State v. LeCompte

Decision Date18 May 1981
Docket Number80-KA-2271,Nos. 80-K-2213,s. 80-K-2213
PartiesSTATE of Louisiana v. Kenneth LeCOMPTE, et al. STATE of Louisiana v. Deborah EWING and Luke Dubaz.
CourtLouisiana Supreme Court

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Robert Long, Michael Fanning and Louise S. Korns, Asst. Dist. Attys., for plaintiff-appellant.

Sheryl L. Jarvits, Joseph Beeler, James J. Hogan, Miami, Fla., Frank G. DeSalvo, Robert Zibilich, Edward M. Baldwin, New Orleans, William Moran, Miami, Fla., for Kenneth LeCompte et al.

William H. Slaughter, III, Noble, Slaughter, Clayton & Lorenz, New Orleans, for Deborah Ewing and Luke Dubaz.

WATKINS, Associate Justice Ad Hoc *.

These are consolidated criminal appeals which involve the constitutionality of Louisiana Act No. 313 of 1979. Defendants in the first consolidated appeal (80-K-2213) are Kenneth LeCompte, John Lagrange, Pedro Rodrigues, G. Vera Martinez, and John M. Hirschler, and in the second consolidated appeal (80-KA-2271) defendants are Deborah Ewing and Luke Dubaz. The former defendants were proceeded against by bill of information for possession of 16,000 lbs. of marijuana, and the latter defendants were proceeded against by indictment for possession of cocaine and "related substances" in the amount of over 400 grams. Motions to quash were filed and granted in each of the two consolidated appeals. The State now appeals these rulings.

The charges against both sets of defendants involve the allegation that they violated Louisiana Act No. 313 of 1979, which is contained in the Revised Statutes of this state as LSA-R.S. 40:967 (E) through (G), which read as follows:

"E. (1) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses one hundred pounds or more, but less than two thousand pounds of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or chemical derivatives thereof, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than five years, nor more than ten years, and to pay a fine of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars.

(2) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses two thousand pounds or more, but less than ten thousand pounds, of marijuana, tetrahydrocannobinol or chemical derivatives thereof, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than ten years, nor more than fifteen years, and to pay a fine of not less than fifty thousand dollars.

(3) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses ten thousand pounds or more of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or chemical derivatives thereof, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than fifteen years, nor more than twenty years, and to pay a fine of not less than two hundred thousand dollars.

F. (1) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses twenty-eight grams or more, but less than two hundred grams, of cocaine or related substances as provided in Schedule II(A) (4) of R.S. 40:964, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than five years, nor more than thirty years, and to pay a fine of not less than fifty thousand dollars.

(2) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses two hundred grams or more, but less than four hundred grams, of cocaine or related substances as provided in Schedule II(A)(4) of R.S. 40:964, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than ten years, nor more than thirty years, and to pay a fine of not less than one hundred thousand dollars.

(3) Except as otherwise authorized in this Part, any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses four hundred grams or more of cocaine or related substances as provided in Schedule II(A)(4) of R.S. 40:964, shall be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment at hard labor of not less than fifteen years, nor more than thirty years, and to pay a fine of not less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

G. (1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) hereof, with respect to any person to whom the provisions of Subsections E and/or F are applicable, the adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, nor shall such person be eligible for probation or parole prior to serving the minimum sentences provided by Subsections E and/or F.

(2) The district attorney may move the sentencing court to reduce or suspend the sentence of any person to whom the provisions of Subsections E and/or F are applicable who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest or conviction of other parties or conspirators to the crime for which he was convicted or to related crimes. The arresting agency shall be given an opportunity to be heard in reference to any such motion. The court may reduce or suspend the sentence if it finds that the defendant rendered such substantial assistance."

The motions to quash were founded upon the contention that the subject statute was unconstitutional. The arguments in support of this contention, stated briefly, were that: (1) The statute provides for cruel and unusual punishment contrary to the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and "cruel, excessive, or unusual punishment" contrary to the provisions of Article I, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 because the penalties provided are unduly harsh and because no maximum is required for the mandatory fine. (2) The statute in permitting a reduction or suspension of sentence by the trial court, on motion of the district attorney, to one "who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest, or conviction of other parties or conspirators to the crime for which he was convicted or to related crimes", coerces a waiver of Fifth Amendment rights by giving legislatively sanctioned preference to one who engages in self-incrimination and, further, violates the doctrine of separation of powers by delegating some of the exclusive sentencing powers of the judiciary to the district attorney. (3) Subsection G(2) of the statute is impermissibly vague in its use of the term "substantial assistance" without providing any criteria by which it can be determined objectively as to when substantial assistance has been rendered.

By Act 313 of 1979, the Louisiana legislature amended LSA-R.S. 40:967 to provide rather severe mandatory penalties for the possession of large amounts of marijuana, cocaine or related substances. Defendants convicted under the most onerous provisions of this Act (possession of over 10,000 pounds of marijuana and over 400 grams of cocaine) are subject to a minimum term of fifteen years imprisonment without benefit of suspension, probation or parole and a minimum fine of $200,000 for marijuana and $250,000 for cocaine. LSA-R.S. 40:967(E), (F) and (G)(1). However, the district attorney is granted discretion to "move the sentencing court to reduce or suspend the sentence of any person to whom the provisions of Subsections E and/or F are applicable who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest or conviction of other parties or conspirators to the crime for which he was convicted or to related crimes." LSA-R.S. 40:967R.S. 40:(G). These provisions were patterned after a virtually identical Florida "trafficking" statute and were intended to halt the dramatic rise in drug smuggling along the Louisiana coast which was believed to have occurred as a result of the earlier Florida clampdown. Section 893.135, Florida Statutes (1979). Both legislative schemes seek to provide enforcement officials with an additional tool for obtaining the assistance of a defendant in the identification, arrest or conviction of those persons involved in the smuggling operations. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of its statute in State of Florida v. Carlos M. Benitez and Esperanza Benitez, Fla., 395 So.2d 514, stating the legislative purpose as follows:

"Section 893.135 was enacted to assist law enforcement authorities in the investigation and prosecution of illegal drug trafficking at all levels of distribution, from the importer-organizer down to the 'pusher' on the street. The harsh mandatory penalties of subsection (1), ameliorated by the prospect of leniency in subsection (3), were clearly calculated to provide a strong incentive for drug violators to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and become informers. No one argues that the elimination of illegal drug traffic is not a beneficial and worthwhile goal, or that the goals of this legislation are not meritorious."

We find the above statement of the Florida Supreme Court clearly sets forth the general purpose of the Louisiana legislature in enacting Act 313 of 1979, and we have no doubt that legislature was motivated by legitimate, and indeed, wise and proper considerations, in view of the substantial increase in drug smuggling activities along the Louisiana coast.

EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENT

However commendable the legislative purpose, we find the penal portion of the statute (Subsections E and F) unconstitutionally provides for a minimum fine with no maximum, our decision in State v Goode, 380 So.2d 1361 (La.1980) being almost directly in point. Goode likewise involved a statute (LSA-R.S. 14:50.1) based upon a very commendable policy, the desire to deter crimes against the person of individuals age sixty-five or older. In Goode the statute provided a minimum term of imprisonment but no maximum and was held to provide an excessive punishment, and hence to violate this state's constitutional prohibition of "excessive punishment" as found in Art. 1, Sec. 20, Louisiana Constitution of 1974. The constitutionality of the punishment in Goode...

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