State v. Darby
| Decision Date | 31 March 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 55615,55615 |
| Citation | 310 So.2d 547 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Rufus DARBY. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
J. Isaac Funderburk, Abbeville, for defendant-appellant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., J. Nathan Stansbury, Dist. Atty., Byron P. Legendre, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
Defendant Rufus Darby was charged by bill of information with distribution of heroin in violation of La.R.S. 40:966. He was tried and convicted by a jury and later sentenced to serve twelve (12) years at hard labor. On appeal to this court, defendant relies upon two bills of exceptions to obtain a reversal of his conviction and sentence. 1
This bill was reserved in exception to the ruling of the trial judge refusing to grant defendant's motion for a severance of his trial from that of his co-defendant. The two defendants were charged by separate bills of information with the same crime, arising from the same transaction. By joint motion, the two attorney representing the defendants sought a consolidated trial '. . . on the ground that the various offenses could have been joined in a single indictment.' The trial judge granted the motion and ordered that the charged be consolidated for trial. Later, counsel for Darby's co-defendant 2 filed three separate motions seeking a severance of the charges on several grounds: disagreement between counsel about appropriate trial strategy, the inference of guilt by association applicable against one co-defendant because of evidence presented against the other, and the potential violation of the right of the accused to confront his accusers by the use of inculpatory statements given by one co-defendant implicating the other. 3 Counsel for defendant Darby orally joined in the motions.
The trial judge correctly refused to grant the motions for severance. Article 706 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides:
Upon motion of a defendant, or of all defendants if there are more than one, the court may order two or more indictments consolidated for trial if the offenses and the defendants, if there are more than one, could have been joined in a single indictment. The procedure thereafter shall be the same as if the prosecution were under a single indictment.
(Emphasis added.) As used in the Code, the term 'indictment' includes a bill of information. La.Code Crim.P. art. 934(6) (1966). Thus, under article 706, the effect of the consolidation, which the defendants sought by their own motion, was to place all subsequent proceedings under the procedure to be followed where the prosecution is under a single joint charge. Accordingly, article 704 of the Code of Criminal Procedure dictates the appropriate procedure to be followed here. That article provides:
Jointly indicted defendants shall be tried jointly unless:
(1) The state elects to try them separately; or
(2) The court, on motion of the defendant, and after contradictory hearing with the district attorney, is satisfied that justice requires a severance.
(Emphasis added.) Thus, defendant must demonstrate that, in his case, justice required a severance of his charge from that of his co-defendant.
Examining the stated grounds for a severance in this context, we do not find that justice required a severance in this case. First, beyond the allegations that counsel for the two defendants were unable to agree upon the appropriate trial strategy, defendant presented no evidence at the contradictory hearing on the motion substantiating the nature of the disagreement or indicating that any prejudice would result to his client as a result thereof. Second, defendant presented no evidence that consolidation of the charges for trial would cause him prejudice because of the inference of guilt by his association with his co-defendant. Furthermore, the evidence reveals that defendant was an active participant in the commission of the crime. Finally, our examination of the record indicates that no inculpatory statements were offered or received into evidence for use against defendant. Thus, he has no standing to complain of a violation of his sixth amendment right to confront his accusers. Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed. 476 (1968). In sum, defendant made no showing that 'justice require(d) a severance.' Accordingly, we find this bill of exceptions to be without merit.
This bill of exceptions was reserved to the ruling of the trial judge refusing to permit a line of questioning of the state's chief prosecuting witness. The objection to the ruling is twofold: first, that defendant should have been allowed to question the witness about his racial bias against defendant, who is black; second, that defendant should have been allowed to question the witness concerning the identity and location of a witness he claims was material to his defense.
La.R.S. 15:492 provides:
When the purpose is to show that in the special case on trial the witness is biased, has an interest, or has been...
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State v. Monk
...at trial, defendants have no standing to complain of a violation of the sixth amendment right to confront their accusers. State v. Darby, 310 So.2d 547 (La.1975). ...
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Anthony P., In re
...the witness is alleged to bear against the defendant be personal rather than general in nature. [Citation omitted.]" (Louisiana v. Darby (La.1975) 310 So.2d 547, 549.)4 In most instances, cross-examination about racial bias is likely to be a risky enterprise for the cross-examiner and his c......
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...to place all subsequent proceedings under the procedure to be followed where the prosecution is under a single joint charge. State v. Darby, 310 So.2d 547 (La.1975). Accordingly, La.Code Crim.P. art. 704 dictates the appropriate procedure to be followed here. That article Jointly indicted d......
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