State of Louisiana Versus John Spears

STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 18-KA-663

VERSUS FIFTH CIRCUIT

JOHN SPEARS COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF LOUISIANA

ON REMAND FROM THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT
ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA
NO. 16-119, DIVISION "C"
HONORABLE JUNE B. DARENSBURG, JUDGE PRESIDING

January 13, 2021

MARC E. JOHNSON
JUDGE

Panel composed of Judges Fredericka Homberg Wicker,
Marc E. Johnson, and Robert A. Chaisson

VACATED AND REMANDED
MEJ
FHW
RAC

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE,
STATE OF LOUISIANA
Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr.
Terry M. Boudreaux
Juliet L. Clark

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT,
JOHN SPEARS
Cynthia K. Meyer

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

JOHNSON, J.

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. Spears, 20-23 (La. 6/3/20); 296 So.3d

1061 (per curiam). 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, 590 U.S. ---, 140 S.Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 (2020). For

the following reasons, we find that Defendant is entitled to a new trial.

Accordingly, we vacate Defendant’s conviction and sentence and remand the

matter to the trial court for further proceedings.

As noted in this Court’s previous opinion, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury

returned an indictment charging Defendant, John Spears, with the second degree

murder of Anthony Tardo, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. See, State v. Spears,

18-663 (La. App. 5 Cir. 12/11/19); 286 So.3d 1064, 1071, writ granted and

remanded, 20-23 (La. 6/3/20); 296 So.3d 1061 (per curiam). At the conclusion of

the trial on June 15, 2017, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. Id. at

1078. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor

without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Id.

On appeal, Defendant challenged his conviction by a non-unanimous jury as

one of his assigned errors. This Court found that Defendant did not properly

preserve the issue for appeal. State v. Spears, 286 So.3d at 1095. At the time of

Defendant’s conviction, 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 conviction and sentence. Id. at 1103. Thereafter, on

April 20, 2020, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in

Ramos v. Louisiana, supra, where the Supreme Court found that the Sixth

Amendment right to a jury trial—as incorporated against the states by the

18-KA-663 1

Fourteenth Amendment—requires a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a

serious offense.1 It held, “Wherever we might look to determine what the term

‘trial by an impartial jury trial’ meant at the time of the Sixth Amendment’s

adoption—whether it’s the common law, state practices in the founding era, or

opinions and treatises written soon afterward—the answer is unmistakable. A jury

must reach a unanimous verdict in order to convict.” Id. at 1395. The Supreme

Court concluded, “There can be no question either that the Sixth Amendment’s

unanimity requirement applies to state and federal trials equally…So if the Sixth

Amendment’s right to a jury trial requires a unanimous verdict to support a

conviction in federal court, it requires no less in state court.” Id. at 1397.

According to Ramos, Louisiana will have to retry defendants who were convicted

of serious offenses by non-unanimous juries, and whose cases are still pending on

direct appeal. Thereafter, the Louisiana Supreme Court granted Defendant’s writ

application that challenged his conviction and sentence and remanded the matter to

this Court to conduct a new errors patent review in light of Ramos. See, State v.

Spears, 296 So.3d at 1061.

Defendant was convicted of second degree murder by a 10-2 jury verdict.

Since the punishment for this offense necessitates confinement at hard labor, a jury

concurrence of all 12 persons was required to render a verdict. See La. Const. Art.

I, § 17; La. C.Cr.P. art. 782; La. R.S. 14:30.1. Based on Ramos and the fact that

the instant case is still on direct review and the jury verdict was not unanimous for

the serious offense of second degree murder, we vacate the conviction and

sentence. We also find that Defendant is entitled to a new trial and remand the

matter for further proceedings.

1
For purposes of the Sixth Amendment, federal law defines petty offenses as offenses subject to
imprisonment of six months or less and serious offenses as offenses subject to imprisonment over six
months. See generally, Lewis v. United States, 518 U.S. 322, 327-28, 116 S.Ct. 2163, 135 L.Ed.2d 590
(1996); Hill v. Louisiana, 2013WL486691 (E.D. La. 2013).

18-KA-663 2

DECREE

For the foregoing reasons, Defendant’s conviction and sentence for the

second degree murder offense are vacated, and the matter is remanded to the trial

court for further proceedings.

VACATED AND REMANDED

18-KA-663 3

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY CURTIS B. PURSELL

CHIEF JUDGE CLERK OF COURT

NANCY F. VEGA
FREDERICKA H. WICKER
CHIEF DEPUTY CLERK
JUDE G. GRAVOIS
MARC E. JOHNSON
ROBERT A. CHAISSON SUSAN BUCHHOLZ
STEPHEN J. WINDHORST
FIRST DEPUTY CLERK
HANS J. LILJEBERG
JOHN J. MOLAISON, JR. FIFTH CIRCUIT
MELISSA C. LEDET
JUDGES 101 DERBIGNY STREET (70053)
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL STAFF
POST OFFICE BOX 489
GRETNA, LOUISIANA 70054 (504) 376-1400

(504) 376-1498 FAX
www.fifthcircuit.org

NOTICE OF JUDGMENT AND CERTIFICATE OF DELIVERY
I CERTIFY THAT A COPY OF THE OPINION IN THE BELOW-NUMBERED MATTER HAS BEEN DELIVERED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNIFORM RULES - COURT OF APPEAL, RULE 2-16.4 AND 2-16.5 THIS DAY
JANUARY 13, 2021 TO THE TRIAL JUDGE, CLERK OF COURT, COUNSEL OF RECORD AND ALL PARTIES
NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL, AS LISTED BELOW:

18-KA-663
E-NOTIFIED
24TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT (CLERK)
HONORABLE JUNE B. DARENSBURG (DISTRICT JUDGE)
GAIL D. SCHLOSSER (APPELLEE) JULIET L. CLARK (APPELLEE) TERRY M. BOUDREAUX (APPELLEE)
THOMAS J. BUTLER (APPELLEE) CYNTHIA K. MEYER (APPELLANT) GRANT L. WILLIS (APPELLEE)
J. TAYLOR GRAY (APPELLEE)

MAILED
HONORABLE JEFFREY M. LANDRY HONORABLE PAUL D. CONNICK, JR.
(APPELLEE) (APPELLEE)
ATTORNEY GENERAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY
LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
1885 NORTH 3RD STREET 200 DERBIGNY STREET
6TH FLOOR, LIVINGSTON BUILDING GRETNA, LA 70053
BATON ROUGE, LA 70802