State of Louisiana v. Elezar Cortes

STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT KA23-119 STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS ELEZAR CORTES ********** APPEAL FROM THE 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NO. 146028 HONORABLE DAVID M. SMITH ********** JONATHAN W. PERRY JUDGE ********** Court composed of Candyce G. Perret, Jonathan W. Perry, and Sharon Darville Wilson, Judges.

APPEAL DISMISSED.

Hon. Donald Landry District Attorney P.O. Box 3306 Lafayette, LA 70502 COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: State of Louisiana

Anna Landry C/O Public Defenders Office Jefferson St., Suite 902 Lafayette, LA 70501 COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT: Elezar Cortes Perry, Judge.

Defendant, Elezar Cortes, pled guilty to Attempted Second Degree Murder, a violation of La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1, and was sentenced by the trial court on February 26, 2015, to serve twenty-five years in the Louisiana Department of Corrections, credit for time served, without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

On February 15, 2017, Defendant filed a Uniform Application for Post Conviction Relief. On March 3, 2017, the trial court set a Contradictory Hearing to be held on April 5, 2017. The district attorney filed a “State’s Response to Defendant’s Application for Post Conviction Relief” on October 23, 2018. In an “Order” signed June 13, 2019, the trial court stated, “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that in accordance with LA. C.Cr.P. Art. 929, the application is DENIED.”

Defendant filed a “Motion to Reconsider Judgment” on July 23, 2021. On February 28, 2022, a second “Motion to Reconsider Judgment” was filed by Defendant. Motions to reconsider were heard on September 28, 2022. Defendant was present via Zoom and was represented by appointed counsel, however there was no court-approved translator present. The minutes state: “The court denied the defense’s motion to continue and denied the defendant’s motion.”

The Defendant’s appointed counsel then filed a “Notice and Motion of Appeal and Designation of Record” on October 3, 2022. An Order signed by the trial court on October 11, 2022, “granted an appeal from the final judgment rendered herein of his Motion to Reconsider Sentence . . . .”

The record was lodged with this Court on March 2, 2023, and on March 6, 2023, this court issued a rule to show cause why the appeal in this case should not be dismissed as the judgment at issue is not appealable. Defendant was given until March 28, 2023, to file a brief.

A letter from Defendant’s appointed attorney was received on March 22, 2023. The letter stated in part: “Please take notice that Defendant-Appell[ant] formally withdraws the appeal filed in this matter, as post-conviction relief is not an appealable judgment under La Code Crim P. Art. 930.6 . . . .”

Defendant, Elezar Cortes, has filed a pro se application for supervisory writs on December 7, 2022, which has been assigned docket number 22-793.

Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.

APPEAL DISMISSED.