Jarrett v. State

580 N.E.2d 245, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 1675, 1991 WL 210431
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 17, 1991
Docket26A01-9104-PC-114
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 580 N.E.2d 245 (Jarrett 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
Jarrett v. State, 580 N.E.2d 245, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 1675, 1991 WL 210431 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

BAKER, Judge.

Defendant-appellant William Jarrett was convicted of child molesting by deviate conduct, a Class B felony, 1 and child molesting by fondling, a Class C felony. 2 At the time of the offenses, the victim, TM., was one month shy of his sixth birthday. Our supreme court affirmed Jarrett's convictions on direct appeal, Jarrett v. State (1984), Ind., 465 N.E.2d 1097. Jarrett subsequent ly filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was denied. Jarrett now appeals to this court the denial of his petition.

Jarrett raises nine issues for our review, which we restate as:

I. Whether he received effective assist ance of trial counsel.

II. Whether he received effective assistance of appellate counsel in his direct appeal.

III. Whether his convictions were supported by sufficient evidence.

We affirm.

*248 FACTS

The evidence most favorable to the verdict, as found by our supreme court, Jarrett, supra, reveals that on June 11, 1982, TM. was left alone with Jarrett in Jarrett's trailer. While in bed, Jarrett made TM. fondle Jarrett's penis, he stuck his penis in T.M.'s mouth, and he attempted anal intercourse. Jarrett warned TM. not to tell anyone. When T.M.'s mother arrived at the trailer TM. was erying. After his visit with Jarrett, TM. began telling his parents he did not like Jarrett. Within two weeks after the visit, T.M.'s parents discovered TM. attempting anal intercourse with another young boy. When asked by his parents who showed him how to do it, TM. identified Jarrett. In turn, TM. reported being molested by Jarrett to his father, mother, Gibson County Deputy Sheriff George Ballard, and pediatrician Dr. Kenneth Buehlman.

Evidence presented at trial showed Jarrett previously molested T.M. on an outing in May of 1982, fondled a 14-year-old boy in 1981, was convicted in 1974 for assault and battery with intent to gratify sexual desires for making his nephew perform oral sex on him, and attempted, while naked, to pull his nephew into bed with him in 1978.

The jury convicted Jarrett of two counts of child molesting and the trial court sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment for the Class B felony and five years' imprisonment for the Class C felony, to be served consecutively. Throughout his trial, sentencing, and direct appeal, Jarrett was represented by the same attorney, Barry Standley. Jarrett's present attorney, Jane Ruemmele, filed amendments to Jarrett's pro se petition for post-conviction relief on February 22, 1990. The post-conviction court denied the petition on January 7, 1991. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

We begin by noting Jarrett had the burden of establishing grounds for relief in his post-conviction proceedings by a preponderance of the evidence. Carter v. State (1990), Ind.App., 560 N.E.2d 687, 688, trans. denied. To succeed in appealing from the denial of his petition, Jarrett must show the evidence was without conflict and led only to a conclusion opposite of that found by the post-conviction court. Id. Because the post-conviction court is the sole judge of the evidence and the credibility of witnesses, it is not our function to reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses. Sims v. State (1989), Ind.App., 547 N.E.2d 895, 897, trans. denied.

I

Jarrett alleges seven grounds to show he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel. Generally, an issue is waived for post-conviction relief when it was available on direct appeal but was not raised. Smith v. State (1990), Ind.App., 559 N.E.2d 338, 342, trans. denied. Waiver of an issue may be avoided in post-conviction proceedings, however, if failure to present the issue was due to "deprivation of the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel" or the issue was "demonstrably unavailable to the petitioner at the time of his trial and direct appeal." Bailey v. State (1985), Ind., 472 N.E.2d 1260, 1263; See also Harding v. State (1989), Ind.App., 545 N.E.2d 14, 15, trans. denied. Jarrett did not allege ineffective assistance of trial counsel in his direct appeal because he was represented by the same counsel in both his trial and direct appeal. Because we cannot expect counsel to allege his own ineffectiveness, Jarrett's failure to raise ineffectiveness of trial counsel in his direct appeal did not render the issues waived. See Smith, supra.

In reviewing competency of counsel, there is a strong presumption counsel is.competent, requiring strong and convineing evidence to rebut. Williams v. State (1987), Ind., 508 N.E.2d 1264. We will not speculate about what strategy may have proven to be the most favorable to the defendant. Berry v. State (1990), Ind.App., 561 N.E.2d 832. Jarrett must show his attorney's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. Strickland *249 v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674. He must also show his attorney's failure to function was so prejudicial that it deprived him of a fair trial. Id.

(A) Competency of Victim to Testify

Jarrett argues his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the trial court's determination TM., a five-year old boy, was competent to testify at trial. Under Indiana law in effect at the time of Jarrett's trial and appeal, a child less than ten years of age was presumed incompetent to testify at trial unless the child understood the difference between telling the truth and lying, and that the oath obligated him to tell the truth. IND.CODE 84-1-14-5 3 Before allowing T.M. to testify, the trial court was required to conduct a voir dire examination to overcome the presumption of incompetence. Phillips v. State (1990), Ind., 550 N.E.2d 1290, 1297. The trial court's determination TM. was competent will not be reversed on appeal absent a manifest abuse of discretion. Id. at 1298. Deference is to be afforded the trial court's determination of competency because the trial court has the opportunity to observe the child's intelligence, demeanor and maturity. See Peters v. State (1984), Ind., 470 N.E.2d 708, 710.

When asked at his competency hearing what a lie was, TM. responded, "Don't tell nothing ... not telling nobody." T.M. stated the truth was "telling bodies ... somebody." When asked the difference between the truth and a lie, TM. responded, "None, I don't know." The court asked T.M. if he had ever told his parents something that was not true, and TM. responded, "Not feeding the rabbits." The court determined TM. told his parents he fed the rabbits when he really had not. TM.

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Bluebook (online)
580 N.E.2d 245, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 1675, 1991 WL 210431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jarrett-v-state-indctapp-1991.