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263 La. 750

Gaillard v. Cronvich

Supreme Court of Louisiana

Decided November 6, 1972

Supreme Court of Louisiana · decided 1972-11-06

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“Whenever a prisoner who has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment for life, so conducts himself as to merit the approval of the superintendent of the state penitentiary he may apply for a commutation of his sentence and the application, upon approval of the superintendent, shall be forwarded to the governor. The governor may commute the sentence upon the recommendation in writing of the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and presiding judge of the court before which the conviction was had or any two of them. No commutation under this Section shall reduce the period of incarceration to less than ten years and six months.”

quoted by 3 later decisions, including Howard v. Clark, Robert Howard v. Kathleen Blanco

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1972-11-06

How this case has been cited

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently May 2013

2 federal appellate · 4 state decisions

4019721980199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

DIXON, Justice.

¶1In this habeas corpus proceeding the applicant seeks release from the Jefferson Parish prison. After a hearing, the district court denied applicant relief.'

¶2On September 20, 1968 applicant was convicted in Orleans Parish' of four thefts. He was sentenced to six years at hard labor for each theft, the sentences to be concurrent. On March 6, 1969 applicant pled guilty in Jefferson Parish to four burglaries. He was sentenced to seven years at hard labor for each burglary, the sentences to be concurrent. The Jefferson Parish sentences were made consecutive to the Orleans Parish sentences. Therefore, applicant was effectively sentenced to a thirteen year prison term for the four thefts and four burglaries.

¶3November 2, 1971 Governor John J. McKeithen commuted applicant’s Jefferson Parish sentences from seven to five years in length and made the Jefferson Parish sentences concurrent with the Orleans Parish sentences. Due to the commutation, applicant Gaillard’s Jefferson Parish sentences were shorter than his Orleans Parish sentences, so that the Jefferson Parish sentences would be satisfied upon the completion of the Orleans Parish sentences.

¶4On December 3, 1971 applicant completed his Orleans Parish sentences and was released from custody. He was immediately arrested by Jefferson Parish authorities to begin serving the Jefferson Parish sentences. Although the Jefferson Parish authorities recognized the Governor’s power to commute applicant’s sentence from seven to five years, they refused to honor that portion of the commutation order which *754made the Jefferson Parish and the Orleans Parish sentences concurrent. Jefferson Parish authorities take the position that 'the Governor has no authority to make consecutive sentences run concurrently.

¶5The executive’s power to commute is found in Article V, Section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, which provides:

“The governor shall have power to grant reprieves for all offenses against the state; and may, except in cases of impeachment, or treason, upon the recommendation in writing of the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and presiding judge of the court before which the conviction was had, or any two of them, grant pardons, commute sentences, and remit fines and forfeitures; provided, "however, that each first offender who has never previously been convicted of a felony shall be eligible for pardon automatically upon completion of his sentence without the aforementioned recommendation in writing. In case of treason he may grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the legislature, in which body the power of pardoning is vested.”

¶6The statutory provision is identical (R.S. 15:572). '

¶7The only limitation on the Governor’s commutation power is that he act pursuant to a written recomendation of commutation signed by any two of the following: the lieutenant governor, the attorney general and the presiding judge of the court before which the conviction was obtained. Once this recommendation is received, the Governor has unlimited discretionary power to commute an applicant’s sentence.

¶8In this instance, the Governor did not choose to commute applicant’s Jefferson Parish sentences completely, as he could have. Rather, he choose to commute the Jefferson Parish sentences to a term shorter than the Orleans Parish sentences and to make the Jefferson "Parish sentences concurrent with the Orleans Parish sentences. The result under either method of commutation is the same: the Jefferson Parish sentences are satisfied when applicant completes the Orleans Parish sentences.

¶9We find that applicant's commutation was, in all respects, a valid exercise of the executive commutation power. Applicant has satisfied his Jefferson Parish sentences. Therefore, we find applicant to be incarcerated in the Jefferson Parish prison unlawfully.

¶10The judgment of the district court is reversed, and applicant, James R. Gaillard, is ordered discharged from custody.

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