STATE EX REL HARRIS v. VANNOY (2019)

Relator, Irvin Harris, was convicted in Jefferson Parish for two counts of second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 (counts one and two); one count of illegal possession of a stolen firearm, in violation of La. R.S. 14:69.1 (count three); and one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, in violation of La. R.S. 14:26 and 14:130.1 (count five). On January 16, 2015, the trial court sentenced defendant to the following: life imprisonment without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence on counts one and two; five years at hard labor on count three; and twenty years at hard labor on count five, to be served concurrently. On appeal, this court affirmed relator's convictions and sentences for second degree murder and illegal possession of a stolen firearm; however, upon finding that the State failed to produce sufficient evidence at trial to sustain relator's conviction for conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, we reversed his conviction and vacated his sentence on that count. State v. Harris, 15-485 (La. App. 5 Cir. 4/13/16), 190 So.3d 466, 469, writ denied, 16-0902 (La. 5/12/17), 220 So.3d 746

According to the official record in this matter, relator made several filings on June 20, 2019, captioned as “Appendix Of Exhibits Attached In Support Application For Post Conviction Relief With Attached Memorandum,” which consisted of exhibits “A” through “I”. On June 26, 2019, the trial court issued an Order that acknowledged the filing of relator's exhibits, but denied relief on the basis that relator did not include an application for post-conviction relief (“APCR”) or memorandum in support for the court's review. In the instant application, relator contends that the Clerk of Court misplaced his APCR. Relator also includes what appears to be a copy of the memorandum in support of the APCR filed in the district court in which he asserts his claims.

Based upon our review of the application and information provided by relator, we find relator has demonstrated that he initially gave his APCR to be mailed by authorities at Angola on May 10, 2019, and that it was delivered to Gretna on May 13, 2019.¹ At that time, relator's APCR would have been timely. However, for reasons unknown, relator's filing was not made an official part of the record by the Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court.

Accordingly, in the interest of justice, we grant relator's instant application for the limited purpose of transferring the ACPR contained therein to the district court for consideration along with the exhibits previously filed and acknowledged by the district court.

FOOTNOTES

1.   As evidence of this, relator provides a USPS tracking number for the transmission of his original APCR from Angola to Gretna: 9114902307224337604508.