Case Name: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Leon CURRY, Appellant
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1975-10-01
Citations: 319 So. 2d 917
Docket Number: No. 56435
Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Leon CURRY, Appellant.
Judges: BARHAM, J., dissents with reasons.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 319
Pages: 917–919

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Leon CURRY, Appellant.
No. 56435.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Oct. 1, 1975.
Murphy W. Bell, Director, Fred Blanche, III, Trial Atty., Roland T. Huson, III, Appellate Counsel, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Ossie Brown, Dist. Atty., Robert H. Hester, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Opinion:
TATE, Justice.
The defendant was convicted of simple burglary, La.R.S. 14:62, and sentenced to nine years at hard labor. He appeals, arguing two errors as reversible. We find merit rn neither contention.
1.
The defendant contends that it was improper for the prosecutor to read to prospective jurors the provisions of La.R.S. 15:432, especially: "A legal presumption relieves him in whose favor it exists from the necessity of any proof; but may none the less be destroyed by rebutting evidence ; such is the 'presumption that the person in unexplained possession of property recently stolen is the thief "
The sole basis of the argument is that the presumption unconstitutionally compels the defendant to take the stand to rebut the presumption of guilt thereby established. Assignment of Error No. 1. In brief, it is also argued that the presumption also infringes upon the presumption of innocence to which an accused is entitled under the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, Article 1, Section 16. See also Hargrave, The Declaration of Rights of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, 35 La.L.Rev. 1, 53, 55 (1974).
We rejected similar contentions in State v. Womack, 283 So.2d 708 (La.1973). We pointed out that the presumption creates only prima facie evidence of guilt of the theft, but it does not compel the defendant to testify to it any more than does any other circumstantial evidence indicating guilt. See also State v. McQueen, 278 So.2d 114 (La.1973).
Thus, the defendant is free to testify or not, as he sees fit, or to produce evidence other than his own testimony which disproves his guilt of the theft. See also United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63, 85 S.Ct. 754, 13 L.Ed.2d 658 (1965). The jury is permitted to, but not required to, find the presumed fact; for in Louisiana the jury or trier of fact has exclusive power to determine the facts as to guilt or innocence, La.C.CR.P. art. 802, and must acquit unless the accused's guilt is determined beyond a reasonable doubt, La.C.Cr. P. art. 803. See Turner v. United States, 396 U.S. 398, 90 S.Ct. 642, 24 L.Ed.2d 610 (1970).
2.
The defendant also contends that the State's use of peremptory challenges to exclude two blacks from service on the petit jury was an unconstitutional effort to exclude any black juror from the trial of the defendant, a black. Assignments of Error 2 and 4. We have held that the motive for exercise of a peremptory challenge in such instances is ordinarily not subject to judicial review, State v. Carter, 301 So.2d 612 (La.1974), at least in the absence (as here) of evidence of systematic exclusion of black jurors from the justice system over a period of time, State v. Gray, 285 So.2d 199 (1973).
Decree
We therefore affirm the conviction and sentence.
Affirmed.
BARHAM, J., dissents with reasons.