Garren v. State

470 N.E.2d 719, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1024
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 19, 1984
Docket483S126
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 470 N.E.2d 719 (Garren 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
Garren v. State, 470 N.E.2d 719, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1024 (Ind. 1984).

Opinion

PRENTICE, Justice.

Following a trial by jury, Defendant (Appellant) was convicted of Arson, a class B felony, Ind. Code § 85-48-1-1(a)(2) (Burns 1979) and was found to be an habitual offender. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8 (Burns Supp.1984). He was sentenced to forty (40) years imprisonment. In his direct appeal he raises five (5) issues for our review:

(1) Whether the trial court erred in denying, in part, Defendant's petition to recuse the Prosecutor and his staff;

(2) Whether the trial court erred in admitting into evidence State's exhibit D, a photograph;

(8) Whether the trial court erred in failing to arraign the Defendant prior to trial;

(4) Whether Defendant was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to object to his going to trial without having been arraigned;

(5) Whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction for the crime of arson.

The record disclosed that on April 28, 1982, Defendant was incarcerated in the Tippecanoe County Jail. At approximately 8:80 p.m., he complained that his mother had been refused a visit and stated that he was going to tear the place apart. Shortly thereafter, the fire alarm sounded in the cell block in which Defendant was housed. Arriving at that cell block, the jailer saw heavy, black smoke and a fire in Defendant's cell. There were papers and cups burning on Defendant's mattress. He then removed two other inmates from the area. Defendant, however, refused to leave his cell and had to be forcibly removed. Approximately one dozen firemen arrived on the seene, and some of those men removed the smoldering mattress from Defendant's cell A fire official determined that the fire had been intentionally set.

ISSUE I

Approximately three months before trial, Defendant sought, by petition, to have the Prosecutor and his staff recused from this cause inasmuch as the Progecutor had previously represented him in a *722 criminal cause upon which, in part, the instant habitual offender charge against him was based. The trial court granted the petition as to the habitual offender charge, but denied the petition as to the arson charge. Defendant assigns such ruling as reversible error.

The Defendant argues that our holding in State ex rel. Meyers v. Tippecanoe County Court, (1982) Ind., 432 N.E.2d 1377, mandates a reversal in the case at bar. The State relies upon our holding in Havens v. State, (1981) Ind., 429 N.E.2d 618, to support its position that the trial court did not err in its ruling. In Meyers, the prosecutor had represented the defendant in two prior theft cases which became the basis of an habitual offender charge. The trial court disqualified the prosecutor from prosecuting either phase of the trial. The prosecutor then filed a petition for writ of mandamus which this Court denied. In so doing, the Court observed:

"In this case, it appears that nothing in Meyers's representation of the accused in the two prior theft cases would have any relation to the present theft case. However, the habitual offender charge is based upon the same two prior theft cases in which Meyers was involved. Therefore, there is a substantial relationship involved. Although it is true, that the fact of the defendant's prior convie-tions are a matter of public record, we cannot say without speculation that the prosecutor's knowledge of those prior cases will not actually result in prejudice to defendant. The public trust in the integrity of the judicial process requires us to resolve any serious doubt in favor of disqualification. The trial court properly held that prosecutor Meyers must be disqualified in this case.

State ex rel. Meyers v. Tippecanoe County Court, 432 N.E.2d at 1379. In Havens, the deputy prosecutor had represented the appellant in the actions which were alleged as the basis of the habitual offender charge. The trial court disqualified the deputy prosecutor from representing the State upon the habitual offender charge, but denied the motion with respect to the substantive offense. The appellant argued that the trial court's ruling was erroneous. This Court, however, reasoned that inasmuch as the appellant had not shown that the prose-eutor had acquired any knowledge through his past professional relationship with the appellant upon which the prosecution on the substantive offense in the case was predicated, there was no error in allowing the prosecutor to act during that phase of the trial.

The situation in Havens appears to be identical to the one in the case at bar; however, Defendant argues that inasmuch as Meyers upheld the disqualification of the prosecutor as to both phases of the case and was decided one year after Havens, its holding controls the decision here. We do not agree. The fact that this Court denied the writ of mandamus in Meyers does not necessarily imply that we would have found reversible error if the trial court had allowed the prosecutor to act on the substantive charge in the case. Moreover, since the decision in Meyers, this Court has had occasion to address this issue a third time. In Sears v. State, (1983) Ind., 457 N.E.2d 192, the appellant sought to have a special prosecutor appointed because the prosecutor had represented him in at least one of the cases which was listed in the habitual offender charge. A special prosecutor was appointed only for the habitual offender phase of the proceedings. This Court upheld the ruling of the trial court upon the following reasoning:

''The purpose of appointing a special prosecutor in cases such as the one at bar is to prevent the prosecuting attorney from using, to his former client's detriment, information obtained from the client in confidence. Havens, supra, Issue I. A special prosecutor is necessary only when the accused can demonstrate that, by reason of his former confidential relationship with the prosecutor, the prosecutor has acquired special knowledge of the facts being litigated, or facts which are closely interwoven therewith. State ex rel. Meyers v. Tippecanoe County Court, (1982) Ind., 432 N.E.2d *723 1377. In Meyers, we held that where the habitual offender charge against the defendant was based upon two prior theft cases in which the prosecutor had represented the defendant, the prosecutor had to be disqualified and a special prosecutor appointed in his place. Thus, the trial court acted properly in appointing a special prosecutor to proceed in the habitual offender phase of the trial.
"As for the defendant's argument that the prosecutor should have recused himself from the trial of the perjury charge because he represented the State in the trial at which the defendant committed the perjury, it is obvious that the defendant did not confide in the prosecutor at that time and the prosecutor was not representing the defendant at that time. The prosecutor owed no duty to the defendant and did not acquire any special knowledge from him.

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

Related

Kubsch v. State
866 N.E.2d 726 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2007)
Johnson v. State
675 N.E.2d 678 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Hursey
861 P.2d 615 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1993)
Hubbard v. State
518 N.E.2d 782 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1988)
Richardson v. State
476 N.E.2d 497 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
470 N.E.2d 719, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garren-v-state-ind-1984.