Keyword Research Parallel Search Federal U.S. Supreme Court Federal Circuit 1st Circuit 2d Circuit 3d Circuit 4th Circuit 5th Circuit 6th Circuit 7th Circuit 8th Circuit 9th Circuit 10th Circuit 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Board of Immigration Appeals Special Courts Bankruptcy U.S. Supreme Court Federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Board of Immigration Appeals State Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota New Hampshire New Jersey Northern Mariana Islands New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming District Of Columbia Northern Mariana Islands William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., William B. Faust, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., John H. McCusker, III, Assistant Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee, State of La. James A. Dunn, Jr., New Orleans, for defendant-appellant, Sullivan Walter. STATE v. WALTER Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit. Oct 7, 1987 Subsequent References CaseIQ (AI Recommendations)

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., William B. Faust, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., John H. McCusker, III, Assistant Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee, State of La. James A. Dunn, Jr., New Orleans, for defendant-appellant, Sullivan Walter. STATE OF LOUISIANA v. SULLIVAN WALTER. Sullivan Walter was convicted of forcible rape, aggravated burglary, and two counts of aggravated crime against nature. He was sentenced as a multiple offender on the forcible rape conviction to 35 years imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation or good time and without benefit of parole for the first half of the sentence. On each of the other convictions he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. All sentences were to run concurrently. On appeal, Walter assigns one error. He argues that he was prejudiced because the State did not respond in a timely manner to his motion for discovery of the results of scientific tests, making it impossible for him to fully prepare his defense. Upon consideration of this assignment of error, we affirm Walter's convictions subject to his right to move for a new trial. Our review of the record for patent errors reveals an error in Walter's sentence, which we amend. While there is no doubt that the State violated its duty to respond to Walter's discovery requests in a timely manner, La. C.Cr.P. art. 729.5 provides a number of effective remedies to cure any potential prejudice: B. In addition to the sanctions authorized in Part A hereof, if at any time prior or subsequent to final disposition the court finds that either the state through the district attorney or assistant district attorney or the defendant or his counsel has willfully failed to comply with this Chapter, such failure shall be deemed to be a constructive contempt of court. The record does not indicate, however, that the defense sought any of these available remedies or sanctions before seeking a reversal of the conviction on appeal. Moreover, in addition to the provisions of Article 729.5, Walter could perhaps have moved for a new trial had he obtained test results after trial which showed that he could not have been the perpetrator of the rape. Despite the failure of the defense to avail itself of remedies in the Trial Court and despite the weight of the victim's identification of Walter, we believe his assignment of error has merit. Therefore, out of an abundance of care that Walter's rights are not violated and due to the possibility that the test results produced on the day of trial may be exculpatory Brady material, we hold that the police criminalist's testimony that the perpetrator was a non-secretor, is tantamount to newly discovered evidence. Construing C.Cr.P. arts. 851(3) and 854 very broadly, we believe that under the circumstances of this case, Walter should be entitled to move for a new trial on the basis of the secretor test results. We, therefore, remand this case to the District Court so that Walter may move for a new trial and present, at the hearing on the motion, evidence that he is a secretor. That evidence will not, of course, be determinative of whether Walter is entitled to a new trial, and he may again appeal following the Trial Court's ruling on the new trial motion. In all other respects, Walter's convictions and sentence are affirmed. How is this helpful for me? Copy with citation Copy as parenthetical citation Add an Annotation