An alleged defendant in a shooting that took place last May near Turkey Creek was slated to stand trial in 13th Judicial District Court Judge Gary Ortego’s courtroom beginning tomorrow, April 15, but the trial was reset for September because of a pending motion claiming the verdict would be unconstitutional.
John Isaac Foret is accused of murdering Edwin Wesley Snoddy on May 18, 2018, on Snoddy Lane. A press release at the time of the incident from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff Office said, “Upon arrival, deputies found that a male subject had been shot during a disturbance in which both subjects were armed. The shooter, identified as Foret, had left the scene but waited in a nearby area for law enforcement to arrive.”
Six months after the incident, Louisiana voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring a unanimous verdict in all criminal cases after January 1, 2019. Since Foret is accused of the murder that took place before the constitutional amendment took effect, only 10 jurors would be required to agree on a verdict.
Because of that, Foret’s attorney Mike Small claims his client is deserving of a unanimous jury verdict even though the alleged crime happened before January 1, 2019. Small filed a motion to declare that provision allowing for a non-unanimous verdict unconstitutional. Small, in his motion, stated “the recently amended provisions continue to permit a non-unanimous jury verdict in this non-capital criminal case.”
He further argues the provisions “are unconstitutional to the extent they allow for a non-unanimous jury verdict in this case.”
Small makes reference in his motion a current case before the United States Supreme Court. In that case State of Louisiana v. Ramos, the Supreme Court granted Writ of Certioari where the defendant’s attorney alleges the same arguments over the constitutionality of non-unanimous jury verdicts in non-capital cases such as in the Foret case where the death penalty is not a possible sentence.
The hearing on this motion and Foret’s next trial date are both set for September 5, 2019.
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: TONY MARKS Associate Editor