State v. Rodriguez

Luis Rodriguez (defendant) was charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly shooting Danny Heiness and Danny Landry. Rodriguez claimed that Jorge Serrano had committed the murder. However, the State of Louisiana (plaintiff) asserted that Rodriguez and Serrano had conspired for Serrano to claim responsibility for the murder to save Rodriguez from going to prison. At trial, Landry testified that he had no doubt that Rodriguez was the shooter. Landry also testified that he did not remember the shooter having a ponytail. Two other witnesses to the shooting also identified Rodriguez as the shooter. Although the witnesses both testified that they remembered the shooter as having a braid or a rat tail, they said that they would still identify Rodriguez as the shooter even if they learned that Rodriguez did not have a ponytail. All three witnesses testified that Serrano did not resemble Rodriguez. Two other witnesses testified that Serrano had a ponytail and that Rodriguez had never had a ponytail. The defense presented testimony from both Rodriguez and Serrano. Rodriguez testified that he had never worn a ponytail and always had the sides and back of his head shaved. Serrano was not asked about his hairstyle during nearly one and a half days of both direct examination and cross-examination. Defense counsel tried to ask Serrano about his hairstyle on redirect examination, but the state objected, and the court sustained the objection. The court also rejected defense counsel’s attempt to recall Serrano on the seventh day of trial to ask about his hairstyle. The jury ultimately found Rodriguez guilty, and he appealed.