Case ID: so2d_249/html/0921-02.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "TATE, Justice.", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

259 La. 317
    STATE of Louisiana v. Edward WARD.
    No. 51023.
    Supreme Court of Louisiana.
    June 28, 1971.
    
      Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen., Harry H. Howard, Asst. Atty. Gen., Ronald C. Martin, Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellant.
    Gravel, Roy & Burnes, Richard V. Burnes, Alexandria, for defendant-appel-lee.
   TATE, Justice.

This appeal is from the trial court’s denial of a motion to re-sentence the defend-. ant to life imprisonment.

The defendant had previously been sentenced to death. See 246 La. 766, 167 So.2d 359 (1964). Such sentence was set aside on collateral review, for reasons not here pertinent.

By a plea of mootness, our attention is called to the circumstance that, following the trial court denial of the motion, the defendant’s death sentence was commuted to a term of ten years and six months.

The plea is well founded. The courts will not rule on questions of law which become moot, since their decree will serve no useful purpose and can give no practical relief. Spinato v. Lowe, 239 La. 604, 119 So.2d 480 (1960); State v. Melerine, 238 La. 847, 116 S.2d 689 (1960). The defendant has already received by executive clemency the relief sought by these proceedings; therefore, the question presented is moot.

For these reasons, the appeal is dismissed.

Appeal dismissed.