State of Louisiana v. Jose Figueroa

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

03-1390

STATE OF LOUISIANA

VERSUS

JOSE FIGUEROA

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APPEAL FROM THE
SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
PARISH OF IBERIA, NO. 02-1104
HONORABLE ANNE L. SIMON, DISTRICT JUDGE

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ARTHUR J. PLANCHARD
JUDGE
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Court composed of Glenn B. Gremillion, Billy H. Ezell, and Arthur J. Planchard*,
Judges.

CONVICTION AFFIRMED;
SENTENCE VACATED;
REMANDED FOR RE-SENTENCING.

Hon. J. Phillip Haney
District Attorney
Walter J. Senette, Jr,.
Assistant District Attorney
5th Floor, Courthouse
Franklin, LA 70538
Counsel for Appellee:
State of Louisiana

Jason Wayne Robideaux
Attorney at Law
1005 Lafayette Street
Lafayette, LA 70501
Counsel for Defendant/Appellant:
Jose Figueroa

*
Judge Arthur J. Planchard, Retired, participated in this decision by appointment of the Louisiana Supreme
Court as Judge Pro Tempore.

PLANCHARD, Judge1.

The Defendant, Jose Figueroa, was charged by bill of information on

July 29, 2002, with manslaughter, a violation of La.R.S. 14:31. The Defendant was

arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty on August 13, 2002. This bill of

information was nolle prossed on January 9, 2003, and a bill of information charging

the Defendant with vehicular homicide, a violation of La.R.S. 14:32.1, was filed. The

Defendant waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of guilty on the same date.

On May 6, 2003, the Defendant was sentenced to serve twenty years at hard

labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, with credit

for time served. The Defendant was also ordered to pay eight thousand one hundred

eighty-eight dollars and seventy cents in restitution. A Motion for Reconsideration

of Sentence was filed on May 13, 2003, and subsequently denied. A Motion for

Appeal was filed on June 25, 2003.

FACTS:

On June 7, 2002, the Defendant was driving while intoxicated, his blood

alcohol level being 0.11 percent. According to the statement of an independent eye-

witness given to the investigating officer, the Defendant cut in front of Glenn

Duhon’s motorcycle, striking one car, then going into a spin. Due to Defendant’s

actions Duhon was unable to avoid Defendant’s vehicle and hit the car. Mr. Duhon

died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the collision.

ERRORS PATENT:

1
Judge Arthur J. Planchard, Retired, participated in this decision by appointment of the Louisiana
Supreme Court as Judge Pro Tempore.

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In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by the

court for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find

there are two errors patent concerning the Defendant’s sentence: 1) La.R.S. 14:32.1

(B) mandates a fine of not less than two thousand dollars nor more than fifteen

thousand dollars; 2) additionally, the statute mandates the court “require the offender

to participate in a court-approved substance abuse program or a court-approved driver

improvement program, or both.” These statutory requirements were not imposed as

part of the Defendant’s sentence in this case.

Statutory law and jurisprudence allow an appellate court to recognize an

illegally lenient sentence on its own. La.Code Crim.P. art. 882 and State v. Williams,

00-1725 (La. 11/28/01), 800 So.2d 790.

Additionally, this court has recognized that the failure to impose a mandatory

fine as an error patent. In State v. Cedars, 02-861, pp. 2-3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/11/02),

832 So.2d 1191, 1193 (footnote omitted), this court stated as follows:

[T]he sentence for vehicular homicide is illegally lenient. The statute
requires the imposition of a fine of not less than $2,000.00, nor more
than $15,000.00, and also requires the court to order participation in a
court-approved substance abuse program, driver improvement program,
or both. The failure to assess Mr. Cedars with a fine and order him into
a court-approved program provide . . . grounds for vacating the sentence.

The case was remanded for re-sentencing. Cf. State v. Shivers, 02-466

(La.App. 3 Cir. 10/2/02), 827 So.2d 534.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure art. 882 (A) provides: “An illegal

sentence may be corrected at any time by the court that imposed the sentence or by

an appellate court on review.” Nevertheless,

when correction of an illegal sentence does not involve the exercise of
sentencing discretion, there is no reason why the appellate court should
not simply amend the sentence. . . . However, if correction involves the

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exercise of sentencing discretion . . . the case must be remanded for the
trial court to perform that function.

State v. Fraser, 484 So.2d 122, 124, n.5 (La.1986). See also State v. Gregrich, 99-

178 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/13/99), 745 So.2d 694.

Accordingly, we affirm the Defendant’s conviction; we vacate the Defendant’s

sentence and remand for resentencing as correction of the error concerning the

mandatory fine requires the exercise of sentencing discretion.

CONVICTION AFFIRMED; SENTENCE VACATED; CASE REMANDED

FOR RE-SENTENCING.

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