly toward, the accomplishing of his...