Gun law that excludes felons is upheld by Louisiana Supreme Court
By Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on July 01, 2014 at 4:37 PM, updated July 01, 2014 at 8:03 PM
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/07/louisiana_supreme_court_uphold_4.html
The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the state's law barring convicted felons from possessing guns. The justices, who heard argument in May, issued the ruling in a pair of cases originating from district courts in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes.
Both challenges to Revised Statute 14:95.1 are byproducts of a 2012 constitutional amendment that made gun ownership a fundamental right. The amendment, which Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved, strengthened the state's gun rights and required that any limit to them must meet a "strict scrutiny" test, the highest level of judicial review.
"Some arrested or convicted of crimes involving firearms have attempted to show that the laws under which they were charged do not withstand strict scrutiny and are thus unconstitutional," Associate Justice Jefferson Hughes III of Denham Springs wrote for the court in the 17-page opinion. "In these consolidated cases we now reject those arguments."
"Our law proscribing the possession of firearms by convicted felons is not affected by the amendment and withstands a strict scrutiny analysis. Such laws are effective, time-tested and easily understandable and do not violate the Constitution. Common sense and the public safety allow no other result."
The court overturned a 2013 decision by Judge Robert Pitre of the 24th Judicial District Court in the case of Jamal Taylor, 27, of Avondale and Kelin Stevens, 31, of Houma. Under state law, Taylor is barred from having guns because of his five felony narcotics convictions, while Stevens may not have guns because of his convictions of second-degree battery and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, prosecutors said.
Pitre had ruled favorably for the two defendants, granting them their request to quash the firearm charges on constitutional grounds. Pitre has handed down similar rulings in other cases.
Taylor and Stevens are two of three men who await trial in a Jan. 6, 2012, drive-by shooting near Westwego. A stray bullet struck 11-year-old Keian Ester of Harvey in the eye, killing him. The murder and attempted murder charges against the defendants were not affected by Pitre's ruling on the gun offenses.
In St. Tammany's 22nd Judicial District, Judge William Knight upheld the felon-with-a-gun law last year when he refused to dismiss the charge that prosecutors filed against Christopher G. Eberhardt, 37, of Slidell. Eberhardt was booked with theft in 2012, and police alleged he had a gun even though he had been convicted in 2007 of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.
The Supreme Court upheld Knight's decision. Eberhardt's attorneys, with the St. Tammany public defender's office, argued the law was unconstitutional.
The court already had handed down narrowly tailored rulings in upholding the illegal gun possession laws. In December, justices ruled the law did not violate the constitutional rights of people charged with gun possession while they're on probation or parole. That decision originated from New Orleans, in the case of Glen Draughter. In January, justices upheld a juvenile law on concealed weapons, in an East Baton Rouge Parish case.
In the latest decision, justices analyzed the Legislature's intent in pushing for the constitutional amendment, which was backed by the National Rifle Association and Gov. Bobby Jindal. State Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, pushed the measure to reinforce the U.S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment in Louisiana law, Hughes wrote.
In advocating for the amendment on the Senate floor in 2012, Riser said Louisiana had "roughly" 40 gun laws "and those laws will stay in effect" if the amendment would be enacted. As such, Hughes wrote, justices could concluded that "the Legislature did not intend to invalidate existing weapons laws."
Courts in other states with laws similar to Louisiana's have concluded that restrictions on felons are permissible. The U.S. Supreme Court also has upheld laws restricting gun possession by felons, by mentally ill people and in locations such as schools, Louisiana's justices said.
Under Louisiana law, people convicted of felony crimes are barred from having guns within 10 years of the time they complete their punishment, whether prison or parole. In the cases at hand, the Louisiana Supreme Court said the three defendants, all convicted felons, re-offended "within a relatively short period of time."
Stevens was arrested on a charge of possessing a firearm only three weeks after he finished his punishment for a marijuana conviction. Taylor was charged with the offense four years after he completed his federal sentence for cocaine possession. Eberhardt was charged with the offense two years after he completed his sentence.
Hughes wrote that all three "illustrate, rather than show exception to" the idea that certain convicted felons "have demonstrated a dangerous disregard for the law and present a potential threat of further or future criminal activity and are more likely than non-felons to engage in illegal and violent gun use," Hughes wrote.
"These cases demonstrate that felons are not only at risk to reoffend, but are at risk to reoffend using firearms," he wrote.
Taylor and Stevens are accused of using guns while committing a murder. "This is exactly the type of offense LSA-R.S. 14:95.1 was enacted to prevent," Hughes wrote.
Eberhardt's attorneys argued that the law is overly broad in terms of the number felonies that apply to it. Eberhardt's previous felony conviction was for unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling, a crime that doesn't necessarily include violence.
Justices disagreed. "The offense of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling carries such a high potential for harm to innocent bystanders that its inclusion by the Legislature" in the firearm law "is clearly warranted," Hughes wrote.
"Furthermore, it is impossible for the Legislature to predict with complete certainty which offenders will reoffend with a firearm, and including those offenses that demonstrate a serious disregard for the safety of others with (the law's) felon-in-possession prohibition is appropriate given the compelling state interest in protecting the public," he wrote.
By Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on July 01, 2014 at 4:37 PM, updated July 01, 2014 at 8:03 PM
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/07/louisiana_supreme_court_uphold_4.html
The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the state's law barring convicted felons from possessing guns. The justices, who heard argument in May, issued the ruling in a pair of cases originating from district courts in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes.
Both challenges to Revised Statute 14:95.1 are byproducts of a 2012 constitutional amendment that made gun ownership a fundamental right. The amendment, which Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved, strengthened the state's gun rights and required that any limit to them must meet a "strict scrutiny" test, the highest level of judicial review.
"Some arrested or convicted of crimes involving firearms have attempted to show that the laws under which they were charged do not withstand strict scrutiny and are thus unconstitutional," Associate Justice Jefferson Hughes III of Denham Springs wrote for the court in the 17-page opinion. "In these consolidated cases we now reject those arguments."
"Our law proscribing the possession of firearms by convicted felons is not affected by the amendment and withstands a strict scrutiny analysis. Such laws are effective, time-tested and easily understandable and do not violate the Constitution. Common sense and the public safety allow no other result."
The court overturned a 2013 decision by Judge Robert Pitre of the 24th Judicial District Court in the case of Jamal Taylor, 27, of Avondale and Kelin Stevens, 31, of Houma. Under state law, Taylor is barred from having guns because of his five felony narcotics convictions, while Stevens may not have guns because of his convictions of second-degree battery and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, prosecutors said.
Pitre had ruled favorably for the two defendants, granting them their request to quash the firearm charges on constitutional grounds. Pitre has handed down similar rulings in other cases.
Taylor and Stevens are two of three men who await trial in a Jan. 6, 2012, drive-by shooting near Westwego. A stray bullet struck 11-year-old Keian Ester of Harvey in the eye, killing him. The murder and attempted murder charges against the defendants were not affected by Pitre's ruling on the gun offenses.
In St. Tammany's 22nd Judicial District, Judge William Knight upheld the felon-with-a-gun law last year when he refused to dismiss the charge that prosecutors filed against Christopher G. Eberhardt, 37, of Slidell. Eberhardt was booked with theft in 2012, and police alleged he had a gun even though he had been convicted in 2007 of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.
The Supreme Court upheld Knight's decision. Eberhardt's attorneys, with the St. Tammany public defender's office, argued the law was unconstitutional.
The court already had handed down narrowly tailored rulings in upholding the illegal gun possession laws. In December, justices ruled the law did not violate the constitutional rights of people charged with gun possession while they're on probation or parole. That decision originated from New Orleans, in the case of Glen Draughter. In January, justices upheld a juvenile law on concealed weapons, in an East Baton Rouge Parish case.
In the latest decision, justices analyzed the Legislature's intent in pushing for the constitutional amendment, which was backed by the National Rifle Association and Gov. Bobby Jindal. State Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, pushed the measure to reinforce the U.S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment in Louisiana law, Hughes wrote.
In advocating for the amendment on the Senate floor in 2012, Riser said Louisiana had "roughly" 40 gun laws "and those laws will stay in effect" if the amendment would be enacted. As such, Hughes wrote, justices could concluded that "the Legislature did not intend to invalidate existing weapons laws."
Courts in other states with laws similar to Louisiana's have concluded that restrictions on felons are permissible. The U.S. Supreme Court also has upheld laws restricting gun possession by felons, by mentally ill people and in locations such as schools, Louisiana's justices said.
Under Louisiana law, people convicted of felony crimes are barred from having guns within 10 years of the time they complete their punishment, whether prison or parole. In the cases at hand, the Louisiana Supreme Court said the three defendants, all convicted felons, re-offended "within a relatively short period of time."
Stevens was arrested on a charge of possessing a firearm only three weeks after he finished his punishment for a marijuana conviction. Taylor was charged with the offense four years after he completed his federal sentence for cocaine possession. Eberhardt was charged with the offense two years after he completed his sentence.
Hughes wrote that all three "illustrate, rather than show exception to" the idea that certain convicted felons "have demonstrated a dangerous disregard for the law and present a potential threat of further or future criminal activity and are more likely than non-felons to engage in illegal and violent gun use," Hughes wrote.
"These cases demonstrate that felons are not only at risk to reoffend, but are at risk to reoffend using firearms," he wrote.
Taylor and Stevens are accused of using guns while committing a murder. "This is exactly the type of offense LSA-R.S. 14:95.1 was enacted to prevent," Hughes wrote.
Eberhardt's attorneys argued that the law is overly broad in terms of the number felonies that apply to it. Eberhardt's previous felony conviction was for unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling, a crime that doesn't necessarily include violence.
Justices disagreed. "The offense of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling carries such a high potential for harm to innocent bystanders that its inclusion by the Legislature" in the firearm law "is clearly warranted," Hughes wrote.
"Furthermore, it is impossible for the Legislature to predict with complete certainty which offenders will reoffend with a firearm, and including those offenses that demonstrate a serious disregard for the safety of others with (the law's) felon-in-possession prohibition is appropriate given the compelling state interest in protecting the public," he wrote.
