State v. Bazley, 60 So. 3d 7

Bazley was convicted of possession of marijuana (second offense) and possession of cocaine after a three-trial sequence in Jefferson Parish.
The first trial ended in mistrial; a second trial also ended in mistrial; a third trial resulted in guilty verdicts on both counts.
A multiple-offender bill was filed; Bazley was found to be a fourth felony offender and his sentences were enhanced and run concurrently with Count 1 and with revocation status.
Evidence at trial included a toilet stash containing marijuana and cocaine discovered after a warrant was issued for the defendant’s residence; a female encountered earlier had admitted purchasing marijuana from Bazley.
Bazley testified that he did not live at Apartment 402 and that others, including Melvin Anderson, resided there; the State contended Bazley exercised dominion and control over the apartment and drugs.
The trial court admitted a redacted transcript of Bazley’s prior testimony from a mistrial, over defense objections, under Reed and Woods/Reeder progeny.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the prior-trial transcript was admissible	Bazley waived protections by requesting disclosure of prior-trial testimony	Admission violated Reed/Constitutional protections against prior testimony	Admission permissible; waiver valid; no reversible error
Whether the evidence suffices to prove possession	State proved constructive possession via residence, keys, and access	Evidence insufficient to show Bazley knowingly possessed drugs or that the dwelling was his	Sufficient evidence established dominion and control and constructive possession
Whether the denial of the motion for a new trial was error	Evidence supported conviction; newly discovered evidence and sufficiency grounds warranted denial	Newly discovered evidence and residence testimony could have changed verdict; sufficiency challenged	No abuse of discretion; denial affirmed; insufficiency and newly discovered evidence rejected
Whether suppression error or arrest/entry issues require reversal	Probable cause and valid search incident justified arrest and entry	Detention/arrest timing and warrant issues tainted evidence as fruit of the poisonous tree	No abuse; probable cause and search incident exceptions valid; suppression denied

State v. Reed, 324 So.2d 373 (La. 1975) (waiver of privilege where defendant testifies; admissibility of prior testimony)
State v. Woods, 830 So.2d 559 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2002) (prior testimony with convictions admissible where appropriate)
State v. Proctor, 901 So.2d 477 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2005) (circumstantial evidence of possession; factors for dominion and control)
State v. Jones, 985 So.2d 234 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2008) (constructive possession standard; proximity plus other evidence)
State v. Gibson, 708 So.2d 1276 (La. App. 5th Cir. 1998) (arrest/seizure timing and Fourth Amendment considerations)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. Supreme Court 1979) (standard for sufficiency of evidence in criminal trials)