State v. Hicks, 213 So. 3d 458

Kenneth E. Hicks, III was indicted for second-degree murder for the February 20, 2013 shooting death of Anthony Young; tried by a 12‑person jury in January 2016 and convicted.
Two eyewitnesses (Dontae Bond and Wilfred Lewis) testified they saw Hicks with a gun and identified him as the shooter; forensic testimony placed the gunshot at intermediate range and detected cocaine and alcohol in the victim.
Defense presented an alibi through Hicks’s wife; police recovered a 9mm handgun from a vehicle trunk but no gun conclusively linked to Hicks at the scene.
Pretrial, Hicks sought to admit the victim’s prior felony convictions and rap sheet to show motive/others with motive; the trial court excluded the conviction record under La. C.E. art. 404(A)(2).
During closing, the prosecutor argued that defense counsel had sought to diminish the victim’s value because of drug use; defense objected. The trial court overruled the objection and later denied a new‑trial motion.
Hicks was sentenced to life at hard labor without benefits; on appeal, his conviction and sentence were affirmed but the court remanded to correct clerical errors in the commitment order and corrected the post‑conviction relief advisal via opinion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of victim’s prior convictions	State: exclusion proper because no hostile demonstration/overt act by victim and no self‑defense claimed; evidence would be improper character evidence under La. C.E. art. 404(A)(2)	Hicks: rap sheet probative to show victim’s routine drug activity and motive of others; necessary to present full defense and show reasonable doubt	Trial court did not abuse discretion excluding convictions; even if error, no prejudice because eyewitnesses identified Hicks and jury heard evidence victim had drugs on him and in his system
Prosecutor’s alleged personal attack on defense counsel in closing	State: prosecutor’s comments were proper rebuttal/argument and jury was instructed arguments are not evidence	Hicks: prosecutor improperly suggested defense denigrated the victim’s life because of drugs, prejudicing the defense	Remarks not reversible error; judge instructed jury that arguments are not evidence and declined new‑trial relief
Sufficiency of admonition re: post‑conviction relief timeliness	N/A	N/A (appellate court review)	Error patent: trial judge’s advisal incomplete; appellate opinion corrects record and explains two‑year prescription runs from when conviction becomes final
Clerical errors on commitment order	N/A	N/A	Remanded to correct statutory citation and to show defendant was convicted by jury (not guilty plea)

State v. Brown, 86 So.3d 726 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2012) (trial court may require foundation before admitting victim’s prior convictions; exclusion not error where foundation lacking)
State v. Keating, 772 So.2d 740 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2000) (no self‑defense or overt act shown; exclusion of victim’s prior convictions upheld)
State v. Young, 757 So.2d 797 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2000) (requirements for admitting victim character evidence under Art. 404(A)(2) not met; exclusion not prejudicial)
State v. Taylor, 669 So.2d 364 (La. 1996) (prosecutor afforded considerable latitude in closing argument; reversal requires convincing showing remarks influenced jury)
State v. Mitchell, 674 So.2d 250 (La. 1996) (jurors presumed to follow instructions that counsel’s arguments are not evidence)
State v. Drewery, 108 So.3d 1246 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2013) (post‑conviction relief prescriptive period advisory must state that the two‑year period runs from when conviction and sentence become final)
State v. Long, 106 So.3d 1136 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2012) (directs correction and transmission of amended uniform commitment order)
State v. Oliveaux, 312 So.2d 337 (La. 1975) (mandate for errors‑patent review on appeal)
State v. Weiland, 556 So.2d 175 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1990) (errors‑patent review procedure)