Louisiana v. Rowe
Annotate this CaseDefendant Qwandarious Rowe was charged by bill of information with possession of methamphetamine (less than two grams). The incident giving rise to defendant’s arrest occurred at a Washington Parish fair: a fair attendee alerted a sheriff’s deputy that a man in a public bathroom was sitting on the floor with his pants around his ankles. As the deputy pulled up defendant’s pants and assisted him out of the bathroom, he felt a syringe in defendant’s pocket, which he seized. The sergeant felt defendant required medical evaluation, and the fair’s emergency medical service (EMS) team was called. Defendant was carted off by gold cart for observation. Before the cart took defendant away, the deputy noticed something he believed to be methamphetamine sticking out of defendant's sock. Ultimately, EMS transported defendant by ambulance to a hospital where he was admitted with an altered mental status and was diagnosed with psychoactive substance abuse and an unspecified psychoactive substance abuse disorder. He was discharged about two-and-a-half hours later. The Louisiana Supreme Court granted this writ application to clarify the application of La.R.S. 14:403.10(B), which shielded a person from prosecution of possession of a controlled dangerous substance if it is discovered while that person is receiving needed medical assistance as a result of a “drug-related overdose.” The Court found that for the purpose of applying La.R.S. 14:403.10, “overdose” meant an acute medical condition, including, but not limited to, extreme physical illness, decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression, coma, mania, hysteria, or death that is the result of consumption or use of a controlled dangerous substance, or a condition a lay person would reasonably believe was a drug-related overdose. The trial court here "manifestly erred" in rejecting defendant’s claim of immunity from prosecution under La.R.S. 14:403.10. Defendant presented sufficient evidence that he was, in fact, experiencing a drug-related overdose and, furthermore, his condition was such that a lay person would reasonably believe he was experiencing a drug-related overdose. Accordingly, the lower courts’ rulings were reversed, and defendant’s motion to quash was granted.
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