State v. Mitchell

The defendant, Arthur Mitchell, appeals his jury conviction of simple escape (La. R.S. 14:110) on the basis of two bills of exceptions reserved and perfected during his trial. However, we do not consider these bills because there is an error, patent on the face of the error, which merits attention. (La.C.Cr.P. Art. 920).

The court minutes state: “The jury then rendered a written verdict as follows . . . State v. Arthur Mitchell, Guilty Simple Escape, signed Jessie J. Bordelon, Foreman.” However, in the verdict itself the word “guilty” was not used, and, indeed, it does not specify its…