Emery v. State

696 N.E.2d 872, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1051, 1998 WL 337867
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 25, 1998
DocketNo. 76A04-9706-CR-228
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 696 N.E.2d 872 (Emery 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
Emery v. State, 696 N.E.2d 872, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1051, 1998 WL 337867 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Case Summary

Appellant-Defendant Leonard Emery (“Emery”) appeals his convictions for Sexual Battery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon, and Attempted Rape While Armed With a Deadly Weapon.1 We affirm.

Issues

Emery raises two issues on appeal which we restate as:

I. Whether the trial court properly denied Emery’s Motion to Correct Error despite an improper extrajudicial communication between one juror and her boyfriend.
II. Whether Emery’s convictions for both Sexual Battery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon and Attempted Rape While Armed With a Deadly Weapon violated his right to be free from multiple punishments for the same offense.

Facts

The facts most favorable to the verdict indicate that on July 29, 1989, L.C. went to the office of Midwest Trucking Company (“Midwest”) on her way home from a five week truck driver training school to meet with Emery, who was working as the Dispatcher for Midwest,'to fill out some employment paperwork. After L.C. completed the paperwork, she left the office. However, before L.C. reached her truck, Emery came outside and informed her that there was an insurance paper she had forgotten to sign and that she needed to come back inside. L.C. complied with Emery’s request and returned to the office.

As L.C. began to read the insurance paper, Emery grabbed her from behind, held a knife to her throat, and fondled her breast. (R. 250-51). Emery told L.C. that “she had nice breasts” and that he “wanted her [p-].”. (R. 249-53). Afraid that Emery was going to cut her, L.C. grabbed the knife with her hand, and the two struggled. (R. 253-54). L.C. then tried to escape but Emery tripped her, knocked her to the floor and pinned her down. (R. 253-55). L.C. and Emery were still struggling over the knife when they agreed to throw the knife so that neither person could have it. (R. 255-56). Emery continued to pin L.C. on the floor and kiss her. Realizing that Emery intended to rape her, L.C. tried to distract him by saying, “Can’t we do this somewhere else? This is uncomfortable.” (R. 256). Emery responded by saying “No, there’s no where else” and then yanked her shirt out of her jeans while saying, “I want your [p-]” and ‘You’re a beautiful young lady.” (R. 256-58).

At that time, however, Emery realized that L.C. had been cut. Emery then led L.C. into the bathroom, while holding her wrists, to take care of her cuts which were bleeding. (R. 257). Emery did not let go of L.C. until she suggested she might have some band-aids in her truck. (R. 259, 261). Emery then walked L.C. to her truck and let L.C. get into the truck to look in the glove box while he stood in the doorway. (R. 261-62). Emery eventually let L.C. leave after she agreed not to tell the police. (R. 262-63). L.C.’s parents subsequently took her to the hospital where she received three or' four stitches. (R. 264).

Procedural History

Emery was convicted by a jury for Attempted Rape While Armed With A Deadly Weapon, Sexual Battery While Armed With A Deadly Weapon, and Battery While Armed With A Deadly Weapon. However, the trial [874]*874court only sentenced Emery on the Attempted Rape and Sexual .Battery convictions due to its earlier finding that the conviction for Battery While Armed With a Deadly Weapon merged with the Attempted Rape conviction. (R. 83). Emery subsequently filed a Motion to Correct Error which was denied.

Discussion and Decision

I. Extrajudicial Communication

Emery asserts that the trial court erred in-refusing to grant his Motion to Correct Error aftér it was discovered that juror Teresa Austin' (“Austin”) had learned, through an improper extra-judicial communication with her boyfriend, that Emery was a prisoner in jail. Thus, Emery claims that he was denied both the presumption of innocence and a fair trial. We disagree.

Initially, we note that the decision of the trial judge in a criminal prosecution is clothed with a presumption that the trial was properly conducted. Butler v. State, 622 N.E.2d 1035, 1039 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), trans. denied. Further, the decision whether or not to grant a motion for mistrial is left to the discretion of the trial court. Timm v. State, 644 N.E.2d 1235, 1237 (Ind.1994). A trial court’s decision regarding whether to grant a mistrial is afforded great deference on appeal because the trial court is in the best position to gauge the surrounding circumstances of an event and its impact on the jury. Kelley v. State, 555 N.E.2d 140, 141 (Ind.1990). Thus, we. review the ruling of the trial court to determine whether or not there was an abuse of d^cretion. Pittman v. State, 528 N.E.2d 67, 72 (Ind.1988).

We will not reverse the denial of a motion for a mistrial unless the.alleged error was so prejudicial and inflammatory that the defendant was placed in a position of grave peril to which he would not otherwise have been subjected. Because of the fundamental role of the jury in our system of justice, however, a rebuttable presumption of prejudice arises where a juror has been involved in out-of-court communications.

Timm, 644 N.E.2d at 1237. “Once the,.defendant establishes to the satisfaction of the trial court that improper contact occurred and that it pertained to a matter before the jury, the presumption arises and the burden shifts to the State for rebuttal.” Butler, 622 N.E.2d at 1040. At that point, upon consideration of all the evidence, the trial court must be convinced that a substantial possibility existed that the verdict was prejudiced by the improper material before a reversal and new trial will be granted. Id.

The record reveals that on March 19, 1997, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing on Emery’s Motion to Correct Error where Austin testified regarding the conversation which took place between she and her boyfriend after the first day of Emery’s trial as follows:

Q: Did your boyfriend indicate to you information regarding Emery’s past convictions?
A: No.
Q: Well ... you informed the Prosecutor that he gave you or said some stuff to . you about Mr. Emery’s_
A: All that was said was something about him bein’ in jail, which I already knew.... But then he quit talkin’ because then he says, you know, ‘you’re not supposed to talk about that are you?’ And I said ‘No.’ And that was it.
Q: But you’re saying that there was never any mention of why he was in jail?
A: No. I still don’t even know why....
Q: Okay. But you wouldn’t have known he was even in jail except for what your boyfriend had told you, is that correct?
A: Oh yes, I would have known from the simple fact I went to get on the elevator one day returning from lunch, the first day, and there was two or three other people with me at the time. We couldn’t get on the elevator because somebody was transporting a prisoner.

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Related

Allen v. State
725 N.E.2d 472 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2000)
Emery v. State
717 N.E.2d 111 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
696 N.E.2d 872, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1051, 1998 WL 337867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/emery-v-state-indctapp-1998.