Opinion
NO. 2019-KA-0965
04-29-2020
STATE of Louisiana v. Tyrone C. MYLES
Leon Cannizzaro, District Attorney, Donna R. Andrieu, Assistant District Attorney, Irena Zajickova, Assistant District Attorney, DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, ORLEANS PARISH, 619 S. White Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE/THE STATE OF LOUISIANA Meghan Harwell Bitoun, Louisiana Appellate Project, P. O. Box 4252, New Orleans, LA 70178-4252, COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT
Leon Cannizzaro, District Attorney, Donna R. Andrieu, Assistant District Attorney, Irena Zajickova, Assistant District Attorney, DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, ORLEANS PARISH, 619 S. White Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE/THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Meghan Harwell Bitoun, Louisiana Appellate Project, P. O. Box 4252, New Orleans, LA 70178-4252, COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT
(Court composed of Judge Roland L. Belsome, Judge Rosemary Ledet, Judge Regina Bartholomew-Woods )
Judge Rosemary Ledet
This is a criminal case. The defendant, Tyrone Myles, appeals his conviction and sentence for second-degree murder. For the reasons that follow, we vacate and remand.
BACKGROUND
On April 4, 2019, Mr. Myles was indicted for the second-degree murder of Antoine Mr. Brumfield. Following a two-day trial, the jury found Mr. Myles guilty as charged by a vote of ten-to-two. Subsequently, the district court sentenced Mr. Myles to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. This appeal followed. DISCUSSION
Mr. Myles assigns three errors on appeal. His third assignment of error—that the jury's non-unanimous verdict is unconstitutional—has merit. See Ramos v. Louisiana , ––– U.S. ––––, 140 S.Ct. 1390, 206 L.Ed.2d 583 (2020) (holding that jury verdicts in state felony trials must be unanimous). Because Mr. Myles’ case is pending on direct review, the Supreme Court's decision in Ramos applies here. See Schriro v. Summerlin , 542 U.S. 348, 351, 124 S.Ct. 2519, 2522, 159 L.Ed.2d 442 (2004) (observing that "[w]hen a decision of [the United States Supreme Court] results in a ‘new rule,’ that rule applies to all criminal cases still pending on direct review").
DECREE
For the foregoing reasons, the defendant's conviction and sentence are vacated and the case is remanded to the district court.
VACATED AND REMANDED
See La. R.S. 14:30.1. Mr. Myles was also indicted for possession of firearm by a felon and pled guilty to that charge before trial. See La. R.S. 14:95.1. He was sentenced as habitual offender to forty years at hard labor. Neither that conviction nor that sentence is before us on appeal.