State v. Melon

State v. Melon, 660 So. 2d 466 (La. 1995)

Court: Supreme Court of Louisiana · State Highest Courts
Decided: September 22, 1995
Docket: No. 95-CQ-2209
Judges: Lemmon
Citations: 660 So. 2d 4661995 WL 567333

Cited by 40

Opinion

660 So.2d 466 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana

Ronald G. MELON, Jr.

STATE of Louisiana

Ronnie WILLIAMS.

STATE ex rel. Lionel FRANKLIN

SABELLA.

STATE of Louisiana

David JARREAU.

No. 95-CQ-2209.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

September 22, 1995.

Certification granted in part; otherwise denied. State v. Bodley, 394 So.2d 584 (La. 1982), provides a rule designed to preserve order and consistency at trial and does not purport to apply in a post-verdict context. On previous occasions, this Court has indicated that the meaningful access to the courts guaranteed by La. Const. art. I, Sections 2, *467 19, and 22 requires courts to accept and consider post-verdict pro se filings from represented defendants. See e.g. State v. Stewart, 94-2267 (La. 9/16/94), 642 So.2d 181 ; State v. Johnson, 94-2191 (La. 9/16/94), 642 So.2d 181 . We reaffirm that rule as stating the correct principle for the courts of this state to follow. We further direct that the lower courts must also accept and consider filings from represented defendants in a preverdict context whenever doing so will not lead to confusion at trial. See, E.g., State v. Sabella, 94-1919 (La. 8/12/94), 642 So.2d 1271 ; State v. Terry, 94-1493 (La. 7/5/94), 639 So.2d 1186 . All courts retain the discretion to grant or withhold co-counsel status, after or before verdict. State ex rel. Spitz v. State, 94-0792 (La. 4/22/94), 637 So.2d 149 ; State v. McCabe, 420 So.2d 955, 957 (La. 1982).

LEMMON, J., not on panel.

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No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 40 cases

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Relies on it most ⓘ

State of Louisiana v. Reggie Patrick Thibodeaux236 So. 3d 1253 (La. 2017)
State v. Alexander980 So. 2d 877 (La. Ct. App. 2008)
State v. Jackson246 So. 3d 646 (La. Ct. App. 2018)
State v. Logan34 So. 3d 528 (La. Ct. App. 2010)
State v. Jones942 So. 2d 1215 (La. Ct. App. 2006)
State v. Cheatteam986 So. 2d 738 (La. Ct. App. 2008)

Most recent

State v. Cooley247 So. 3d 1159 (La. Ct. App. 2018)
State v. Jackson246 So. 3d 646 (La. Ct. App. 2018)
State v. Queen237 So. 3d 547 (La. Ct. App. 2018)
State of Louisiana v. Reggie Patrick Thibodeaux236 So. 3d 1253 (La. 2017)
State ex rel. Loyden v. State138 So. 3d 1235 (La. 2014)
State v. Moore134 So. 3d 1265 (La. Ct. App. 2014)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 5

Depth	Case	Cited by
	State v. McCabe, 420 So. 2d 955 (La. 1982)	37
	State ex rel. Spitz v. Court of Appeal, First Circuit, 637 So. 2d 149 (La. 1994)	2
	State ex rel. Allen v. Sabella, 642 So. 2d 1271 (La. 1994)	2
	State v. Johnson, 642 So. 2d 181 (La. 1994)	1
	State v. Stewart, 642 So. 2d 181 (La. 1994)	1

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