Dearman v. State

315 N.E.2d 405, 161 Ind. App. 263, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 933
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 15, 1974
DocketNo. 2-1172A104
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 315 N.E.2d 405 (Dearman 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
Dearman v. State, 315 N.E.2d 405, 161 Ind. App. 263, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 933 (Ind. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

White, J.

Defendant was tried by the court sitting without a jury on a three count affidavit charging (1) Robbery; (2) Inflicting Injury in Robbery; and (3) Carrying a Pistol Without a License. Found not guilty on counts two and three, he appeals from a ten-to-twenty-five year sentence imposed following conviction of the robbery charge. His appeal presents issues centered upon his allegations of (1) insufficiency of the evidence, and suppression of evidence by the prosecutor; (2) inadequacy of post-conviction representation by his court-appointed trial counsel and by counsel appointed to take this appeal.

We affirm.

I.

At the trial the only witness for the State was the alleged victim of the robbery. He testified that on February 21, 1972, between 9:30 and 10:00 P.M., defendant came up behind him with a pistol on an Indianapolis street and ordered him into [264]*264an alley. When the defendant asked for money the victim tried to talk him out of the robbery. Defendant became angry and impatient, knocked him down with the pistol, hit him several more times, and took his billfold containing approximately twenty dollars. There was a lot of light, he could see defendant clearly, and positively identified him in court, although he had never seen him before the robbery nor thereafter until he saw him in court.

Defendant was the only defense witness. He denied having committed the robbery and said that at the time he was on Indiana Avenue with a friend, “Adelle Modley”, until about 10:00 and then went to the Shalimar Tavern at 22nd and Central. He denied having seen the victim until he was already under arrest but said, “I may have on 22nd Street but I don’t think I seen him, if he was around the Shalimar Tavern.” On cross-examination he was “afraid” his friend Adelle Modley was not in court and that he could be home. He hadn’t talked to him since being arrested.

Although only the victim testified for the State, it is readily apparent that his testimony constituted substantial evidence of probative value sufficient, if believed, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the crime of robbery. The victim here has a much better opportunity, over a much longer period, to observe his robber than in many other cases which also rest entirely on victim identification. His in-court identification is impervious to attack here. See Hardin v. State (1972), 153 Ind. App. 317, 287 N.E.2d 359, 32 Ind. Dec. 579. Even an impermissively suggestive pretrial showup, lineup, or confrontation, (not relied on to bolster the victim’s in-court identification) would not have rendered the identification improper. Johnson v. State (1972), 257 Ind. 682, 278 N.E.2d 577, 581; Wilson v. State (1970), 253 Ind. 585, 589, 255 N.E.2d 817, 820.

Appellant’s attack on the sufficiency of the evidence is both ingenious and eloquent but of no avail at the appellate level since it goes merely to the weight of the evidence, not to its [265]*265legal sufficiency. Asher v. State (1969), 253 Ind. 25, 244 N.E.2d 89, 16 Ind. Dec. 429, cert. den. 396 U.S. 821; McGowan v. State (1973), 156 Ind. App. 344, 296 N.E.2d 667, 36 Ind. Dec. 631; McChristian v. State (1974), 160 Ind. App. 442, 312 N.E.2d 531, 42 Ind. Dec. 380; Ard v. State (1974), 160 Ind. App. 438, 312 N.E.2d 512, 42 Ind. Dec. 386.

As summarized by counsel, appellant’s contention is that:

“The prosecutor suppressed or withheld evidence concerning the prosecuting witness’s pre-trial confrontation with the defendant. The prosecutor thereby avoided and failed to satisfy his burden of showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that the in-court identification was not the product of a suggestive pre-trial confrontation.
“The trial of defendant lacked fundamental fairness in that the prosecution presented no corroborating evidence, although it is apparent that, if defendant was guilty, there should have been some such evidence easily available. The trial, as presented, amounted to nothing more than a coin-toss as to which person the judge would believe.”

The charge that the prosecutor suppressed evidence appears to be based solely on an admonition by the trial deputy prosecutor to the victim during direct examination at the trial as follows:

“Q. Have you seen this person [the robber] since then?
“A. Yes sir.
“Q. Where?
“A. I came — the detective called me—
“Q. Well, let’s not talk about that. Where did you see him? [Our emphasis.]
“A. I seen him in court.”

It is obvious that the deputy was merely attempting to avoid hearsay testimony (i.e., what the detective said) not responsive to his questions. His asking the witness not to talk about the detective having called the witness falls far short of constituting suppression of admissible evidence. Had the witness continued with whatever it was that he started to say, there is absolutely no indication that it would have been helpful to defendant; only that it would have been [266]*266hearsay. We see no misconduct or “suppression” in the admonition.

Asking, as appellant does, why the State did not show why the victim was asked to come to the court (presumably the Municipal Court) where he saw defendant for the first time after the robbery, or why there was no evidence about what became of the gun, or of the wallet, or of the twenty dollars, or why only one of five witnesses endorsed on the affidavit was called to testify, is argument which could have been of interest to the trial judge whose duty it was to weigh the evidence, but before appellate judges who have neither that duty nor that power, it is wasted. (See cases last above cited.)

II.

Pursuant to Criminal Rule 11 the trial court at sentencing ascertained that defendant wished to have a motion to correct errors filed in his behalf and that he wished an attorney appointed to take an appeal if the motion were overruled. The public defender was instructed to, and did, file such a motion which was overruled. Appeal counsel was appointed. He examined the record and discovered a letter to the judge written by the defendant at the jail approximately a month after the sentencing. The letter charged that the public defender had not adequately represented defendant. His appeal counsel convinced the trial judge that Ware v. State (1972), 152 Ind. App. 582, 284 N.E.2d 543, appeared to require a hearing on the charge and a hearing was held. At that hearing appellate counsel acted as defendant’s attorney. In his opening statement he said, inter alia,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Russell v. State
378 N.E.2d 872 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1978)
Renfroe v. State
316 N.E.2d 405 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
315 N.E.2d 405, 161 Ind. App. 263, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 933, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dearman-v-state-indctapp-1974.