Clemons v. State

424 N.E.2d 113, 1981 Ind. LEXIS 928
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 5, 1981
Docket1180S423
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 424 N.E.2d 113 (Clemons 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
Clemons v. State, 424 N.E.2d 113, 1981 Ind. LEXIS 928 (Ind. 1981).

Opinion

HUNTER, Justice.

The defendant, James Burnus Clemons, was charged with attempted murder, a class A felony, Ind.Code §§ 35-42-1-1 and 35-41-5-1 (Burns 1979 Repl.). He was tried by a jury and found guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter, a class B felony, Ind. Code §§ 35-42-1-3 and 35-41-5-1 (Burns 1979 Repl.). The Court sentenced him to twenty years’ imprisonment. This direct appeal raises the following issues:

1. Whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for change of judge;

2. Whether the trial court erred in admitting certain photographs and a pair of pants into evidence;

3. Whether the court erred in admitting certain testimony of a state’s witness relating to a collateral offense and intent;

4. Whether the court erred in refusing to give one of defendant’s tendered final instructions; and

5. Whether the court erred in giving certain final instructions over defendant’s objections.

A brief summary of the facts from the record most favorable to the state shows that on June 16, 1979, the victim, Bruce Burnett, was shot in the right thigh while he was standing on a street corner in Michigan City, Indiana. Burnett and his cousin, Olan Sims, had spent the earlier part of the evening at a party at a residence on the corner where the shooting occurred. They left the party late in the evening and went to a tavern and then to a restaurant to eat breakfast. Sims was driving during this time. At approximately 3:00 a. m. they returned to the location of the party from the restaurant to get Burnett’s-automobile which was parked in the backyard of the house. They saw two men who were later identified as Michael Roberts and the defendant walking down the street.

Burnett got into his car but couldn’t find his keys. He told Sims to wait while he went into the house to find them. Burnett started towards the house when the two men approached him and one said, “Why are you following us?” A struggle ensued wherein one of the men hit Burnett on the head with karate sticks and the other man shot him in the thigh, although Burnett tried to knock the gun away. Sims was not close enough to see the struggle, but heard the gunshot and saw two men run away.

A police car quickly arrived at the scene and the officer found Burnett standing there with a large patch of discoloration on his right pants leg. Burnett started toward *116 the police car, but then fell down. The officer saw he was lying in a pool of blood and administered first aid. There was testimony that Burnett would have died from loss of blood if he had not received prompt attention, since both an artery and a vein had been hit.

Roberts testified that he and defendant had visited several taverns that evening. Defendant was drinking heavily and became rowdy. At one tavern they visited, someone gave defendant a handgun. As defendant and Roberts were walking home, defendant shot out a car window, pointed his gun at another person who was driving by in a car, then shot Burnett in the struggle with him. After this incident, defendant shot out another car window before he went into his house.

I.

Defendant’s first allegation of error is that his motion for change of judge was improperly denied. Defendant was charged with the crime of attempted murder on July 6, 1979, and entered into a plea agreement with the state about February 25, 1980, in which he would plead guilty to a charge of battery. However, when the plea agreement was presented to the court on March 28, 1980, the court refused to approve the agreement. Defendant then filed his motion for change of judge under Ind.R. Crim.P. 12, alleging bias and prejudice of the judge based upon the court’s refusal to accept the plea agreement and the judge’s familiarity with defendant and other members of his family who had previously appeared before this judge.

It is well settled that at the time of this case a defendant had an absolute right to a change of judge when he filed a timely petition in accordance with Criminal Rule 12. State ex rel. Benjamin v. Criminal Court of Marion Co., (1976) 264 Ind. 191, 341 N.E.2d 495. However, since defendant’s motion was filed after the expiration of the time limits set forth in the rule, it is governed by the following language:

“Provided, however, that if the applicant first obtains knowledge of the cause for change of venue from the judge or from the county after the time above limited, he may file the application, which shall be verified by the party himself specifically alleging when the cause was first discovered, how it was discovered, the facts showing the cause for a change, and why such cause could not have been discovered before by the exercise of due diligence. Any opposing party shall have the right to file counter-affidavits on such issue within ten [10] days, and the ruling of the court may be reviewed only for abuse of discretion. Ind.R.Crim.P. 12 [emphasis added].

Defendant’s petition is sufficient to comply with the technical requirements of the rule. However, we can review the trial court’s actions only for an abuse of discretion. The burden is on defendant to show a clear abuse of discretion by the trial court. Cade v. State, (1976) 264 Ind. 569, 348 N.E.2d 394.

The main basis upon which defendant relies is that the trial court’s rejection of the plea bargain constituted prejudice and bias sufficient to require a change of judge. It is well settled that a defendant has no absolute right to have a guilty plea accepted and that a court may reject a plea in the exercise of its sound judicial discretion. Santobello v. New York, (1971) 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427; Stacks v. State, (1978) Ind.App., 372 N.E.2d 1201; Griffith v. State, (1975) 163 Ind.App. 11, 321 N.E.2d 576. Therefore, the act of rejecting a plea bargain is not sufficient of itself to establish the bias and prejudice of the trial court. We have often held that this Court cannot assume bias or prejudice exists, but must rely upon the record to show evidence thereof. Kleinrichert v. State, (1973) 260 Ind. 537, 297 N.E.2d 822. The fact that a defendant has appeared before a certain judge in prior actions does not establish the existence of any bias or prejudice on that judge’s part.

The record in the instant case does not show that the trial judge participated in the plea bargaining prior to the tender of *117 the plea agreement on March 28, 1980.

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Bluebook (online)
424 N.E.2d 113, 1981 Ind. LEXIS 928, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clemons-v-state-ind-1981.