State Of Louisiana VS Elisa Landry
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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL w G FIRST CIRCUIT yy 2020 KA 1338 STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS ELISA LANDRY DATE OF JUDGMENT.- OCT 12 2021 ON APPEAL FROM THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT NUMBER 04- 18- 0549, SECTION S, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA HONORABLE TARVALD ANTHONY SMITH, JUDGE Hillar C. Moore Counsel for Appellee District Attorney State of Louisiana Dylan C. Alge Assistant District Attorney Baton Rouge, Louisiana Prentice Lang White Counsel for Defendant -Appellant Baton Rouge, Louisiana Elisa Landry BEFORE: GUIDRY, HOLDRIDGE, AND CHUTZ, JJ. Disposition: CONVICTION AND SENTENCE ON COUNT I VACATED; REMANDED. CHUTZ, J. The defendant, Elisa Landry, was charged by bill of information with attempted second- degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14: 30. 1 ( count I); 14: 27 and La. R.S. simple kidnapping, a violation of La. R.S. 14: 45 ( count resisting a police officer with force or violence, a violation of La. R.S. count III). II); and 14: 108. 2 She pled not guilty on all counts. She filed a motion to instruct the jury that a unanimous verdict was required to convict her on each count, but the motion was denied.' Following a jury trial, by non -unanimous verdicts, on count I, she was found guilty of the responsive offense of attempted manslaughter, a violation of La. R.S. 14: 27 and La. R. S. 14: 31; and on counts II and III, she was found not guilty. She was sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor. She now appeals, challenging the constitutionality of the non -unanimous verdict on count I. For the following reasons, we vacate the conviction and sentence on count I and remand for further proceedings. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF NON -UNANIMOUS VERDICT In her sole assignment of error, the defendant contends the conviction on count I was based on a non -unanimous verdict, and thus, must be vacated under Ramos v. Louisiana, _ U.S. _, 140 S. Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 ( 2020). In the recent decision of Ramos v. Louisiana, _ U.S. at _, 140 S. Ct. at 1397, the United States Supreme Court overruled Apodaca v. Oregon,2 406 U.S. 404, 92 S. Ct. 1628, 32 L.Ed.2d 184 ( 1972), and held that the right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, incorporated against the States by way of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, requires a The motion was filed prior to the U. S. Supreme Court' s decision in Ramos v. Louisiana, U. S. _, 140 S. Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 ( 2020). 2 Oregon' s non -unanimous jury verdict provision of its state constitution was challenged in Johnson v. Louisiana, 406 U. S. 356, 92 S. Ct. 1620, 32 L.Ed.2d 152 ( 1972), decided with Apodaca, upheld Louisiana' s then -existing constitutional and statutory provisions allowing Apodaca. nine -to -three jury verdicts in criminal cases. Ia unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense. The Ramos Court further indicated its ruling may require retrial of those defendants convicted of felonies by non -unanimous verdicts whose cases are still pending on direct appeal. Ramos, _ unanimous, U.S. at 140 S. Ct. at 1406. Thus, as the verdict on count I was non - we hereby set aside the conviction and sentence, remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. 00356 ( La. 6/ 3/ 20), 296 So. 3d 1051 ( per curiam) ("[ and the case is See State v. Varnadlo, 2020- t]he present matter was pending on direct review when Ramos v. Louisiana was decided, and therefore the holding of Ramos applies."); State v. Carry, 2019- 1764 ( La. App. 1st Cir. 11/ 6/ 20), 315 So.3d 912, 913. This assignment of error has merit. DECREE For these reasons, we vacate the conviction and sentence of Elisa Landry on Count I and remand the matter. CONVICTION AND SENTENCE REMANDED. 3 ON COUNT I VACATED;
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