Gossmeyer v. State

482 N.E.2d 239, 1985 Ind. LEXIS 937
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 28, 1985
Docket1083S375
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 482 N.E.2d 239 (Gossmeyer 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
Gossmeyer v. State, 482 N.E.2d 239, 1985 Ind. LEXIS 937 (Ind. 1985).

Opinion

PIVARNIK, Justice.

Defendant-Appellant Kenneth C. Goss-meyer was found guilty by a jury in the Lake Superior Court of Count I, class A felony dealing in a schedule II drug, and Count II, class B felony dealing in a controlled substance. The trial court subsequently sentenced Appellant to thirty-five years imprisonment on Count I and to twelve years imprisonment on Count II, said sentences to be served concurrently. Appellant now directly appeals and raises the following four issues:

1. whether the State produced sufficient evidence to rebut his entrapment defense;
2. whether the trial court erred by limiting voir dire examination to twenty minutes per party;
8. whether numerous rulings by the trial court combined to deny Appellant of a fair trial; and
4. whether the trial court erred by refusing to give Appellant's tendered instruction 5.

The evidence tended to show that near the end of March, 1982, Dennis Paz, a confidential informant, contacted Hammond Police Corporal James Lawson and went with Lawson to Appellant's home in Chicago. While visiting with Appellant, Lawson and Paz inquired whether he could sell them some cocaine or PCP. Appellant made a telephone call and quoted them some prices. They were unable to obtain money for drugs at that particular time but returned on April 5, 1982, and again expressed their desire to purchase drugs. Appellant again made a telephone call and quoted them some prices. Appellant then agreed to meet Lawson and Paz at a nearby restaurant located in Indiana to make the delivery. Some fifteen minutes later, Appellant appeared at the restaurant with two ounces of PCP and one ounce of cocaine. Corporal Lawson testified that Appellant stated that he "wanted this deal to go fast and smooth, wham bam." Appellant was arrested at the scene.

I

Appellant first argues that the State failed to rebut his defense of entrapment. His argument emphasizes that Paz, the confidential informant, and James Lawson, the Hammond Police Officer, had worked with each other for some time and together *241 initiated the contacts with him and together asked him if he would sell cocaine and PCP to them. The State contends that neither of these factors establish entrapment as a matter of law and that circumstantial evidence effectively rebutted that defense.

In order to refute an entrapment defense, the State must introduce evidence which tends to show that the level of police activity did not persuasively affect the free will of the accused and that the accused was predisposed to commit the offense. Henrichs v. State, (1983) Ind., 455 N.E.2d 599; Baird v. State, (1983) Ind., 446 N.E.2d 342, reh denied. Entrapment exists, of course, when a Government agent or someone working for the agent persuades the defendant to commit the crime charged. Hudgins v. State, (1983) Ind., 443 N.E.2d 830. The question of entrapment is one of fact and must be determined by the jury after weighing the evidence presented to them. We review this question as we review all other matters of sufficiency and neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Hudgins, supra; Bennett v. State, (1981) Ind., 423 N.E.2d 588. The evidence here showed that Lawson and Paz had worked together for some time and that they did, in fact, go to Appellant's home uninvited where they made the initial inquiry as to whether Appellant would sell quantities of drugs to them. Merely affording a defendant an opportunity to commit a crime, however, does not constitute entrapment. Drollinger v. State, (1980) 274 Ind. 99, 409 N.E.2d 1084; Hutcherson v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 331, 380 N.E.2d 1219, reh. denied. Lawson testified he merely inquired whether Appellant would supply him with an ounce of cocaine and two ounces of POP. There was no evidence that Appellant hesitated or resisted the suggestion. Instead, the evidence shows that Appellant reacted by immediately making a telephone call after which he quoted prices for those drugs in those amounts. On the second visit, once again unannounced, Appellant again was able to immediately place a call and quote prices. Moreover, Appellant was able to meet Lawson and Paz at a restaurant in Indiana and deliver the drugs within fifteen minutes after the second visit. Appellant admitted he acquired the drugs on credit and also indicated he knew about drug sources in Chicago. To rebut the defense of entrapment, it is sufficient to show circumstances which establish the criminal predisposition of the accused including his possession of large quantities of contraband, his ability to access contraband in a short time, his knowledge of prices and sources and his manner of conducting the sale of contraband itself. See Henrichs, supra; Sowers v. State, (1981) Ind.App., 416 N.E.2d 466. There was sufficient evidence presented by the State here to rebut Appellant's entrapment defense.

II

The trial court limited jury voir dire to twenty minutes per party over the objections of both the State and the defense. Appellant now argues that this procedure denied him due process of law and the effective assistance of counsel. We first note that we have consistently held that trial judges have broad discretion to regulate the form and substance of voir dire and that to establish error, it must be shown that an abuse of discretion rendered a fair trial impossible. Grimes v. State, (1983) Ind., 450 N.E.2d 512; Partlow v. State, (1983) Ind., 453 N.E.2d 259, cert. denied (1984) - U.S. --, 104 S.Ct. 983, 79 LEd.2d 219. Twenty minutes per side during voir dire examinations has been approved by this Court in Wickliffe v. State, (1981) Ind., 424 N.E.2d 1007; Lynn v. State, (1979) 271 Ind. 297, 392 N.E.2d 449, reh. denied, and Hart v. State, (1976) 265 Ind. 145, 352 N.E.2d 712. Appellant claims, however, that each of these cases was decided upon the particular facts presented by the case and that the facts in his case would show prejudice to him. Appellant gives us nothing to substantiate his claim and, in fact, has failed to include a transcript of the voir dire proceeding in the record. There is no showing, therefore, that the jurors were not properly and sufficiently questioned either by the trial *242 judge or by the parties in substantiation of Appellant's claim. We accordingly find no error presented on this issue.

TII

Appellant next suggests that several denials of due process resulted from certain adverse rulings of the trial court and that the sum of these denials constitutes reversible error. Appellant first alleges the State violated a reciprocal discovery agreement.

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

Related

Albaugh v. State
721 N.E.2d 1233 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)
Tipmont Rural Electric Membership Corp. v. Fischer
697 N.E.2d 83 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1998)
McGowan v. State
674 N.E.2d 174 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1997)
Strowmatt v. State
686 N.E.2d 154 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1997)
Taylor v. State
676 N.E.2d 1044 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1997)
McGowan v. State
671 N.E.2d 872 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1996)
Whitehair v. State
654 N.E.2d 296 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1995)
Harrison v. State
644 N.E.2d 1243 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1995)
Dockery v. State
644 N.E.2d 573 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1994)
Strong v. State
591 N.E.2d 1048 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1992)
Smith v. State
565 N.E.2d 1059 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1991)
Flinn v. State
563 N.E.2d 536 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1990)
Snow v. State
560 N.E.2d 69 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1990)
Fearrin v. State
551 N.E.2d 472 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1990)
Wilson v. State
536 N.E.2d 1037 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)
Gilley v. State
535 N.E.2d 130 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1989)
Underwood v. State
535 N.E.2d 507 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1989)
Hancock v. Kentucky Central Life Insurance Co.
527 N.E.2d 720 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1988)
Rutledge v. State
525 N.E.2d 326 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1988)
Fundukian v. State
523 N.E.2d 417 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
482 N.E.2d 239, 1985 Ind. LEXIS 937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gossmeyer-v-state-ind-1985.