State v. Groves

• Decision Date: 31 March 1975
• Docket Number: No. 55360,55360
• Citation: 311 So.2d 230
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Danny L. GROVES.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 230

311 So.2d 230

STATE of Louisiana v. Danny L. GROVES.

No. 55360.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

March 31, 1975.

Rehearing Denied April 25, 1975.

Marion Overton White, Joshua J. Pitre, Opelousas, for defendant-appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., William C. Pegues, III, Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

SUMMERS, Justice.

This is a prosecution for murder arising out of a killing on April 27, 1973 in which self-defense has been urged by the defendant Danny L. Groves. He was tried by a jury on February 25, 26 and 27, 1974, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, with credit for time spent in actual custody prior to sentence. See La.Crim.Code art. 30 (1928); State v. Curry, 263 La. 997, 270 So.2d 484 (1972); State v. Franklin, 263 La. 344, 268 So.2d 249 (1972). At the trial, 32 bills of exceptions were reserved. Eighteen have been perfected and urged here as thirteen assignments of error.

Groves is charged with murder for killing Coreal Peace on the 27th of April 1973 at the Rod and Gun Club in DeRidder, Beauregard Parish. Both are black. The Rod and Gun Club is a saloon or bar catering mostly to black customers. Pool tables and other amusement apparatus are provided for its customers. On the day of the alleged crime, Groves and his younger brother Lawrence Jefferson, Jr., a juvenile, were in the Rod and Gun Club playing pool. The victim, Coreal Peace, was present, drinking alcoholic beverages and moving about the place.

Peace and Jefferson entered into an argument over the fact that Peace removed a pool ball from the table and placed it in his pocket. Jefferson, in a fit of anger, stormed out of the club and ran to the nearby house of his parents where he obtained a loaded shotgun and a large knife. In the meantime Groves walked outside. He was talking to someone nearby when Jefferson came running back to the Club with the shotgun. Groves met him and took the gun from him. They then entered the club where Groves shot Peace.

Bill 1

This first bill is relied upon as the basis for an equal protection argument. The contention is that the trial judge erred in denying Groves' motion to quash the jury commission, and the grand and petit juries, when the facts established a prima facie case of racial discrimination; or, alternatively, the circumstances provided an opportunity to commit racial discrimination against black people and women in the selection and composition of the jury commission and the grand and petit jury venires.

Relying upon Hoyt v. Florida, 368 U.S. 57, 82 S.Ct. 159, 7 L.Ed.2d 118 (1961), this Court has repeatedly held that exclusion of women from jury duty unless they manifested their willingness to serve as required by Article VII, Section 41 of the Constitution and Article 402 of the Code of Criminal Procedure violates no constitutional guarantee. State v. Jack, 285 So.2d 204 (La.1973). Notwithstanding this often repeated stand, on January 21, 1975 the United States Supreme Court, in the case of Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522, 95 S.Ct. 692, 42 L.Ed.2d 690 held that Louisiana's jury selection systems with respect to women deprived those tried in this State of their Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights to an impartial jury. In the case of Daniel v. Louisiana, 420 U.S. 31, 95 S.Ct. 704, 42 L.Ed.2d 790, 1975 it was held that the rule of the Taylor Case would not be applied retroactively to convictions obtained in trials by juries empaneled prior to January 21, 1975, the date of the decision in the Taylor Case.

For these reasons, the claim of denial of equal protection by reason of Louisiana's jury selection procedure for women is governed by our adjudications at the time of the trial, in February 1974, prior to the Taylor Case. That is to say, the jury selection process for women, when the jury in the instant case was selected, was valid in all respects. No federal question is presented before January 21, 1975. Devall v. Louisiana, 420 U.S. 903, 95 S.Ct. 820, 42 L.Ed.2d 832 (1975).

And the claim of racial discrimination is not established by the record. Although the evidence supports the finding that no blacks served as members of the jury commission since 1960, there is no showing that none served prior to that time. Since members of the jury commission consist of the elected clerk of court and four other persons appointed by the district court, who serve at the court's pleasure, La.Code Crim.Proc. art. 404, the mere absence of blacks in that office at this time is not evidence of systematic discrimination against Negroes. State v. Barksdale, 247 La. 198, 170 So.2d 374 (1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 921, 86 S.Ct. 297, 15 L.Ed.2d 236. See also State v. Douglas, 256 La. 186, 235 So.2d 563 (1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 914, 91 S.Ct. 888, 27 L.Ed.2d 814; State v. Pratt, 255 La. 919, 233 So.2d 883 (1970).

Discrimination in the selection and composition of the grand and petit jury venires is also not established. There were ten whites and two blacks who served on the grand jury which indicted Groves. It is inferred from the testimony that the population of the parish is approximately 22,000, with 18,000 whites and 4,000 blacks. Jury commissioners select the names of citizens for the general venire who have been residents of the parish for one year. Persons selected need not necessarily be registered to vote, or to be property owners. The grand jury is drawn indiscriminately from the general venire box consisting of 400 names. There were ten blacks on the general venire and five on the petit jury venire.

No evidence appears in this record indicating in any way that there was purposeful discrimination, or systematic exclusion of any cognizable group in the composition of the jury venires or the juries which indicted or convicted Groves. Purposeful discrimination will not be presumed under these facts. State v. Douglas, supra.

Bill 2

In examining prospective jurors the trial court decided to seat twelve prospective jurors in the jury box. Each was then to be examined in the presence of the others. The defense objected to this procedure and moved for the sequestration of all prospective jurors save the one being examined. It was contended that the proposed procedure deprived the accused of a fair and impartial jury. The motion was denied and this bill was reserved.

Article 784 of the Code of Criminal Procedure fixes the standard for selection of the petit jury panel, requiring that 'In selecting a panel, names shall be drawn from the petit jury venire indiscriminately and by lot in open court and in a manner to be determined by the court.' As the comments to that Article explain, 'Details such as whether the jurors should be called singly or by groups of two, three, etc., are left to the court's discretion.' Our decision in State v. McAllister, 253 La. 382, 218 So.2d 305 (1969), supports the trial judge's ruling. There is no merit to this bill.

Bill 3

While assigning the subject matter of this bill as error, no argument to support the bill is found in the defense brief. From the bill as perfected, however, it is shown that James Alvin Gray was being examined as a prospective juror. Questioning of him by the prosecution revealed that Gray was manager of a car dealership and that the district attorney had purchased an automobile from that place of business. He testified, however, that this fact would not prevent him from being completely fair and impartial to the defendant if he were selected as a juror. On this basis defense counsel challenged Gray for cause. The challenge was denied, after which this bill was reserved and defense counsel exercised a peremptory challenge.

The official minutes reflect that the defense exercised only eleven peremptory challenges. Article 799 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the defendant is entitled to twelve peremptory challenges in this case. Under these circumstances, 'A defendant cannot complain of a ruling refusing to sustain a challenge for cause made by him, unless his peremptory challenges shall have been exhausted before the completion of the panel.' La.Code Crim.Proc. art. 800. (This same authority applies to bill of exceptions 4 and 5.)

A review of all the evidence on this prospective juror convincingly demonstrates, moreover, that there was nothing in his relationship with the district attorney which would influence his judgment or that would persuade him to decide the case on any basis other than fairness and the evidence presented in court.

This bill has no merit.

Bill 6

Just prior to the commencement of trial, defense counsel moved for a dossier of all the State witnesses, especially that of the victim, basing this motion upon the authority of United States v. Eley, 335 F.Supp. 353 (N.D.Ga.1972). In that case the court stated that the discovery request was based on Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). It was held there that the requirements of due process prohibit the prosecution from withholding favorable evidence from an accused which would tend to exculpate him or reduce punishment. Numerous courts have held that Brady does not speak to pretrial discovery. E.g. United States v. Moore, 439 F.2d 1107 (6th Cir. 1971); United States v. Sklaroff, 323 F.Supp. 296 (S.D.Fla.1971); United States v. King, 49 F.R.D. 51 (S.D.N.Y.1970); United States v. Gardner, 308 F.Supp. 425 (S.D.N.Y.1969); United States v. Zive, 299 F.Supp. 1273 (S.D.N.Y.1969); United States v. Zirpolo, 288 F.Supp. 993 (D.N.J.1968); United States v. American Oil Co., 286 F.Supp. 742 (D.N.J.1968); United States v. Armantrout, 278 F.Supp. 517 (S.D.N.Y.1968); United States v. Manhattan Brush Co., 38 F.R.D. 4 (S.D.N.Y.1965). See also United States v. Harris, 409 F.2d 77 (4th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, Brown v. United States, 396 U.S. 965, 90 S.Ct. 443, 24 L.Ed.2d 430 (1969); United States v. Cobb, 271 F.Supp. 159 (S.D.N.Y.1967).

The court in Eley continued, saying,

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