State v. Saulny, 220 So. 3d 871

Defendant Danny D. Saulny was charged with attempted second-degree murder, felon-in-possession of a firearm, and home invasion for a January 13, 2014 shooting of Erica Poret; jury found him guilty on all counts after a June 2016 trial.
Victim identified defendant (nickname “Noonie”) as one of two intruders who kicked in her door, assaulted her, and shot her multiple times; she consistently identified him at the scene, in a photographic lineup, and at trial.
Medical and forensic evidence: victim suffered multiple life‑threatening gunshot wounds requiring numerous surgeries; crime lab matched cartridge casings/projectiles from the scene to a single weapon (no gun recovered).
Defendant stipulated to a prior violent-felony conviction; jury found him a second felony offender and the trial court enhanced the attempted‑murder sentence.
Sentences: after enhancement, 75 years at hard labor for attempted second-degree murder (no probation/parole/suspension) and concurrent terms for the other counts; defendant appealed claiming (1) Article 782(A) (non‑unanimous verdicts allowed) is unconstitutional and (2) evidence was insufficient to prove identity and guilt.

Issue	State's Argument	Saulny's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence / identification	Victim’s consistent, eyewitness ID plus medical and forensic evidence sufficiently proved identity and elements of each offense under Jackson standard	Victim misidentified a co-perpetrator elsewhere; that undermines her ID of Saulny and the jury could not reliably exclude misidentification	Affirmed: viewed most favorably to prosecution, a rational juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; ID was adequately negated of reasonable misidentification probability
Constitutionality of La. C.Cr.P. art. 782(A) (non‑unanimous verdicts)	State relied on binding Louisiana precedent upholding Article 782 and on Apodaca plurality precedent allowing non‑unanimous state verdicts	Article 782(A) violates due process and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because jury verdicts need to be unanimous	Denied: court followed Louisiana Supreme Court precedent sustaining Article 782(A); trial judge did not err in denying motion (defendant had standing only on non‑unanimous counts)

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence: whether any rational trier of fact could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt)
Apodaca v. Oregon, 406 U.S. 404 (1972) (plurality holding that federal Constitution does not require unanimity in state felony jury verdicts)
State v. Bertrand, 6 So.3d 738 (La. 2009) (Louisiana Supreme Court rejecting constitutional challenge to Article 782)
State v. Jacobs, 67 So.3d 535 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2011) (defendant lacks standing to attack Article 782 when convicted by unanimous verdicts)
State v. Bannister, 88 So.3d 628 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2012) (specific intent and attempted second-degree murder standards)