State v. Shaw, 108 So. 3d 1189

Charles Shaw was convicted by a 12-person jury of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon under La. R.S. 14:95.1 and sentenced to ten years without parole or probation.
The bill of information was amended to cite a Texas burglary conviction as the predicate felony for the 14:95.1 charge, case 117-1383 in Harris County, Texas.
Pretrial motions were filed but not all rulings are reflected in the record; trial occurred March 28, 2012, with verdict of guilty as charged.
After trial, Shaw moved for a new trial and for reconsideration of sentence; the court denied the motions and Shaw appealed.
On appeal, the court recognized errors patent and remanded for correction of the commitment, minute entry, and imposition of a mandatory fine.
The court affirmed Shaw’s conviction and sentence but remanded to correct the commitment/minute entry and address a missing mandatory fine.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the mandatory minimum sentence is constitutionally excessive	Shaw argues youth and lack of other crimes show excessiveness	State contends presumption of constitutionality and no rare exception shown	No reversal; sentence within statutory range and not disproportional
Whether the failure to impose the mandatory fine is patent error	N/A	N/A	Remand not for imposition due to indigence; error noted but not remanded
Whether the commitment/minute entry correctly reflects the verdict and proceedings	Commitment inaccurately suggested guilty plea and lacks note of evidence	N/A	Remand to amend commitment to reflect felon in possession of a firearm conviction

State v. Warmack, 973 So.2d 104 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2007) (excessiveness review; deference to trial court; non-departure from minimums)
State v. Williams, 54 So.3d 98 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2010) (mandatory minimums reviewed; Dorthey framework applicability)
State v. Dorthey, 623 So.2d 1276 (La. 1993) (establishes standard for departing from mandatory minimums)
State v. Celestine, 92 So.3d 335 (La. 2012) (limits on district court’s power to depart from legislative minimums)
State v. Johnson, 709 So.2d 672 (La. 1998) (Legislature’s minimums deserve great deference)
State v. Turner, 75 So.3d 491 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2012) (commitment corrections when misdescribed conviction)
State v. Proctor, 901 So.2d 477 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2005) (premature appeal timing considerations)
State v. Caffrey, 15 So.3d 198 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2009) (error patent review; remedial action for failure to impose fine)
State v. Horton, 28 So.3d 370 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2009) (permissive correction of illegally lenient sentence)
State v. Wise, 916 So.2d 290 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2005) (premature motions/appeals considerations)