Opinion ID: 1747099
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: introduction of inculpatory statementsi

Text: In assignment of error number 3, defendant claims that the district court erred in allowing the state to introduce testimony reflecting several inculpatory statements [3] defendant made in the weeks preceding the murders, when, he claims, the state did not give notice to the defense until the day trial began. He further claims that he suffered prejudice because the testimony supported the state's theory of premeditation, and the lack of notice deprived him of any opportunity to prepare a defense to this evidence. [4] Though the state complied with LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 716(B), which requires it to give notice of intent to introduce any statement of any nature, made by the defendant, which the state intends to offer in evidence at trial, defendant argues that this notice came too late. Defendant moved for pre-trial discovery in this case and the state granted him open file discovery. However, defendant insists (without support) that the record does not show that the state's files contain information which would reveal the oral statements, and hypothesizes that the district attorney received information of the statements; that open file discovery did not afford notice to the defense; and that the state thereby did not comply with the requirement of LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 729.3 requiring it to notify the defense promptly that it possessed the information. Still, even if the file contained no information about the statements, and defendant received late notice of them, not every violation of discovery procedures requires reversal; before defendant can complain of such a violation, he must show prejudice. State v. Hooks, 421 So.2d 880 (La.1982); State v. Strickland, 398 So.2d 1062 (La.1981). In the instant case, defendant complains that he suffered prejudice because the statement enabled the state to convince the jury that defendant committed the murders after premeditation (thereby defeating defense attempts to show mitigation which would lead to a manslaughter conviction) and because late notice prevented the defense from mounting a defense to the statements. However, defendant cannot demonstrate prejudice because, first, other evidence showed premeditation, or at least contradicted any defense hypothesis of sudden passion or heat of blood. Second, appellate counsel has not even suggested what would have constituted a defense to this evidence of premeditation. In the absence of any but the most vague suggestion as to how the defense may have suffered prejudice by the late notice of intent to use inculpatory statements, and in the presence of other evidence forming an adequate basis for supporting the prosecution theory which the late-noticed evidence also supports, defendant cannot show prejudice. Therefore, under Hooks and Strickland, we hold that this assignment of error is without merit.