State v. Butler

The State of Louisiana (plaintiff) charged Herbert Butler (defendant) with second-degree murder for the shooting death of Michelle Poche. Butler asserted an insanity defense and claimed that he fired his gun in self-defense but did not know whether he hit anyone. At Butler’s trial, the state presented testimony from Namon Harris, Butler’s coworker, who testified that Butler drove to Harris’s apartment the day after the shooting and told Harris that he “got in trouble with a gun.” Harris testified that Butler told Harris and another coworker that he had gone to see Poche, he had fired a gun in self-defense, and he did not know whether he had hit anyone. Harris also testified that Butler was asking questions about what would happen to him in the future. On cross-examination, the defense asked Harris whether it could be said that Butler was in a trance after the shooting. The state objected to the question, asserting that Harris could not have known whether Butler was in a trance. The trial court sustained the objection. In response to further questioning by the defense, Harris testified that he thought Butler’s demeanor after the shooting was different from Butler’s typical joking and easygoing nature. During the defense’s case, the defense called bail bondsman Joe Collier to testify on Butler’s behalf. Collier testified that he had helped Poche post bond for Butler when Butler was arrested several months before the shooting for burglarizing Poche’s apartment. On cross-examination, Collier testified that it was not unusual for girlfriends to post bond for their boyfriends. On redirect examination, the defense asked Collier whether, in Collier’s opinion, Butler’s relationship to Poche was unusual compared to other cases Collier had seen. The state objected, asserting that the defense had not defined the term unusual. The court sustained the objection. The jury ultimately found Butler guilty, and he appealed.