State Of Louisiana v. Desmond Carter

COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 2024 KW 0486

VERSUS

DESMOND CARTER
SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

In Re: State of Louisiana, 19th
applying for supervisory writs,
Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, No.
DC - 23- 00925.

BEFORE: McCLENDON, WELCH, AND LANIER, JJ.

WRIT GRANTED. The trial court' s ruling finding that the
State' s response to the defendant' s bill of particulars was

insufficient is reversed. The function of a bill of particulars
is to inform the defendant more specifically of the nature of the
charge against him. It cannot be used as a device to secure the
details of the State' s evidence or collateral information. State
v. Vince, 305 So. 2d 916, 919 ( La. 1974) ; see also State v. Vaccaro, 411 So. 2d 415, 422 ( La. 1982) ("[ a] lthough the defendant is
entitled to know what the [ S] tate intends to prove, the bill of

particulars cannot be used as a' fishing expedition' to discover
details of the [ S] tate' s evidence."). The defendant has been
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against
him. See La. Const. art. 1, § 13 & State v. Mills, 505 So. 2d 933,
939 ( La.
App. 2nd Cir.), writ denied, 508 So. 2d 65 ( 1987). We
also note the State has provided or made available for inspection
all police reports,
laboratory reports, videos, and cell phone
data in its possession. See State v. 448 So. 2d 1316,
Ohrberg,
1319 ( La. 1984) (" no prejudice resulted since all facts,
information, and documents gathered by the [ S] tate in preparation
for trial were available to defense counsel."). Accordingly, this
matter is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings

consistent with this ruling.

URT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

EPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT