State v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 27 November 1995
• Citation: 664 So.2d 94
• Parties: 94-1379 La
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 94

664 So.2d 94

94-1379 La. 11/27/95

STATE of Louisiana v. Silas JOHNSON.

No. 94-K-1379.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

Nov. 27, 1995.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 12, 1996.

Reconsideration Denied April 8, 1996

Richard P. Ieoyoub, Attorney General, Robert "Rick" Bryant, District Attorney, Paul Peter Reggie, and Patricia Head Minaldi, for Applicant.

Ronald F. Ware, for Respondent.

[94-1379 La. 1] WATSON, Justice. ¹

A jury convicted the defendant, Silas Johnson, of attempted second degree murder, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1 and 14:27, and aggravated burglary, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:60. The trial court sentenced Johnson to concurrent sentences of 50 years at hard labor for attempted second degree murder and 30 years at hard labor for aggravated burglary.

[94-1379 La. 2] The issue is whether a harmless error analysis applies to review of the trial court's erroneous admission of other crimes evidence. We find this type of error to be a "trial error" under the standards enunciated in Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991), as acknowledged by this Court in State v. Cage, 583 So.2d 1125 (La.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 874, 112 S.Ct. 211, 116 L.Ed.2d 170 (1991). Louisiana courts must evaluate the prejudicial effect of such errors under the harmless error principles established in Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967) and Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993). See La.C.Cr.P. art. 921.

FACTS

The following evidence was adduced at trial. The defendant, Silas Johnson, was married for fifteen years to Grace Johnson. After several separations, the couple divorced on October 28, 1991. Shortly after the divorce, Grace Johnson became engaged to David Corsey. Grace Johnson worked at night. Corsey often came to town on Friday and stayed the weekend at her Westlake, Louisiana, trailer babysitting her three children, Dwana Wilson, Crystal Johnson and Dwayne Johnson.

[94-1379 La. 3] Grace Johnson testified that after the divorce, the defendant entered her trailer without her permission on two occasions. On Thursday, December 12, 1991, Grace Johnson told the defendant he could not do so anymore. Although the conversation was initially cordial, it turned into an argument during which the defendant told Grace Johnson "ain't no son-of-a-bitch gonna take my kids and my old lady away from me."

On Friday, December 13, 1991, Corsey went to stay at Grace Johnson's trailer with her three children and his two children. Sometime between 10 and 10:30 p.m., before Grace Johnson left for work, she and Corsey saw and heard Silas Johnson's car drive by the trailer. Grace Johnson testified she saw the car back up quickly and leave after the driver could see Corsey's car parked outside the trailer. Grace Johnson warned Corsey to be careful.

Corsey went to sleep in the front bedroom at about 10:30 p.m. Dwana stayed up watching television until midnight or 12:30 a.m. Sixteen-year-old Dwana had told her step-father, the defendant, that she would be out that evening but her plans changed. After locking the doors, Dwana fell asleep on the living room couch. Corsey woke up in pain and realized he was being stabbed. Dwana was awakened by Corsey's screams. She went to that room and turned on the light. She saw her stepfather, Silas Johnson, leaning over Corsey, shoving down on him. Corsey recognized Silas Johnson when the light [94-1379 La. 4] came on and saw the defendant stab him again in the stomach. Dwana pulled the defendant off Corsey and shoved him through the trailer and out the front door. One of the kitchen knives was later found on the bedroom floor.

After checking on Corsey, Dwana ran to the landlord's trailer to call the police and an ambulance. When she did so, she saw the defendant running to his car. He turned back and looked at Dwana, then continued to his car and drove away. Dwana told the police that Silas Johnson stabbed Corsey.

Corsey was stabbed fifteen times: once in the stomach, four times in the right chest, once in the back, four times in the right forearm, and five times in the right upper arm. The doctor who performed 12 hours of surgery testified Corsey's wounds were life-threatening; he would have died if he had not received prompt medical attention.

At the emergency room prior to surgery, Corsey named Silas Johnson as his attacker. Later, while he was recovering, Corsey picked the defendant's picture out of a photo line-up. Dwana Wilson also picked the defendant's picture out of a photo line-up.

Silas Johnson was arrested and initially charged with attempted first degree murder and aggravated burglary. The murder charge was later reduced to attempted second degree murder. At trial, the state relied on the testimony of Dwana and Corsey to prove the defendant was the attacker. The taped [94-1379 La. 5] emergency telephone call, in which Dwana identified Silas Johnson as Corsey's attacker, was played for the jury. The state also presented the testimony of Grace Johnson's sister, who related that the defendant threatened both Grace Johnson and David Corsey at the time of his divorce.

In order to refute this evidence, the defendant took the stand. He denied that he stabbed Corsey and testified that at the time of the stabbing he was asleep in his mother's mobile home in Pitkin, Louisiana, approximately 80 miles from Grace Johnson's home in Westlake. The defendant's mother corroborated his alibi.

During cross-examination by the state, the defendant admitted having several prior misdemeanor convictions, including driving while intoxicated, simple battery, criminal damage to property, simple drunkenness, disturbing the peace and resisting an officer. He also acknowledged pleading guilty in 1973 to one count of simple burglary in Allen Parish, Docket No. CR-1192-73. He denied any other convictions for burglary.

After this denial, the state presented a certified copy of court minutes from the 33rd Judicial District Court, Allen Parish, dated September 21, 1973. This document showed the defendant had been charged with six counts of simple burglary and that he had pleaded guilty to five of the charges in Docket Nos. CR-1192-73, CR-1195-73, CR-1197-73, CR-1198-73 and CR-1200-73. The [94-1379 La. 6] document showed the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge in Docket No. CR-1201-73. ²

In spite of this evidence, the defendant steadfastly maintained he had only one prior simple burglary conviction. The state offered the September 21, 1973, court minutes into evidence, along with certified copies of the six bills of information corresponding to the charges reflected in the minutes. Defense counsel did not object to introduction of the court minutes since he believed the entries were admissible under La.C.E. art. 609.1, ³ but did object to introduction of the bills of information.

[94-1379 La. 7] After the trial court took the matter under advisement, it sustained defense counsel's objection, finding that although the bills of information were within the scope of Article 609.1, they were inadmissible because their prejudicial impact outweighed their probative value. La.C.E. art. 609.1(C)(3). The state filed an emergency writ to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, which reversed the trial court's ruling and allowed introduction of the bills of information into evidence. State v. Johnson, 92-1312 (La.App. 3d Cir., 11/5/92). ⁴

Thereafter, the state questioned the defendant extensively about these documents. The prosecutrix asked the defendant to compare the bills of information on each of the six simple burglary charges with the disposition in the court minutes. The prosecutrix mistakenly challenged the defendant to deny that the official court record showed him pleading guilty to each of the six simple burglary charges. The minutes clearly show the defendant pleaded not guilty to Docket No. CR-1201-73. Throughout, the defendant did not waiver, but maintained he pleaded guilty to only one simple burglary charge pursuant to a plea bargain which called for a single conviction and a suspended sentence of three years at hard labor.

[94-1379 La. 8] After being convicted as charged and sentenced, the defendant appealed claiming the trial court erred in admitting the bills of information into evidence and in imposing an excessive sentence. The court of appeal reversed the conviction and sentence. State v. Johnson, 93-711 (La.App. 3d Cir., 2/2/94); 631 So.2d 658.

First, the court of appeal recognized the minutes showed the defendant pleaded not guilty to the offense charged in Docket No. CR-1201-73; this was not evidence of a prior conviction. Thus, the admission in evidence of the minute entry and corresponding bill of information for that charge constituted inadmissible other crimes evidence beyond the scope of La.C.E. art. 609.1.

Second, the court of appeal examined a set of court minutes dated October 12, 1973, attached to the Presentence Investigation Report which had not been introduced or discussed at trial or sentencing. These October 12, 1973, minutes revealed that on that date, the district court accepted Johnson's guilty plea in CR-1192-73 and sentenced him to a three-year suspended sentence. The other five simple burglary charges were nolle prosequied by the state; Nos. CR-1195-73, CR-1197-73, CR-1198-73, CR-1200-73 and CR-1201-73. ⁵ The defendant was, therefore, telling the truth when he maintained at trial that he had one prior simple burglary conviction.

[94-1379 La. 9] The court of appeal concluded, that with the exception of the charge to which the defendant admitted he pleaded guilty, Docket No. CR-1192-73, all other evidence concerning the simple burglary charges was not evidence of prior convictions and was erroneously admitted. The court of appeal held the introduction of the evidence was prejudicial to the substantial rights of the defendant and reversed the convictions and...