Opinion
19-562
07-29-2020
STATE of Louisiana v. Charles Ray DAVIS
Hon. James Patrick Lemoine, Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Attorney, Renee W. Nugent, Assistant District Attorney, P.O. Box 309, Colfax, LA 71417 Hon. Warren Daniel Willett, Judge, 35th JDC, 200 Main Street, Suite 202, Colfax, LA 71417 Hon. Jeffery M. Landry, Louisiana Attorney General, P.O. Box 94005, Baton Rouge, LA 70804 Chad M. Ickerd, Louisiana Appellate Project, P.O. Box 2125, Lafayette, LA 70502
Hon. James Patrick Lemoine, Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Attorney, Renee W. Nugent, Assistant District Attorney, P.O. Box 309, Colfax, LA 71417
Hon. Warren Daniel Willett, Judge, 35th JDC, 200 Main Street, Suite 202, Colfax, LA 71417
Hon. Jeffery M. Landry, Louisiana Attorney General, P.O. Box 94005, Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Chad M. Ickerd, Louisiana Appellate Project, P.O. Box 2125, Lafayette, LA 70502
Court composed of Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux, Chief Judge, Elizabeth A. Pickett, and Shannon J. Gremillion, Judges.
ON REMAND
PER CURIAM Defendant, Charles Ray Davis, was convicted of sexual battery by a 10-2 verdict. He was sentenced to thirty-five years at hard labor, with the first twentyfive years to be served without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
This court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence. State v. Davis , 19-562 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/5/20), 291 So.3d 246. The Louisiana Supreme court granted Defendant's application for writs. State v. Davis , 20-392 (La. 6/3/20), 296 So.3d 1041. The supreme court remanded for further proceedings because the matter was pending on direct review when Ramos v. Louisiana , 590 U.S. ––––, 140 S.Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 (2020), was decided.
Ramos invalidated non-unanimous jury verdicts on the basis of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Because Defendant was convicted by a non-unanimous verdict, we vacate Defendant's conviction and sentence for sexual battery and remand the case for new trial.