Automated Summary
Key Facts
Cevero Garcia, an inmate at Louisiana State Penitentiary, was convicted by a jury of two counts of aggravated rape and sentenced to life imprisonment on both counts on May 22, 1996. On February 17, 2006, Garcia filed a civil suit seeking to have his convictions declared null pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 2004, naming assistant district attorney Cynthia Killingsworth and Judge Charles Quienalty as defendants. The petition alleged fraud and ill practices in the prosecution and trial, claiming the indictment was defective and evidence not included on the face of the indictment was allowed. The trial court dismissed the petition on its own motion. The Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal, holding that the petition failed to state a cause of action because the allegations regarding the indictment and bill of particulars are matters properly addressed through post-conviction relief, not through a civil petition.
Issues
- A secondary issue concerns whether Garcia's civil action falls within the scope of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (La.R.S. 15:1181 et seq.) or should be characterized as a post-conviction relief proceeding. The court analyzed the statutory definition of 'civil action with respect to prison conditions' versus 'post-conviction relief or habeas corpus proceedings challenging the fact or duration of confinement.' Since Garcia's petition concerns the fact or duration of his confinement rather than prison conditions, it constitutes post-conviction relief, making the P.L.R.A. dismissal technically inappropriate but the dismissal proper on other grounds.
- The primary legal issue is whether Cevero Garcia's civil petition filed under La.Code Civ.P. art. 2004 properly states a cause of action for nullification of his 1996 criminal conviction for aggravated rape. The court must determine if this civil action against the district attorney and judge constitutes post-conviction relief subject to La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8(A) time limitations, or if it is a civil action under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The appellate court concluded the petition fails to state a cause of action because civil procedural articles dealing with nullity of civil judgments have no application to attacks on criminal convictions and sentences, which must be addressed through post-conviction relief proceedings.
Holdings
The Louisiana Court of Appeal affirms the trial court's dismissal of Cevero Garcia's civil petition seeking to annul his criminal convictions under La.Code Civ.P. art. 2004. The court holds that the petition fails to state a cause of action because it seeks post-conviction relief, which must be pursued through proper post-conviction procedures under La.Code Crim.P. art. 924, and the statutory time limitations for such relief have expired. The court notes that while the dismissal under the Prison Litigation Reform Act was technically inappropriate, the petition was properly dismissed on independent grounds.
Remedies
The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment dismissing Cevero Garcia's civil suit challenging his criminal convictions. Additionally, the court assessed all costs of this appeal to Cevero Garcia.
Legal Principles
The court held that a civil petition seeking to annul criminal convictions and sentences must follow post-conviction relief procedures under La.Code Crim.P. art. 924(1), not civil action procedures. The statutory time limitations for post-conviction relief under La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8(A) had expired, and the petition failed to state a cause of action because allegations regarding defective indictments and improper evidence are matters properly addressed through post-conviction relief, not civil petitions against government officials. The court also noted that procedural articles dealing with nullity of civil judgments (La.Code Civ.P. arts. 2001-2006) have no application to attacks on criminal convictions and sentences.
Precedent Name
- Richardson v. Home Depot USA
- State v. Garcia
- Colquitt v. Claiborne Parish
- Succession of Wilson v. Wilson
- McCoy v. City of Monroe
Cited Statute
- La.Code Civ.P. art. 927(B)
- La.Code Crim.P. art. 924(1)
- La.Code Civ.P. art. 934
- La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8(A)
- La.R.S. 15:1184(B)
- Prison Litigation Reform Act
Judge Name
- Glenn B. Gremillion
- John D. Saunders
- Jimmie C. Peters
Passage Text
- A case directly on point is McCoy v. City of Monroe, 32,521 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/8/99), 747 So.2d 1234, writ denied, 00-1280 (La. 3/30/01), 788 So.2d 441. In that civil action, the plaintiff claimed that his criminal conviction was an absolute nullity under La.Code Civ.P. arts. 2001-2006. The court held that the procedural articles dealing with the nullity of a civil judgment had no application to the plaintiff's attack on his criminal conviction and sentence. We agree with the second circuit's ruling in McCoy and hold likewise that Garcia's petition does not state a cause of action that would entitle him to release from incarceration.
- The present proceeding is not a civil action authorized under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The Act defines 'civil action with respect to prison conditions' or 'prisoner's suit' to mean any civil proceeding with respect to the conditions of confinement or the effects of actions by government officials on the lives of persons confined in prison, but it expressly does not apply to 'post convictionrelief or habeas corpus proceedings challenging the fact or duration of confinement in prison.' La. R.S. 15:1181(2). Mr. Garcia's present civil action concerns neither the conditions of his confinement nor the effects of actions by the district attorney or judge on his life as a person confined in prison. Instead, his civil action concerns the fact or duration of his confinement in prison, matters that could only be the subject of post-conviction relief.
- For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the trial court judgment dismissing Cevero Garcia's suit against the defendants, Cynthia Killingsworth and Judge Charles Quienalty. We assess all costs of this appeal to Cevero Garcia.