State v. Rollins
| Decision Date | 09 January 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 52873,52873 |
| Citation | 271 So.2d 519 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. James E. ROLLINS. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Allen B. Pierson, Jr., Ponchatoula, Roy L. Wood, Amite, for defendant-appellant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Leonard E. Yokum, Dist. Atty., William M. Quin, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
The defendant, James E. Rollins, was found guilty of murder (La.R.S. 14:30) without capital punishment in a trial by jury and sentenced to serve life imprisonment in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. On this appeal, defendant relies on seven bills of exceptions reserved and perfected during the proceedings to obtain a reversal of the conviction and sentence.
Bill of Exceptions No. 1 was reserved to the trial court's refusal of a motion to quash the petit jury venire because of a remark of the assistant district attorney allegedly disparaging of a defense witness. Prior to the commencement of the trial, defense counsel moved for a continuance on the ground that one of the defense witnesses was not present. The assistant district attorney then made the following remark;
At this point counsel for the defendant moved to excuse the petit jury venire on the grounds that the remark of the Assistant District Attorney quoted above would have a prejudicial effect on the members of the venire.
However, we find that there was no prejudice resulting from the remark of the Assistant District Attorney. The witness, who subsequently testified, did not pretend to be an eyewitness. She was used to show the intoxication of the defendant. The remark of the assistant district attorney was mere argument concerning the essential nature of the absent witness' testimony, and was not prejudicial.
The bill of exceptions is without merit.
Bill of Exceptions No. 2 was reserved to the trial court's refusal to quash the indictment. The motion to quash alleged that La.C.Cr.P. Art. 403 is so broad in excusing persons from jury duty that it is unconstitutional.
We find this to be without merit. La.C.Cr.P. provides an exemption from jury service to certain classes of individuals based on their occupation. The Supreme Court of the United States in Rawlins v. Georgia held that a state may exclude certain occupational categories from jury service 'on the bona fide ground that it was for the good of the community that their regular work should not be interrupted.' 201 U.S. 638, 640, 26 S.Ct. 560, 561, 50 L.Ed. 899 (1926). We agree, and find that the bill of exceptions is without merit.
Bill of Exceptions No. 3 was reserved when the trial court denied defendant's motion to quash the jury venire. The motion was made on the ground that La.C.Cr.P. Art. 402 () is unconstitutional. We have previously held that La.C.Cr.P. Art. 402 is constitutional, therefore, this bill lacks merit. State v. Sinclair, 258 La. 84, 245 So.2d 365 (1971); State v. Comeaux, 252 La. 481, 211 So.2d 620 (1968); State v. Reese, 250 La. 151, 194 So.2d 729 (1967); cert. denied 389 U.S. 996, 88 S.Ct. 485, 19 L.Ed.2d 495.
Bill of Exceptions No. 4 was reserved to the trial court's denying the defendant's motion to quash the jury venire. The motion was made on the ground that the jurylist contained 'too many names of people who are no longer residents of this parish'. The defendant argues that this denied his right to have a representative cross-section of the community on the jury.
The record indicates that of the one-hundred prospective jurors on the list forty-four were actually served and presumably available for jury duty. Only seventeen were shown to be unavailable due to their being non-residents of the parish. The defendant has made no showing that he was denied his right to a fair jury trial. If the panel which was available was exhausted due to challenges by the state or the defendant, te judge would have simply called for more jurors. Under these circumstances, the bill of exceptions is without merit.
Bill of Exceptions No. 8 was reserved when the state sought to introduce a gun into evidence. The defense counsel objected to the introduction of the gun on the ground that it was not shown to be connected with the defendant. The trial court overruled the objection and allowed the gun into evidence.
We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that the gun was admissible. The record indicates that the gun had been identified as similar to one used by the defendant through the testimony of two of the state's witnesses. Defense counsel argued that there was no positive identification of the gun. The lack of a positive identification goes to the weight of the evidence and not its admissibility. State v. Nelson, 261 La. 153, 259 So.2d 46 (1972). Furthermore the...
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State v. Nix
...a cross-section of the community, so as to render a jury selected in accordance with La.C.Cr.P. art. 403 unconstitutional. State v. Rollins, 271 So.2d 519 (La.1973). Nor was any fraud or ill practice in the selection of either jury venire alleged or shown. La.C.Cr.P. art. 419; State v. Mark......
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State v. Lee
...v. Jackson, 308 So.2d 265 (La.1975); State v. Walker, 296 So.2d 310 (La.1974); State v. Warren, 271 So.2d 527 (La.1973); State v. Rollins, 271 So.2d 519 (La.1973); State v. Robinson, 263 La. 25, 267 So.2d 182 (1972); State v. Cannon, 231 La. 877, 93 So.2d 200 But, once the overt act is esta......
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State v. Jack
... ... This Court has consistently upheld the constitutionality of Article 402 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, exempting women from jury service. See, e.g., State v. Millsap, La., 274 So.2d 696 (1973); State v. Washington, La., 272 So.2d 355 (1973); State v. Rollins, La., 271 So.2d 519 (1973); State v. McLeod, La., 271 So.2d 45 (1972); State v. Sinclair, 258 ... La. 84, 245 So.2d 365, penalty vacated and remanded, 408 U.S. 939, 92 S.Ct. 2871, 33 L.Ed.2d 760 (1971). We adhere to these holdings.1 ... With regard to the exclusion of Negroes ... ...
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State v. Veal
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