State v. Matthews

• Decision Date: 28 January 1980
• Docket Number: No. 65415,65415
• Citation: 380 So.2d 43
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Alfred Lee MATTHEWS.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 43

380 So.2d 43

STATE of Louisiana v. Alfred Lee MATTHEWS.

No. 65415.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

Jan. 28, 1980.

Rehearing Denied March 3, 1980.

Robert Glass, Glass & Reed, New Orleans, Thomas J. Divens, Gretna, for defendant-appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Francis Dugas, Dist. Atty., Walter Naquin, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

BLANCHE, Justice.

The defendant was indicted for first degree murder and was found guilty of manslaughter by a unanimous jury. He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at hard labor. The incident began when the defendant's sister-in-law went shopping at Rouse's Supermarket and the owner of the store detained her on an accusation of shoplifting. Defendant's sister, who was also in the store, believed that the woman was being beaten by some of the male employees of the store and immediately called the woman's husband and asked him to come to her aid. Shortly thereafter, the husband arrived, accompanied by his two brothers, one of whom was the defendant, and demanded to know who had hit his wife. When the wife pointed to Mr. Rouse, the store owner, the two began to fight. Deputy Proctor of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, who had reported to the store to investigate the shoplifting complaint, stepped in to break up the fight and during the course of this endeavor, drew his pistol and smashed the defendant's brother across the face. During the free-for-all which then ensued, Proctor's pistol fell to the floor and the defendant picked it up and pointed it at the officer. At this point, the state's and the defendant's versions of the facts vary. According to the state, Deputy Proctor kept a distance of five feet between himself and the defendant the entire time until the shots were fired. The defense contended that Deputy Proctor grabbed the defendant's arm and during the struggle over the gun, the shots went off.

The defendant's sole argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the law of negligent homicide. The defendant had first requested that the trial court instruct the jury that negligent homicide is responsive to a first degree murder indictment and that the court deliver its standard negligent homicide definition and instruction to the jury. In the alternative, the defendant requested that the court deliver its standard negligent homicide definition to the jury and further charge the jury as follows:

"I have just defined, and instructed you on, the crime of negligent homicide. Negligent homicide is, along with first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter, one of the four degrees or grades of homicide provided for in the Louisiana Criminal Code. However, by a separate provision of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, the Legislature has decreed that negligent homicide should not be a responsive verdict to an indictment for first degree murder. Therefore, if you believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of negligent homicide, but you do not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty of any other grade of homicide which I have instructed is responsive to the charge of first degree murder, you must return a verdict of not guilty."

The trial court refused to give either of these instructions.

Code of Criminal Procedure art. 807 establishes the trial court's duty to give special instructions as follows:

"A requested special charge shall be given by the court if it does not require qualification, limitation, or explanation, and if it is wholly correct and pertinent. It need not be given if it is included in the general charge or in another special charge to be given."

The trial court properly rejected defendant's first requested instruction following this Court's decisions which have repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of Louisiana's responsive verdict system. State v. Marse, 365 So.2d 1319, 1322 (La.1979); State v. Qualls, 353 So.2d 978 (La.1977); State v. Cook, 345 So.2d 29 (La.1977). Therefore, the requested charge was not correct and pertinent, since it improperly stated the law as to the responsive verdicts to a first degree murder indictment.

While it is the duty of the trial judge to give a requested charge which does not require qualification, limitation or explanation, requested charges which are already substantially given and covered by the general charge are properly refused. State v. Badon, 338 So.2d 665 (La.1976); State v. White, 254 La. 389, 223 So.2d 843 (1969). In the instant case, the trial court instructed the jury that they must find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before they could render a verdict of guilty of the offense charged or any lesser included offense. He further emphasized that the state must have proved each element of the offense or of a lesser included offense as follows:

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