State of Louisiana v. Charles Brad Dosher A/K/A Charles Bradley Dosher

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

20-572

STATE OF LOUISIANA

VERSUS

CHARLES BRAD DOSHER

A/K/A CHARLES BRADLEY DOSHER

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APPEAL FROM THE
SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
PARISH OF CATAHOULA, NO. 18-0273
HONORABLE JOHN C. REEVES, DISTRICT JUDGE

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D. KENT SAVOIE
JUDGE

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Court composed of Billy Howard Ezell, D. Kent Savoie, and J. Larry Vidrine*,
Judges.

CONVICTION AND SENTENCE VACATED;
REMANDED FOR NEW TRIAL

____________________

*Honorable J. Larry Vidrine participated in this decision by appointment of the Louisiana
Supreme Court as Judge Pro Tempore.

Karla Shirley-McHand
Assistant District Attorney
Bradley R. Burget
District Attorney
Seventh Judicial District
301 Bushley Street, 3rd Floor
Harrisonburg, Louisiana 71340
(318) 744-5232
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE:
State of Louisiana

Meghan Harwell Bitoun
Louisiana Appellate Project
P.O. Box 4252.
New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 470-4779
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT:
Charles Brad Dosher

Charles Brad Dosher
MPWY/WAL-3
Louisiana State Prison
Angola, LA 70712
DEFENDANT/APPELLANT

SAVOIE, Judge.

On July 12, 2018, Defendant, Charles B. Dosher, was charged by bill of

indictment with the second degree murder of his father, Charles Virgil Dosher, in

violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1. The trial court’s docket number for this charge was

18-273. On the same day, Defendant was also indicted under trial court docket

number 18-274 with illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in

violation of La.R.S. 14:95.1, as well as under trial court docket number 18-275 for

aggravated flight from an officer, in violation of La.R.S. 14:108.1(C). Although

all three charges were filed on the same day and were tried together, they were

never joined in the lower court.

Defendant proceeded to trial on all three charges on October 1, 2019,

following a day-long jury selection. On October 4, 2019, the jury returned guilty

verdicts on all three counts. Polling of the jury revealed a ten-to-two verdict on the

second degree murder charge, an eleven-to-one verdict on the possession of a

firearm by a convicted felon charge, and a unanimous verdict on the aggravated

flight charge.

On November 26, 2019, the trial court sentenced Defendant to life

imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence

for second degree murder; twenty years without benefits for possession of a

firearm by a convicted felon; and five years for aggravated flight from an officer.

Defendant has appealed each of his convictions and sentences and asserts

two assignments of error: (1) the convictions for second degree murder and

possession of a firearm by a convicted felon are unconstitutional because they were

non-unanimous, and (2) the trial court committed a non-harmless error when it

instructed the jury that it could convict Defendant with a less than unanimous

verdict.

As the instant appeal corresponds only to the second degree murder

conviction at issue in trial court docket number 18-273, we will address herein

only assignment of error number one as it relates to that conviction. 1 For the

following reasons, we find that Defendant’s second degree murder conviction

should be vacated and remanded to the trial court for a new trial.

FACTS

Defendant was convicted of the second degree murder of his father

following a physical argument on January 28, 2018.

ERRORS PATENT

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

errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we note that

there is an error patent involving the jury’s return of a non-unanimous jury verdict

for second degree murder, which is addressed below in accordance with

Defendant’s first assignment of error.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE:

In this assignment of error, Defendant contends that his ten-to-two guilty

verdict is unconstitutional under Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. ___, 140 S.Ct. 1390

(2020). In Ramos, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment to the

United States Constitution requires that all felony convictions be based upon a

unanimous jury verdict. In State v. Wilson, 20-128 (La. 6/3/20), 296 So.3d 1045,

1
Defendant’s appeal of his conviction of illegal possession of a firearm at related
sentence is addressed in connection with this court’s docket number 20-573. Defendant’s appeal
of his conviction of aggravated flight from an officer and related sentence is addressed in
connection with this court’s docket number 20-574.

2

the Louisiana supreme court noted that the holding of Ramos applied to all cases

that were pending on direct review at the time of the holding. As Defendant’s

appeal was pending when Ramos was issued on April 4, 2020, the ruling clearly

applies to his case. Indeed, the State has conceded the conviction must be vacated

and remanded for a new trial.

The holding of Ramos is clear and applies to Defendant’s non-unanimous

conviction for second degree murder. As such, Defendant’s conviction and

sentence for second degree murder in trial court docket number 18-273 must be

vacated and remanded to the trial court for a new trial.

DECREE

For the reasons set forth herein, Defendant’s conviction and sentence for

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

court for a new trial.

CONVICTION AND SENTENCE VACATED; REMANDED FOR NEW
TRIAL

This opinion is NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION. Rule 2-16.3,
Uniform Rules, Courts of Appeal.

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