Legal Opinion
State v. Sparks
Supreme Court of Louisiana
Decided May 11, 2011No. 1988-KA-0017PublishedCited by 93 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
KNOLL, Justice.
|, On February 9, 1984, a Tangipahoa Parish grand jury indicted Thomas Sparks 1 (“defendant”) for the first-degree murder of Edward Toefield, Jr. On August 18, 1986, a unanimous jury found the defendant guilty as charged. At the penalty phase of the trial, the jury unanimously returned a verdict of death, after finding the following aggravating circumstance: the victim was a peace officer engaged in his lawful duties.
This is a direct appeal under La. Const. art. V, § 5(D) by the defendant. Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence, raising 23 assignments of error. We will…
2Cases cited144 opinions
- Strickland v. WashingtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Brady v. MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Chapman v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
- Miller-El v. CockrellSupreme Court of the United States · 2003
- Batson v. KentuckySupreme Court of the United States · 1986
139 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by93 opinions
- State v. MageeSupreme Court of Louisiana · 2012
- Shawn Higgins v. Burl Cain, WardenCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2013
- State v. NelsonSupreme Court of Louisiana · 2012
- State v. CrossleyLouisiana Court of Appeal · 2013
- Bell, Vaughn RayCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2013
88 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.