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501 So. 2d 812

Docket No. KA-1939.

State v. Brooks

STATE of Louisiana v. Edward L. BROOKS.

Louisiana Court of Appeal

Decided December 22, 1986.

Louisiana Court of Appeal · decided 1986-12-22

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“when the explanation is read in context with the preceding and following questions, the defendant had to understand he was giving up his right to remain silent at trial if he opted to plead guilty.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including 555 So. 2d 500 - State v. Rogers

Relies on 412 So. 2d 1313 - State v. Robicheaux · 382 So. 2d 933 - State v. Martin · State v. Yarbrough

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1986-12-22

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently June 2001

4 state decisions

20198619902000decided

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 →

¶1William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Rockne L. Moseley, Beryl M. McSmith, Asst. Dist. Attys., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.

¶2M. Craig Colwart, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

¶3Before SCHOTT, GARRISON and KLEES, JJ.

¶4SCHOTT, Judge.

¶5Defendant was convicted of aggravated burglary in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:60 and originally sentenced to thirty years at hard labor. He was adjudged to be an habitual offender based upon a prior conviction for simple burglary and resentenced to thirty years. The prior conviction was pursuant to defendant's plea of guilty.

¶6By his sole assignment of error defendant contends that when he previously pled guilty he was not properly advised of his right to stand trial without the necessity of testifying. The pertinent part of the transcript when defendant pled guilty is as follows:

¶7BY THE COURT:

You're charged with simple burglary, and your lawyer pled you guilty to that. Is that your plea?

¶8BY THE DEFENDANT:

Yes, it is.

¶9BY THE COURT:

you know when you plead guilty you're giving up certain rights. You give up the right to trial, either by jury or the judge, by pleading guilty. Is that what you want to do?

¶10BY THE DEFENDANT:

Yes.

¶11BY THE COURT:

If you went to trial and you were convicted you have a right to an appeal, but by not going to trial you're giving up the right to appeal, because there's no trial and no trial from which to appeal. Do you understand that?

¶12BY THE DEFENDANT:

Yes.

¶13BY THE COURT:

You have a right to remain silent, but by pleading guilty you are not remaining silent. So you give up that right. Do you understand that?

¶14BY THE DEFENDANT:

Yes.

¶15BY THE COURT:

You also have a right to question the witnesses who appear against you, but you're waiving that right because there *813 is no trial and no witnesses. Do you understand that?

¶16BY THE DEFENDANT:

Yes.

¶17Defendant isolates the fourth question from the colloquy and contends that the trial court's explanation of his right against self incrimination was not broad enough to encompass his right to remain silent at trial as in State v. Martin,382 So.2d 933 (La. 1980) and State v. Robicheaux,412 So.2d 1313 (La.1982). When the explanation is taken out of context it appears to be insufficient based upon the cited cases; but when the explanation is read in context with the preceding and following questions the defendant had to understand he was giving up his right to remain silent at trial if he opted to plead guilty.

¶18This conclusion is consistent with and supported by State v. Yarbrough,418 So.2d 503 (La.1982). In fact, the colloquy here is practically identical to the one quoted in Justice Dennis's concurring opinion in Yarbrough. See also State v. Lawson,474 So.2d 455 (La.App. 4th Cir.1985).

¶19We have examined the record for errors patent and find none.

¶20The conviction and sentence are affirmed.

¶21AFFIRMED.

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