304 So.3d 1097
La. Ct. App.2020Background
- Defendant Clarence McKinney was previously convicted (2005, Texas) of sexual assault of a child and thus classified a tier-three/lifetime registrant under Louisiana law.
- McKinney registered with Jefferson Parish on May 7, 2015, later moved to California and registered there on October 31, 2017.
- He was arrested in Jefferson Parish in March 2018, given registration paperwork listing a Westwego (147 Louisiana St.) address, and released July 24, 2018; he completed a change-of-address showing Modesto, CA and was told to check in with Stanislaus County.
- Jefferson Parish could not confirm he re-registered in California after his jail stay, issued a failure-to-register warrant in August 2018, and located and arrested him March 20, 2019 at his father’s home in Marrero where he listed a Jefferson Parish address.
- Father and grandmother testified McKinney returned from California and ‘‘stayed’’ at various Jefferson Parish residences (father’s, grandmother’s, brother’s) with clothes and a bedroom there between January and March 2019.
- A jury convicted McKinney of failure to register (La. R.S. 15:542); after a multiple-offender adjudication he was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor; he appealed alleging insufficient evidence of Louisiana residency and sought a new trial.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence was sufficient to prove McKinney established residence in Louisiana and thus had a duty to register | State: testimony and arrest paperwork show McKinney lived in Jefferson Parish between Jan 1–Mar 20, 2019 and failed to timely register | McKinney: testimony only shows sporadic stays/visits; circumstantial evidence does not exclude reasonable hypothesis he did not reside in LA | Court: Affirmed — evidence sufficient under Jackson; a rational juror could find he established residence and failed to register |
| Whether denial of motion for new trial on same grounds was erroneous | State: trial evidence supported conviction, so denial proper | McKinney: same sufficiency claim warrants new trial | Court: Denial affirmed; no abuse of discretion given sufficiency of evidence |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency review)
- State v. Neal, 796 So.2d 649 (La. 2001) (applying Jackson sufficiency standard in Louisiana)
- State v. Clark, 117 So.3d 1246 (La. 2013) (duty to register for out‑of‑state sex offenders begins upon establishing Louisiana residency)
- Panora v. Landry, 286 So.3d 1049 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2019) (confirming registration duty upon return/move to Louisiana)
- State v. Flores, 167 So.3d 801 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2014) (elements required to prove violation of La. R.S. 15:542)