State v. Stewart, 65 So. 3d 771

Stewart was convicted of first degree robbery and sentenced to 25 years without parole following a prior appeal.
The State filed a multiple bill alleging Stewart as a habitual offender; it was amended from fourth to third felony offender before the hearing.
A June 12, 2009 hearing found Stewart to be a third felony offender and sentenced him to life without parole.
Stewart sought an out-of-time appeal; the trial court granted an appeal after initial timeliness issues and the matter proceeded.
Appellate counsel filed an Anders brief; Stewart filed a pro se supplemental brief raising multiple issues about recusal, sufficiency, and identification.
The court conducted an independent review and affirmed Stewart’s conviction and the life sentence, with defense counsel’s withdrawal granted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of out-of-time appeal process	State argued proper consideration given lack of objection and appointment.	Stewart contends irregularities tainted appeal rights and recusal.	Appeal properly before court; Anders process satisfied.
Recusal of trial judge and vacating sentence	State asserts no reversible error given judge's credibility and lack of prejudice.	Stewart asserts bias and conflict requiring recusal and sentence vacatur.	No merit; no reversible error; no automatic recusal required.
Sufficiency of evidence to prove third felony offender	State linked Orleans Parish conviction and federal predicate; proof sufficient.	Stewart challenges fingerprint linkage and reliability of federal predicate.	Sufficient linkage and evidence support third-offender designation.
admissibility and reliability of identification for predicates	Probation officer identification adequate; fingerprints corroborate.	Identification procedures unduly suggestive and unreliable.	Credibility rests with trial judge; identification sufficiently reliable.
Correct application of life-imprisonment statute under 15:529.1	Under Louisiana and federal predicates, life sentence mandated for third offender.	Penalty for federal predicate unclear; may be < ten years under state analog.	Analogous state penalties support life sentence; proper statutory application.

State v. Bell, 709 So.2d 921 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1998) (linkage of fingerprints to prior conviction admissible)
State v. Muhammad, 880 So.2d 29 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2004) (proof requirements for multiple offender predicates)
State v. Mayer, 760 So.2d 309 (La. 2000) (vacatur and harmless error principles in appellate review)
State v. Lynch, 441 So.2d 732 (La. 1983) (indeterminacy and explicit sentencing procedures)
State v. Carouthers, 618 So.2d 880 (La. 1993) (state-analog approach to criminal penalties in habitual offender analysis)
State v. Haywood, 783 So.2d 568 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2001) (recusal standards and bias considerations)