State v. Spellman, 140 So. 3d 751

Defendant John E. Spellman was charged with aggravated flight from an officer (La. R.S. 14:108.1(C)) and simple burglary (La. R.S. 14:62); he initially pled not guilty but later pled guilty on June 26, 2013.
As part of a plea agreement, the court sentenced him to 2 years at hard labor on count one and (after a multiple offender stipulation) 6 years at hard labor on count two, to run concurrently, with credit for time served.
The State filed a multiple offender bill in open court immediately after conviction and sentencing; defendant stipulated to the multiple bill and was adjudicated a second felony offender.
Defendant filed pro se motions and later pro se assignments of error on appeal challenging timeliness of the multiple bill filing, proof of the ten‑year cleansing period, and adequacy of the burglary charge.
Appellate counsel filed an Anders brief seeking leave to withdraw, asserting no non‑frivolous issues; the court conducted an independent review and found no meritorious appellate issues.
On rehearing, the court rejected a pro se ineffective assistance claim as inappropriate for direct appeal and directed the defendant to pursue post‑conviction relief if desired.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Timeliness of filing multiple offender bill	State: bill filed in open court immediately after conviction, timely under La. R.S. 15:529.1(D)	Spellman: bill lacks a filing timestamp, so cannot show it was filed before acceptance of his stipulation	Court: bill was timely filed in open court; assignment without merit; waived by stipulation
Proof of ten‑year cleansing period for enhancement	State: predicate conviction records establish prior sentence within cleansing period	Spellman: State failed to prove ten‑year period had not elapsed	Court: claim waived by stipulation to multiple bill; even on merits record supports enhancement
Sufficiency/form of bill of information for burglary charge	State: bill identified the structure ("Kid Creole" at 1919 Airline) and probable cause shows burglary of a structure	Spellman: bill alleges burglary of "Kid Creole" (argued to be a person), so fails to allege unauthorized entry of a dwelling/structure	Court: record (affidavit and plea colloquy) shows Kid Creole is a structure (gas station); charging instrument sufficient
Anders motion to withdraw and independent review	Appellate counsel: no non‑frivolous issues after reviewing record	Spellman: raised additional pro se claims including ineffective assistance	Court: independent review found no non‑frivolous issues; counsel's motion granted; ineffective assistance claim denied on direct appeal and remanded to post‑conviction process

Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1969) (plea colloquy requirements for voluntary plea)
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (U.S. 1967) (procedure for counsel withdrawal when appeal is frivolous)
State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La. 1976) (unconditional plea waives non‑jurisdictional defects)
State v. Jyles, 704 So.2d 241 (La. 1997) (Anders brief content guidance in Louisiana)
State v. Benjamin, 573 So.2d 528 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1990) (procedure for Anders briefing in Louisiana courts)
State v. Defrene, 980 So.2d 31 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2008) (items for appellate court review when counsel files Anders brief)
State v. Oliveaux, 812 So.2d 337 (La. 2002) (requirement to review record for errors patent)
State v. Mouton, 653 So.2d 1176 (La. 1995) (recognition of Benjamin procedure by Louisiana Supreme Court)