State of Louisiana v. Wesley Dick; State of Louisiana v. Melvin Smith

Summary

The Louisiana Supreme Court considered whether La. Rev. Stat. § 15:308 authorized courts to resentence defendants serving final life sentences under former heroin-distribution penalties after enactment of more lenient sentencing provisions. The court held that reducing final sentences would effectively constitute commutation, a power constitutionally assigned to the executive branch, and that eligible offenders must instead apply to the Louisiana Risk Review Panel. The court affirmed the First Circuit's decision in State v. Dick, reversed the Fourth Circuit's decision in State v. Smith, and reinstated both defendants' original life sentences.

Holdings

1. La. Rev. Stat. 15:308 does not authorize sentencing courts to vacate or resentence offenders whose convictions and sentences became final under the pre-amendment penalty provisions.
2. For offenders covered by La. Rev. Stat. 15:308, application to the Louisiana Risk Review Panel is the exclusive avenue for seeking retroactive relief from a final sentence; the trial court may not provide that relief by resentencing.

Questions Presented

1. Whether La. Rev. Stat. 15:308 authorizes a sentencing court to vacate and resentence a defendant after the defendant's original sentence has become final.
2. Whether application to the Louisiana Risk Review Panel is the exclusive remedy for offenders covered by La. Rev. Stat. 15:308.
3. Whether resentencing under the later ameliorative penalty provisions would constitute a commutation of a final sentence reserved to the executive branch under the Louisiana Constitution.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded