State v. Hampton

• Decision Date: 22 March 2002
• Docket Number: No. 2000-KP-0522.,2000-KP-0522.
• Citation: 818 So.2d 720
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Joseph HAMPTON.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

818 So.2d 720

STATE of Louisiana v. Joseph HAMPTON.

No. 2000-KP-0522.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

March 22, 2002.

Opinion on Limited Grant of Rehearing June 7, 2002.

Raechelle M. Vix, Counsel for Applicant.

Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Shana M. Broussard, Shreveport, Edward C. Milner, III, Joseph E. Lucore, New Orleans, Counsel for Respondent.

JOHNSON, Justice.¹

We granted the defendant's writ application to consider whether he voluntarily waived or suffered a deprivation of his right to testify in his own defense. It is well-settled that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to testify on his own behalf. However, this right may be waived by a criminal defendant. After considering the record, we find the defendant did not waive his right to testify in his own defense. We therefore reverse the court of appeal's ruling which held that denial of the defendant's right to testify was harmless-error.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case comes before the Court on Joseph Hampton's ("defendant") second writ application. Unlike the first, this application is limited to post-conviction relief alleging denial of the defendant's right to testify. We, nevertheless, find a factual review helpful in examining the defendant's claims.

On June 14, 1992, Ms. Gwendolyn Bannister hosted an outdoor block party in a courtyard of the St. Thomas Housing Development. Mr. Anthony Garrison ("Mr. Garrison") acted as Disc Jockey for the party where, among others, the defendant and Mr. Mark Singer were present. On the evening preceding the party, the defendant and Mr. Durrell Robinson had an argument. On the evening of the party, however, Mr. Garrison brought the defendant and Mr. Robinson together to resolve their differences. Mr. Garrison testified that during the early part of the evening of the party, he saw the defendant and Mr. Robinson shake hands on two occasions. Mr. Garrison also testified that Mr. Robinson told him the matter was "squashed." Nevertheless, Mr. Singer seemingly had problems with such a quick resolution.

The block party ended between 11:30 PM and midnight. Suddenly, as Mr. Garrison was removing his equipment from the front porch of an apartment building, shots rang out. Garrison ducked for cover. He testified that just before the shooting, he saw four or five armed men in an alley across the courtyard. Mr. Garrison recognized Mr. Singer with an assault rifle and the defendant with a handgun. He later testified that he did not see the defendant firing the handgun. He did, however, indicate he saw Mr. Singer firing the assault rifle at Durrell Robinson. Robinson died on the spot.²

After the police arrived, they apprehended Mr. Singer. The arresting police officer testified that Mr. Garrison gave a statement, which Ms. Bannister corroborated, describing Mr. Singer as the perpetrator. Although neither witness initially named the defendant, they subsequently did so. Consequently, the defendant and Mr. Singer were both indicted for second degree murder, pursuant to LSA-R.S. § 14:30.1.

In 1993, the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans granted a motion to sever Mr. Singer's and Mr. Hampton's trials.³ On May 24, 1994, a jury found the defendant guilty as charged. Accordingly, the district court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

On appeal, the defendant argued the trial court committed a Brady violation⁴ by refusing to disclose Ms. Bannister's grand jury testimony because it conflicted with her trial testimony.⁵ The court of appeal rejected the defendant's argument. In affirming the trial court, it held that Ms. Bannister's testimony from pre-trial motions was available to the defendant for impeachment purposes and the jury was able to weigh the inconsistencies and make a credibility determination. State v. Hampton, 94-1943 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/27/96), 686 So.2d 1021. This Court denied writs. State v. Hampton, 97-0166 (La.6/13/97), 695 So.2d 986.

The instant case began with a 1999 motion for post-conviction relief. Defendant filed the motion in Criminal District Court, in accordance with LA.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. arts. 924 et seq. He raised two issues for the district court's consideration: (1) the denial of his right to testify (which he did not waive); and (2) ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court granted the motion and ordered a new trial. In its oral reasons for ruling, the court stated:

There is no question that you have the right to testify on your own behalf. There's no question about that. There is no question that your right to testify was in some fashion abridged, that you were not either given an opportunity to testify, or in some ways, you were convinced not to testify in the case.

Transcript of Trial Court's Ruling (7/26/99) at 2 (emphasis added).

The court of appeal granted the State's subsequent writ application and reinstated the lower court's original conviction and sentence. State v. Hampton, 99-2142 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1/18/00), ___ So.2d ___. The Fourth Circuit relied on Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157, 106 S.Ct. 988, 89 L.Ed.2d 123 (1986). The court determined that even if the defendant were allowed to testify, his testimony would only have contradicted that of Garrison and Ms. Bannister. Therefore, while the Fourth Circuit acknowledged the applicant wanted to testify and his attorney prevented him from doing so, it nonetheless concluded he was not prejudiced and received a fair trial.

In his ensuing application to this Court, defendant alleges that his court-appointed trial counsel's refusal of his repeated requests to testify violated his constitutional rights. We agree. Therefore, we granted the writ application, 00-0522 (La.1/12/01), 778 So.2d 1148 and now reverse.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I The Constitutional Right to Testify in One's Own Defense

We begin our analysis by reviewing the United States and Louisiana Constitutions and the relevant federal and state jurisprudence. The United States Supreme Court has recognized a criminal defendant's right to testify is fundamental and personal to the defendant. "Only such basic decisions as to whether to plead guilty, waive a jury, or testify in one's own behalf are ultimately for the accused to make." Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 93 n. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977) (Burger, C.J., concurring)

(emphasis added); see also Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745, 751, 103 S.Ct. 3308, 77 L.Ed.2d 987 (1983); Brooks v. Tennessee, 406 U.S. 605, 612, 92 S.Ct. 1891, 32 L.Ed.2d 358 (1972). Accordingly, the Supreme Court has held "there is no rational justification for prohibiting the sworn testimony of the accused, who above all others may be in a position to meet the prosecution's case." Ferguson v. Georgia, 365 U.S. 570, 582, 81 S.Ct. 756, 5 L.Ed.2d 783 (1961).

Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court has been unequivocal in holding that the defendant's right to testify is guaranteed by: (1) the Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination;⁶ (2) the Sixth Amendment's Compulsory Process Clause;⁷ and (3) the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.⁸See generally Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 97 L.Ed.2d 37 (1987)

. The Louisiana Constitution also specifically guarantees the defendant the right to testify in his own defense.⁹ We, therefore, find it appropriate to first review the federal and state jurisprudence interpreting the aforementioned constitutional provisions.

(A) The United States Constitution's Relevant Provisions The Fifth Amendment's Privilege Against Self-incrimination

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution encompasses the right to remain silent as well as the right not to do so. "Every criminal defendant is privileged to testify in his own defense, or to refuse to do so." Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 225, 91 S.Ct. 643, 28 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971) (citations omitted). Furthermore, "[a] defendant's opportunity to conduct his own defense by calling witnesses is incomplete if he may not present himself as a witness. The opportunity to testify is also a necessary corollary to the Fifth Amendment's guarantee against compelled testimony." Rock, 483 U.S. at 52, 107 S.Ct. 2704. Cf. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 8, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964)

(noting the 5th Amendment's guarantee against self-incrimination, unless the defendant chooses to speak).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in considering the Supreme Court's holding in Rock, held "the Supreme Court has clearly and strongly indicated that the constitutional right to testify should be treated as fundamental." United States v. Teague, 953 F.2d 1525, 1531 (11th Cir.1992) (en banc). Moreover, in expanding upon Rock, the Teague court held:

[u]under the Supreme Court's reasoning in Rock, the right to testify essentially guarantees the right to ultimately choose whether or not to testify.... A criminal defendant clearly cannot be compelled to testify by defense counsel who believes it would be in the defendant's best interest to take the stand. It is only logical, as the Supreme Court has reasoned, that the reverse also be true. A criminal defendant cannot be compelled to remain silent by defense counsel.

Teague, 953 F.2d at 1532 (emphasis added). It is, therefore, well-settled that the Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination encompasses the personal right to testify in one's defense just as it encompasses the right not to do so.

The Sixth Amendment's Compulsory Process Clause

"The right to testify is also found in the Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment, which grants a defendant the right to call `witnesses in his favor,' a right that is guaranteed in the criminal courts of the States by the Fourteenth Amendment." Rock, 483 U.S. at 52, 107 S.Ct. 2704; see also United States v. Valenzuela Bernal, 458 U.S. 858, 867, 102 S.Ct. 3440, 73...