D.Z. v. State of Indiana

96 N.E.3d 595
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 22, 2018
Docket32A05-1708-JV-1907
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 96 N.E.3d 595 (D.Z. v. State of Indiana) 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
D.Z. v. State of Indiana, 96 N.E.3d 595 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinions

Riley, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

[1] Appellant-Respondent, D.Z., appeals the juvenile court's delinquency adjudication for an act that would have been a Class B misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

[2] We reverse.

ISSUE

[3] D.Z. presents us with four issues on appeal, one of which we find dispositive and which we restate as: Whether the juvenile court abused its discretion by admitting D.Z.'s incriminating statements to a school official, who was working in cooperation with law enforcement.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

[4] Around February or March 2017, graffiti of a sexual nature began to appear on the walls of the boys' restrooms at Brownsburg High School, in Indiana. Assistant principal Demetrius Dowler (Dowler) commenced an investigation to find the person responsible and reviewed surveillance video footage of the hallways where the related bathrooms are located. On March 15, 2017, Dowler reported "mischief of vandalism and graffiti" on the bathroom walls and stalls to Officer Nathan Flynn (Officer Flynn) and requested his assistance with the ongoing investigation. (Tr. p. 17). Officer Flynn is a police officer with the Brownsburg community schools and is employed "by the school for law enforcement duties." (Tr. p. 17). In that capacity, he is "called to investigate allegations of misconduct within the school." (Tr. p. 17). Together, Officer Flynn and Dowler started a methodical search of the boys' restrooms *598and narrowed down time frames when graffiti was located. They used these time frames to review surveillance footage to determine who was in the restrooms during the time when new graffiti appeared. After reviewing the surveillance video, both Officer Flynn and Dowler pinpointed seventeen-year-old D.Z. as a suspect.

[5] On March 17, 2017, Dowler called D.Z. down to his office for a "discussion" right before the "[e]nd of the day." (Tr. pp. 55, 56). Dowler questioned D.Z. in his office with the door closed. D.Z. was not offered the opportunity to speak to a parent or guardian prior to the commencement of the interview, nor was his parent or guardian contacted prior to D.Z.'s removal from class. During this conversation, D.Z. was not advised that "he had a right not to answer questions that might incriminate himself." (Tr. p. 56). Dowler informed D.Z. that he had been "tracking some restroom graffiti" and explained the investigation to him. (Tr. p. 61). Dowler clarified that he "knew that [D.Z.] was the one that was responsible for graffiti on the wall." (Tr. p. 61). D.Z. responded that he didn't know why he did it. After D.Z. showed remorse, Dowler told him that "what [he] did was wrong and so we're going to have to definitely take care of it." (Tr. p. 62). Dowler suspended D.Z. for five days. After his discussion with D.Z., Dowler left the room and informed Officer Flynn that D.Z. had "admitted to the messages/writing on the wall." (Tr. p. 43). Dowler then contacted D.Z.'s father. Meanwhile, Officer Flynn, in full police uniform, entered Dowler's office and spoke to D.Z. The officer did not advise D.Z. of his constitutional rights, contact D.Z.'s father, or record the interview. Eventually, at the end of the interview, Officer Flynn "let [D.Z.] know he was being charged with a crime." (Tr. p. 44).

[6] On April 18, 2017, the State filed a Petition Alleging Delinquency, claiming that D.Z. had committed acts that would be an offense if committed by an adult, namely, criminal mischief and harassment. On July 17, 2017, the juvenile court conducted a fact-finding hearing. During the hearing, D.Z. moved to suppress, and the State agreed to suppress, the testimony of Officer Flynn regarding incriminating statements made to him by D.Z. as D.Z. had not been informed of his Miranda1 rights prior to uttering the statements. The juvenile court granted the motion. At the conclusion of the fact-finding hearing, the juvenile court entered a true finding on the allegation of criminal mischief, as a Class B misdemeanor if committed by an adult, but found that the State had not established the harassment allegation beyond a reasonable doubt. That same day, the juvenile court placed D.Z. on probation for four months.

[7] D.Z. now appeals. Additional facts will be provided when necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

[8] D.Z. contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion by admitting into evidence, over his objection, the incriminating statements he made during the meeting with the assistant principal. He maintains that these statements were obtained in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution because he was subjected to a custodial interrogation without being advised of his rights under Miranda .

[9] A trial court is afforded broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and we will reverse such a ruling only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion.

*599Bentley v. State , 846 N.E.2d 300, 304 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), trans. denied . An abuse of discretion involves a decision that is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court. Id. In making this decision, this court does not reweigh evidence and considers conflicting evidence in a light most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Cole v. State , 878 N.E.2d 882, 885 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Regarding the "abuse of discretion" standard generally, our supreme court has observed, "to the extent a ruling is based on an error of law or is not supported by the evidence it is reversible, and the trial court has no discretion to reach the wrong result." Pruitt v. State , 834 N.E.2d 90, 104 (Ind. 2005).

[10] "A juvenile charged with delinquency is entitled to have the court apply those common law jurisprudential principles [that] experience and reason have shown are necessary to give the accused the essence of a fair trial." In re K.G ., 808 N.E.2d 631, 635 (Ind. 2004) (citing In re Gault , 387 U.S. 1, 30, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967) ). "Without question, these include ...

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Related

D.Z. v. State of Indiana
100 N.E.3d 246 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2018)

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Bluebook (online)
96 N.E.3d 595, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dz-v-state-of-indiana-indctapp-2018.