Bryce v. State

545 N.E.2d 1094, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1020, 1989 WL 132161
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 30, 1989
Docket49A04-8903-CR-86
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 545 N.E.2d 1094 (Bryce v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryce v. State, 545 N.E.2d 1094, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1020, 1989 WL 132161 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinions

CHEZEM, Presiding Judge.

Statement of the Case

Defendant, Thomas Bryce, appeals the revocation of his suspended sentence for possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor. We affirm.

Issues

I. Whether Bryce was denied due process because either he did not receive, or the record does not reflect that he received, written notice of his probation violation.

II. Whether the trial court erred in admitting State's Exhibits one, a compilation of test results, and two, a report of test results, under the business record exception to the hearsay rule.

III. Whether the trial court erred in revoking Bryce's probation because of insufficient evidence.

Facts

On September 10, 1986, Bryce was charged with possession of cocaine, a Class D felony, and possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor. On October 27, 1987, Bryce pleaded guilty to the latter offense; his sentence included a 865 day suspended sentence, one year of probation, alcohol and drug treatment, and a seven dollar fine.

The written probation order, in part, contained the following conditions:

You are not to commit another criminal offense. You are to participate in an alcohol, drug treatment, or education program ...

The written order containing the conditions of probation was stamped with Judge Cord-ingley's signature stamp beside the date "10-27, 1987." Bryce's signature was below the judge's. -

A violation of probation hearing was held September 28, 1988. The record does not reflect whether Bryce received written notice of the probation violation.

Bryce's probation officer, Tina Cordova, informed the court that Bryce was in violation of a condition of probation "by being unsuccessfully terminated from drug treatment." The specific reason defendant was unsuccessfully terminated was that his urine tested positive for cocaine on April 5, 1988. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge revoked Bryce's probation and sentenced him to 865 days in jail.

On December 30, 1988, Bryce's amended belated motion to correct error was denied.

Discussion and Decision

I

Bryce first contends that he did not receive due process of law, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, because the record does not contain a written notice of his probation violation. Bryce correctly stated that the record does not reflect that a written notice was provided to Bryce; no evidence was presented to show that Bryce did or did not receive written notice. Bryce was also correct to point out that Black v. Romano (1985), 471 U.S. 606, 105 S.Ct. 2254, 85 LE.2d 636, holds that a "probationer is entitled to written notice of the claimed violations of his probation." supra, 105 S.Ct. at 2258.

Constitutional errors are not necessarily fundamental errors and therefore may be waived if not properly preserved for appeal. Fundamental error is error such that, if not rectified, would be a denial of fundamental due process. Foster v. State (1985), Ind., 484 N.E.2d 965, 967.

The record reflects that Bryce appeared with counsel at the probation violation hearing; thus, it is apparent that he received actual notice of the hearing. Therefore, even though he may not have received written notice, he was not denied fundamental due process. Bryce did not object to the alleged lack of written notice at the hearing; the first time Bryce complained of the lack of written notice was in his belated motion to correct error. He, therefore, failed to preserve this issue for appeal, and it is waived. Ind. Rules of Trial Procedure, Trial Rule 59(D)(1); Boles v. State (1975), 163 Ind.App. 196, 322 N.E.2d 722, 725.

[1097]*1097II

Bryce next contends that State's exhibits one and two should not have been admitted at his probation violation hearing over his objections. He argues that the exhibits are hearsay, and, if the business records exception to hearsay applies, a proper foundation was not established to admit the exhibits. Bryce made timely objections to both exhibits; however, he failed to provide a basis for his objection to exhibit two. It appears that defense counsel was interrupted while attempting to provide a basis for the objection, but because he neither completed his objection nor can we, by speculation, complete his objection now, it is waived. Boles, 322 N.E.2d at 725.

State's exhibit one is a photocopy of a document retrieved from a microfiche system and consists of a "compilation of all the testing results up to a copy of the final report." The test results showed the presence of illicit drugs in Bryce's urine on two separate occasions. State's exhibit 'two consists of photocopies of the results of testing on April 6, 1989 and July 9, 1989.

The supervisor' of the Department of Toxicology, Christie Zurface, testified regarding State's exhibit one. When asked whether she was the person who actually tested Bryce's urine, Ms. Zurface answered, "No, I am the supervisor of the department and I sign off on the results and review the results of those tests that my technicians have performed." She also stated that she "reviewed" the report produced on Bryce's urine testing and that it was "in order." She then identified a copy of the report, State's exhibit number one, noting that the original was sent to Fall Creek Counseling. When asked, Ms. Zur-face testified that she was not the custodian of this record.

As offered, State's exhibit one is hearsay: it was a written out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted therein. Potterson v. State (1975), 263 Ind. 55, 324 N.E.2d 482, 484. However, it might have been admissible under the business records exception to hearsay had a proper foundation been laid. Smith v. State (1983), Ind., 455 N.E.2d 606, explains the requirements for a business records foundation: -

1) The records offered must have been the original entries;
2) They must have 'been made in the regular course of business at or near the time of the event recorded;
- 8) The facts must have been within the first hand knowledge of someone whose business duty it was to observe and report the facts; and
4) The witness who had knowledge of the facts must be unavailable. (citing Wells v. State (1970), 254 Ind. 608, 261 N.E.2d 865.)

Id., at 607.

The record reveals that Ms. Zurface did not create the business record (exhibit one) nor was she the keeper of the records. Also, at trial the State did not discuss whether the keeper of the records was unavailable for trial. However, in its appellate brief, the State argues that the person "who had personal knowledge of the facts was unavailable at trial" because "there is nothing in the exhibits or in the testimony to indicate which technician performed the urine screen." The State then cites Lyons v. State (1987), Ind., 506 N.E.2d 813

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Bryce v. State
545 N.E.2d 1094 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
545 N.E.2d 1094, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1020, 1989 WL 132161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryce-v-state-indctapp-1989.