Guy v. State

755 N.E.2d 248, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1643, 2001 WL 1113055
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 24, 2001
Docket49A02-0101-CR-18
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 755 N.E.2d 248 (Guy 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
Guy v. State, 755 N.E.2d 248, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1643, 2001 WL 1113055 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

Gustavo Guy was found guilty by a jury of child molesting, a Class A felony. The trial court sentenced Guy to the Indiana Department of Correction for thirty years. Guy now appeals his conviction. We affirm.

Issues

Guy raises the following restated issues for our review:

1. Whether the trial court properly admitted into evidence T.M.'s deposition testimony;
2. Whether there was sufficient evidence to support his conviction for child molesting, a Class A felony; and
3. Whether the State's closing remarks constituted reversible error.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts reveal that sometime between May 23, 1998, and May 22, 1999, Guy inserted his penis in eight-year old T.M.'s vagina. Guy, a friend of T.M.'s step-father, was living at T.M.'s home when the molestation occurred. On July 12, 1999, the police were notified about Guy's molestation of TM. Shortly thereafter, Detective Cathy Graban conducted a taped interview of TM. in her police cruiser. On July 14, 1999, Detective Graban conducted a videotaped interview of T.M. in the Family Advocacy Center. Only the detective and T.M. were present during this interview.

Consequently, the State charged Guy with child molesting, a Class A felony. On February 17, 2000, Guy's counsel took the deposition of T.M. On March 1, 2000, the State filed with the trial court a motion pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-37-4-6 to allow the following evidence be admitted at trial: (1) T.M.'s July 14, 1999, taped statement; (2) T.M.'s statements to her mother about the molestation; and (8) T.M.'s statements to Roberta Worthington, a family friend, regarding the molestation.

On May 12, 2000, the trial court held a hearing 1 on the State's motion whereupon TM. testified about the molestation. On June 283, 2000, the trial court entered an order which provides in pertinent part:

1. [TM.], the alleged victim in this case, was 10 years old at the time of the [252]*252child hearsay hearings on June 2 and June 16, 2000. She is competent to testify. Although she was very emotional in court and provided fairly minimal information about the alleged offense she was available for cross-examination as required by 1.0. 35-37-4-6. woot of
9. The statements [TM.] made to Wor-thington bear sufficient indications of reliability to admit them under I.C. 85-87 4-6. They were made to a person whom [TM.] had known for most of her life and whom she trusted. [T.M.'s] disclosure was not the product of leading or suggestive questions. She used age appropriate language to describe the acts. The Court does not find that the delay in disclosure ultimately makes the disclosure itself less credible. While Wor-thington apparently failed to mention [T.M.'s] statements about [Guy] to Gra-ban on the day that they were made, the Court does not find that this lapse diminishes the reliability of the child's statements. The bulk of the allegations disclosed by the child pertained to her step-father, Jose Balan, who still lived with the child when the allegations surfaced. The fact that [T.M.'s]l mother and Worthington focused on Balan rather than on [Guy] when the police first responded to their complaint does not make the child's disclosures regarding [Guy] suspect.
10. [T.M.'s] statements to Det. Graban bear sufficient indications of reliability to admit them under I.C. 85-87-4-6. The interview was conducted two days after the initial disclosure took place in a neutral location. No other persons were present in the room during the interview. [TM.] provided some details of the molest largely in response to non-leading questions. Although [T.M.'s] statements were not entirely consistent with what she had told Worthington, some of the details of the alleged act, including where and when it took place, were consistent,. [TM.] only used age appropriate language throughout the interview. Only a portion of this interview pertains to alleged acts of [Guy], and only that portion pertaining to his alleged acts should be admitted....

Appellant's Appendix at 84-85.

At trial, the State called T.M. to the stand as its first witness. However, she was emotionally upset and refused to answer the State's questions despite the trial court's order to do so. Therefore, the trial court found T.M. unavailable and admitted into evidence, over Guy's objection, her deposition testimony pursuant to Indiana Evidence Rule 804. The jury found Guy guilty as charged and the trial court sentenced Guy to the Indiana Department of Correction for thirty years. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

I. Admission of Evidence

Guy contends that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence T.M.'s deposition testimony. We disagree.

A. Standard of Review

Our standard of review in this area is well-settled. The admission of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the decision whether to admit evidence will not be reversed absent a showing of manifest abuse of the trial court's discretion resulting in the denial of a fair trial. Spires v. State, 670 N.B.2d 1313, 18315 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). In determining the admissibility of evidence, the reviewing court will only consider the evidence in favor of the trial court's ruling and unrefuted evidence in the defendant's favor. Reaves v. State, 586 NE.2d 847, 857 (Ind.1992).

[253]*253B. Deposition Testimony

Guy first argues that the trial court erred in admitting T.M.'s deposition testimony in lieu of her in-court testimony because it violated his confrontation rights under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Guy argues that he was denied the opportunity to test T.M.'s recollection of the alleged molestation and have the jury observe her demeanor under cross-examination.

The Six Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "in all eriminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted by witnesses against him." The Fourteenth Amendment makes this right of confrontation applicable to the states. Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 406, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 13 L.Ed.2d 928 (1965). The essential purpose of the Sixth Amendment right of confrontation is to insure that the defendant has the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses against him. Id.

As a general rule, the deposition testimony of an unavailable witness offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted represents classic hearsay. Hearsay is "a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." Ind. Evidence Rule 801(c). A statement is not hearsay if offered for another purpose. Bufkin v. State, 700 N.E.2d 1147, 1150 (Ind.1998). Hearsay evidence is inadmissible pursuant to Evidence Rule 802 unless it fits within a few well-delineated exceptions. Miller v. State, 575 N.E.2d 272, 274 (Ind.1991). Furthermore, hearsay is excluded from judicial proceedings because "its admission defeats the criminal defendant's right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him." Williams v.

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Guy v. State
755 N.E.2d 248 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
755 N.E.2d 248, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1643, 2001 WL 1113055, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guy-v-state-indctapp-2001.