Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1981

State v. Leonard

State v. Leonard
Supreme Court of Louisiana · Decided May 19, 1981 · Calogero
401 So. 2d 961; 1981 La. LEXIS 11300 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

State v. Leonard

Opinion of the Court

Decision Reported in 394 So.2d 1214.

Concurring Opinion

CALOGERO, Justice,

concurring.

I concur in the majority opinion, 394 So.2d 1214, that the plea, verdict and sentence were each improper and that their correction by remand to the district court for retrial on the merits will not impinge on the defendant’s guarantee against double jeopardy. Additionally, however, I believe that under North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969) defendant must be given credit for the time he has already served on the illegal sentence.

Furthermore, while it is true that C.Cr.P. art. 592 provides that “when a defendant pleads not guilty, jeopardy begins when the first witness is sworn at the trial on the merits”, the United States Supreme Court has stated that as a matter of Constitutional law jeopardy attaches in a jury trial when the jury is impaneled and sworn. Crist v. Betz, 437 U.S. 28, 98 S.Ct. 2156, 57 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978); State v. Bodley, 394 So.2d 584 (1981).

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