State v. Mesa

• Decision Date: 09 September 2020
• Docket Number: NO. 18-KA-526,18-KA-526
• Citation: 303 So.3d 411
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Argentina MESA
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

303 So.3d 411

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Argentina MESA

NO. 18-KA-526

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

September 09, 2020

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, Paul D. Connick, Jr., Metairie, Terry M. Boudreaux, Gretna, Anne M. Wallis, Laura S. Schneidau, Emily E. Booth

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, ARGENTINA MESA, Sherry A. Watters

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Jeffrey M. Landry, Colin Clark, J. Taylor Gray

Panel composed of Judges Jude G. Gravois, Marc E. Johnson, and Hans J. Liljeberg

JOHNSON, J.

303 So.3d 412

ON REMAND FROM THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT

This matter comes before this Court pursuant to an order of remand from the Louisiana Supreme Court. See , State v. Mesa , 19-1908 (La. 6/3/20), 296 So.3d 1044. In its order, the supreme court instructed this Court to conduct a new errors patent review in light of the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana , ––– U.S. ––––, 140 S.Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 (2020). For the following reasons, we affirm Defendant's convictions and sentences.

As noted in this Court's previous opinion, Defendant was charged with forcible rape of a juvenile¹ (D.O.B. 8/29/2000) in violation of La. R.S. 14:42.1 (count one), sexual battery of a juvenile (D.O.B. 8/29/2000) in violation of La. R.S. 14:43.1 (count two), and sexual battery of a juvenile under 13 years of age (D.O.B. 5/27/2005) in violation of La. R.S. 14:43.1 (count three). State v. Mesa , 18-526 (La. App. 5 Cir. 11/27/19), 287 So.3d 89, 95, writ granted and remanded , 19-1908 (La. 6/3/20), 296 So.3d 1044. At the conclusion of the trial on March 20, 2018, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on count one and guilty as charged on counts two and three. Id . at 100. The trial court sentenced Defendant on count two (sexual battery of a juvenile) to ten years imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, and 25 years in the Department of Corrections² without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on count three (sexual battery of a juvenile under 13 years of age). Id . at 101. The trial court further ordered the sentences imposed on counts two and three to be served consecutively to one another. Id .

303 So.3d 413

On appeal, Defendant challenged her convictions by a non-unanimous jury as one of her assigned errors. This Court found that Defendant did not properly preserve the issue for appeal. State v. Mesa , 287 So.3d at 112. At the time of Defendant's convictions, non-unanimous jury verdicts were permissible under La. Const. Art. I, § 17, La. C.Cr.P. art 782, and the applicable jurisprudence. This Court affirmed Defendant's convictions and sentences. Id . at 118.

Thereafter, on April 20, 2020, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in Ramos v. Louisiana , supra , where the United States Supreme Court found that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial—as...