Louisiana v. Holloway

In 2012, the sentencing provisions of La. C.Cr.P. art. 890.1 were replaced with new ones addressing sentencing. After numerous delays, defendant Sean Holloway was convicted and sentenced in 2014 for an offense committed in 2007. The offense occurred in 2007 prior to the legislative changes; the conviction and sentencing occurred following the effective date of those changes. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to determine which version of La.C.Cr.P. art. 890.1 applied to the defendant’s sentence: the version in effect at the time of the offense, or the version in effect at the time of sentencing. After review of the language of the replacement article, which plainly stated that it applied “upon conviction, in sentencing the offender,” the Court found that it was the revised version of La. C.Cr.P. art. 890.1, effective May 17, 2012, that applied to defendant’s 2014 conviction and sentence, rather than the former version, in effect at the time of the offense. Therefore, the Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeal which vacated the designation of the defendant’s conviction as a crime of violence. View "Louisiana v. Holloway" on Justia Law