State of Louisiana v. Aaron Orlando Richards

STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

17-1135

STATE OF LOUISIANA

VERSUS

AARON ORLANDO RICHARDS

************
ON REMAND FROM THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT,
PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NO. 130590
HONORABLE DAVID MICHAEL SMITH, DISTRICT JUDGE

************
SYLVIA R. COOKS
JUDGE
************

Court composed of Sylvia R. Cooks, Chief Judge, Billy H. Ezell and John E.
Conery, Judges.

CONVICTION AND SENTENCE VACATED; REMANDED FOR NEW
TRIAL.

Donald Landry, District Attorney
Cynthia Simon, Assistant District Attorney
P.O. Box 3306
Lafayette, LA 70502
(337) 232-5170
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE:
State of Louisiana

Edward K. Bauman
Louisiana Appellate Project
P.O. Box 1641
Lake Charles, LA 70602
(337) 491-0570
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT:
Aaron Orlando Richards

COOKS, Chief Judge.

Aaron Orlando Richards (Defendant), was indicted for the first-degree murder

of Timothy Falgout, a violation of La.R.S. 14:30. On April 11, 2017, a jury found

Defendant guilty as charged by a non-unanimous 10-2 verdict. He was subsequently

sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation,

or suspension of sentence. Defendant appealed, and on June 6, 2018, this court

affirmed his conviction and sentence. State v. Richards, 17-1135 (La.App. 3 Cir.

6/6/18), 247 So.3d 878, writ denied, 18-1036 (La. 4/22/19), 268 So.3d 294. After

the Louisiana State Supreme Court denied his writ application, Defendant filed a

writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on July 25, 2019, Docket

Number 19-5301. Defendant’s appeal was pending when the U.S. Supreme Court

rendered its decision in Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S.___, 140 S.Ct. 1390 (2020).

The high court in Ramos held a unanimous jury verdict is constitutionally required

to convict a defendant of a serious offense, overruling a Louisiana Supreme Court

ruling that upheld a non-unanimous verdict. Shortly after its ruling in Ramos, on

April 27, 2020, the United States Supreme Court remanded Defendant’s case to this

court stating:

On petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeal of
Louisiana, Third Circuit. Motion of petitioner for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis and petition for writ of certiorari granted. Judgment
vacated, and case remanded to the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third
Circuit for further consideration in light of Ramos v. Louisiana, 590
U.S. ___, 140 S.Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed 2d 583 (2020). Justice Alito,
concurring in the decision to grant, vacate, and remand: In this and in
all other case [sic] in which the Court grants, vacates, and remands in
light of Ramos v. Louisiana, I concur in the judgment on the
understanding that the Court is not deciding or expressing a view on
whether the question was properly raised below but is instead leaving
that question to be decided on remand. Justice Thomas would deny the
petition for a writ of certiorari.

Richards v. Louisiana, ___U.S.___, 140 S.Ct. 2714 (2020).

We have previously held that as part of an error patent review, the jury’s

verdict should be reviewed to determine whether the required number of jurors

concurred in the verdict. See State v. Goodley, 398 So.2d 1068 (La.1981). Although

the concurring justices did not join in all parts of the majority opinion, the Supreme

Court in Ramos unambiguously determined that non-unanimous verdicts are not

permissible under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution and that prohibition

applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Accordingly, Defendant’s

conviction and sentence for first degree murder via a non-unanimous jury verdict is

vacated and the case is remanded for a new trial.

CONVICTION AND SENTENCE VACATED; REMANDED FOR

NEW TRIAL.

2