Opinion
No. 17-KP-0514
05-11-2018
STATE OF LOUISIANA v. DENNIS JOHNSON
ON SUPERVISORY WRITS TO THE TWENTY-SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF ST. TAMMANY :
Writ granted in part. The court of appeal's ruling ordering an evidentiary hearing is vacated, and the matter is remanded to the district court for further proceedings. The district court's ruling denying relief did not expressly address respondent's contention that counsel rendered ineffective assistance by advising him to reject a 15-year plea offer, thereby ultimately resulting in his acceptance of a less advantageous 20-year offer. Instead, the district court addressed only whether counsel rendered ineffective assistance by advising respondent to accept a plea offer rather than proceeding to trial. To the extent the court of appeal considered the former issue to be raised by respondent's application for post-conviction relief, it erred by not first allowing the district court to evaluate this claim. See Segura v. Frank, 93-1271 (La. 1/14/94), 630 So.2d 714, 725 ("[A]ppellate courts will not consider issues raised for the first time" in appellate court); United States v. Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 40, 112 S.Ct. 1735, 1738, 118 L.Ed.2d 352 (1992) (Supreme Court's "traditional rule . . . precludes a grant of certiorari" when issue neither "pressed [n]or passed on below.").
On remand, if the district court determines that the factual and legal issues can be resolved upon the application and answer, and supporting documents submitted by either party or available to the court, it may grant or deny relief without further proceedings. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 929(A). Otherwise, the court shall order an evidentiary hearing. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 930(A). In all other respects, the application is denied.