Court Opinion

ID: 9858928
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 17:31:42.427102+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:58:17.051439
License: Public Domain

SANDERS, Justice
(dissenting).
Having dissented in State v. Butler, 259 La. 560, 250 So.2d 740 (1971), I also dissent in the present case.
The bill of information here charges that Sebeal Raby and his co-defendants “did violate R.S. 14:51 in that they intentionally damaged a dwelling located at 167 South 15th Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by setting,fire to said dwelling, whereby human life was endangered. * * * ”
LSA-R.S. 14:51 defines aggravated arson as the “intentional * * * setting fire to any structure, watercraft, or movable wherein it is foreseeable that human life might be endangered.”
Article 465 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the crime made be charged by merely alleging in a short form, “A. B. committed aggravated arson of a dwelling.” It is apparent, therefore, that the present charge contains all the information set forth in the short form, plus other information concerning the offense. Article 465 contains no requirement that the pleading track the language of the form word-by-word. It is sufficient, I think, that the charge be couched in equivalent terms. Hence, the charge should be upheld under Article 465, C.Cr.P.
If, however, the charge is treated as a long form, then it is also sufficient to satisfy the requirements of law.
When it alleges that the defendant “intentionally” set fire to a “[dwelling] whereby human life was endangered,” it means that the defendant intended to endanger human life. As noted by Mr. Justice Hamlin, dissenting in State v. Butler, supra, the intent encompasses foreseeability.
I regret that the Court has pressed technicalities too far. I believe that the law would be better served by applying a validating construction to the words used. In my opinion, the charge is adequate.
For the reasons assigned, I respectfully dissent.