Bixler v. State

537 N.E.2d 21, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 113, 1989 WL 38330
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 18, 1989
Docket71S00-8803-CR-332
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 537 N.E.2d 21 (Bixler v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bixler v. State, 537 N.E.2d 21, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 113, 1989 WL 38330 (Ind. 1989).

Opinion

GIVAN, Justice.

A jury trial resulted in the conviction of appellant of Child Molesting, a Class B felony, and Child Molesting, a Class C felony. He received concurrent sentences of fourteen (14) and seven (7) years, respectively.

The facts are: In the summer of 1984, appellant drove his eleven-year-old stepdaughter T.Z. to Elkhart Creek in his camper truck. Prior to going swimming there, appellant told T.Z. to remove her clothing to keep it dry; she complied and appellant did the same. After the swim, T.Z. got in the camper and appellant took the towel, dried her back and stomach, and began fondling her breasts. He then had her lie down on a mattress in the camper and proceeded to have intercourse with her.

T.Z. testified that appellant had intercourse with her numerous times during the remainder of 1984. She also recounted an incident in early February of 1985 when as she was showering, appellant took her clothes from the bathroom and put them in his bedroom; when she went to retrieve her clothes, appellant had intercourse with her. She further testified that on her twelfth birthday, February 26, 1985, appellant had intercourse with her around 3:00 a.m. in the kitchen.

T.Z. testified that from about her twelfth birthday on, appellant had intercourse with her approximately once a week. Appellant’s final interlude with T.Z. occurred April 20, 1986, shortly before the victim left home to go to a runaway shelter and then to a foster home where she lived until the time of trial.

Appellant contends the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of two “de *23 praved sexual instinct” witnesses for the State. S.Z., T.Z.’s mother’s younger sister, testified that appellant had engaged in oral sex and intercourse with her from the time she was age eleven until she left her sister’s home at age seventeen. C.B., a friend of S.Z., testified that when she was age fifteen, appellant had intercourse with both S.Z. and herself while driving her home from a visit with S.Z.

Appellant maintains the testimony of S.Z. and C.B. was improperly admitted because the acts alleged were never reduced to convictions. However, he cites no authority for his argument and thus it is waived. Ind.R.App.P. 8.3(A)(7); Reed v. State (1985), Ind., 479 N.E.2d 1248. Moreover, his argument is meritless. Evidence of uncharged sexual misconduct is admissible to show the accused’s depraved sexual instinct. Maynard v. State (1987), Ind., 513 N.E.2d 641.

Appellant contends the testimony of S.Z. and C.B. was inadmissible because the State failed to provide the dates of commission of the uncharged acts of sexual misconduct. Appellant fails to cite any authority in support and fails to cite us to pertinent portions of the record where the alleged error occurred; he thus has waived the issue. Reed, supra.

As the State points out, prior to trial appellant deposed S.Z. and interviewed C.B. and thus had the opportunity to discover the dates himself. However, it would not be realistic to expect witnesses to recall the exact dates of acts perpetrated several years before trial; for this reason, the lack of precise dating goes to the weight of the testimony rather than to its admissibility. A defendant is not entitled to a more specific allegation of the date than circumstances will allow. Clifford v. State (1985), Ind., 474 N.E.2d 963. The testimony of S.Z. and C.B. was not rendered inadmissible due to imprecise chronology.

Appellant contends the testimony of C.B. should not have been admitted because the State failed to make her available for deposition by the defense. C.B.’s name was included on the witness list provided appellant by the State during discovery. On the day appellant was to depose C.B. along with T.Z. and S.Z., the State informed him C.B. could not be located and would not be present. Just before trial, counsel for appellant filed a motion in limine to exclude C.B.’s testimony, acknowledging he had located and interviewed her shortly before. His motion was denied, renewed at trial, and again denied.

Appellant claims C.B.’s testimony should have been excluded because he was surprised that she appeared to testify. He fails to cite authority or pertinent parts of the record and thus waives this issue. Reed, supra. Moreover, as found by the trial court, the prosecution here withheld no information deliberately; thus exclusion was not the proper remedy. Wiseheart v. State (1986), Ind., 491 N.E.2d 985. Appellant had been apprised during discovery of the gist of C.B.’s testimony and alleges no surprise or inability to defend resulting from the content of C.B.’s testimony. The record reveals, in fact, that C.B. was extensively cross-examined. Absent a showing of prejudice, no reversible error is demonstrated. Smith v. State (1985), Ind., 475 N.E.2d 27. C.B.’s testimony was not improperly admitted.

Appellant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial made after a witness for the State mentioned a polygraph test. S.Z., the victim’s aunt, testified she reported appellant’s misconduct involving her to authorities but he was never charged. A sex crimes investigator for the St. Joseph County Sheriff, Detective Sergeant Elaine Battles, who had interviewed S.Z. and C.B. as well as the victim T.Z., was asked on redirect examination why appellant had not been charged with molesting S.Z. and C.B.

She replied it was because C.B. had been reluctant to press charges. On recross, she was asked, “What about [S.Z.]?” and she responded, “No, she was most cooperative, she took a polygraph.” Appellant then moved for a mistrial, citing Williams v. State (1978), 268 Ind. 365, 375 N.E.2d 226 for the proposition that absent a stipu *24 lation, reference to a witness’ polygraph test is reversible error because it lends undue credence to that witness’ testimony.

Our standard of review for denial of a motion for mistrial is whether the trial court abused its discretion such that the accused was harmed and thereby subjected to grave peril. Reese v. State (1983), Ind., 452 N.E.2d 936. In Williams, supra, we decided the reference to a polygraph test had harmed the petitioner sufficiently to warrant reversal because the credibility presumably enhanced was that of the State’s primary witness, whose testimony was critical to the outcome of the case. Also, the prosecution had questioned the witness directly about the polygraph test, and defense counsel’s request for an admonishment for the jury to disregard the reference was refused by the trial court.

In the case at bar, however, the polygraph remark was not purposely elicited but rather was included unexpectedly in the witness’ response.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
537 N.E.2d 21, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 113, 1989 WL 38330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bixler-v-state-ind-1989.