Jorge Henriquez v. State of Indiana

973 N.E.2d 1154, 2012 WL 3598401, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 402
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 22, 2012
Docket49A02-1201-CR-6
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 973 N.E.2d 1154 (Jorge Henriquez v. State of Indiana) 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
Jorge Henriquez v. State of Indiana, 973 N.E.2d 1154, 2012 WL 3598401, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 402 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

SHARPNACK, Senior Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Jorge Henriquez appeals his conviction of resisting law enforcement, a Class D felony. Ind.Code § 35-44-3-3 (2006). We affirm.

ISSUE

Henriquez presents one issue for our review, which we restate as: whether Hen-riquez’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury was violated by the alleged improper influence of an alternate juror.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In June 2010, Henriquez was charged with resisting law enforcement and failure to stop after an accident with an unattended vehicle. A jury trial was held in November 2011 only as to the charge of resisting law enforcement. At some point during jury deliberations, the bailiff informed the court that she heard someone in the jury room say something to the effect of “you need to be able to live with your decision.” Tr. p. 220. The bailiff indicated that she believed the voice was that of the alternate juror. The judge and counsel discussed the appropriate way to deal with the situation, and the alternate juror was called into the courtroom. The judge instructed the alternate juror that he was not to take part in the deliberations or influence the jury in any way. The alternate juror indicated that he understood that he was not to communicate with the jury, and he was sent back to the jury room.

Following deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Henriquez was sentenced to 365 days with 357 days suspended, and he was placed on probation for sixty days. It is from this conviction that he now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Henriquez contends that his constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury was violated by the failure of the trial court to “adequately ascertain if the alternate [juror] had engaged in deliberations.” Appellant’s Br. p. 10.

The State observes, and Henriquez concedes, that he did not object to this alleged error at trial. Thus, Henriquez’s *1156 failure to object results in waiver of the issue on appeal. See Beeler v. State, 959 N.E.2d 828, 830 (Ind.Ct.App.2011) (stating that issue is waived for appeal if not objected to at trial), trans. denied. Seeking to avoid procedural default, Henriquez claims that the trial court’s handling of the situation with the alternate juror constitutes fundamental error.

The mere fact that error occurred and that it was prejudicial does not satisfy the fundamental error rule; rather, the doctrine of fundamental error is only available in egregious circumstances. Dickerson v. State, 957 N.E.2d 1055, 1057 (Ind.Ct.App.2011), trans. denied. Likewise, it is not enough, in order to invoke this doctrine, to urge that a constitutional right is involved. Id. To show fundamental error, a defendant must demonstrate error that caused actual and substantial disadvantage, infecting and tainting the entire proceeding. Id. In other words, the error must so prejudice the rights of the defendant as to make a fair trial impossible. Id.

“A defendant seeking a new trial because of juror misconduct must show that the misconduct (1) was gross and (2) probably harmed the defendant.” Griffin v. State, 754 N.E.2d 899, 901 (Ind.2001), clarified on reh’g, 763 N.E.2d 450 (2002). This Court reviews the trial court’s determination on this issue for an abuse of discretion, with the appellant having the burden of showing that the misconduct meets the prerequisites for a new trial. Id.

Henriquez cites Lindsey v. State, 260 Ind. 351, 295 N.E.2d 819 (1973), in support of his argument. In Lindsey, the local newspaper published an article during Lindsey’s burglary trial alleging a rape in connection with the burglary, although Lindsey was not charged with rape; reporting a prior commitment of Lindsey for an attack of another woman several years earlier, although this information was not in evidence; and reporting identification of Lindsey from police mug files by the prosecuting witness, although the witness had testified that she could not identify Lindsey from police photographs. Lindsey filed a motion for mistrial, which was denied by the trial court. The trial proceeded to a verdict of guilty, after which the court conducted an examination of the jury regarding the newspaper article. From this examination it was disclosed that some of the jurors had had no exposure to the article but that several had had exposure that varied from mere awareness of the publication to knowledge from having read a portion of it. In addition, there were two jurors who had read the entire article. Only these two jurors were questioned regarding whether their exposure had influenced their decision. They stated that they were not influenced by the article, and the verdict was permitted to stand.

On appeal, our Supreme Court held that the failure of the trial court to take remedial action at the proper time violated Lindsey’s constitutional right to a fair trial. Id. at 822. The Court stated that upon a suggestion of improper and prejudicial publicity, the trial court should make a determination as to the likelihood of resulting prejudice based upon both the content of the publication and the likelihood of a juror having been exposed to it. Id. at 824. If the risk of prejudice appears substantial, the court should interrogate the jury as a whole to determine who has been exposed. Id. The Court further instructed that if there has been no exposure, the trial court should then instruct upon the hazards of exposure and the necessity of avoiding exposure to extrajudicial information concerning the case. Id. If any of the jurors have been exposed, they must be individually interrogated by *1157 the court outside the presence of the other jurors to determine the degree and effect of the exposure; each such juror should then be individually admonished. Id. After all exposed jurors have been individually interrogated and admonished, the jury should be assembled and collectively admonished. Id. Finally, the Court directed that if the defendant deems such action insufficient to remove the peril, he should move for a mistrial. Id.

Here, Henriquez asserts that, pursuant to the dictates of Lindsey, the alleged conduct of the alternate juror imposed upon the trial court a duty to determine if the alternate juror had engaged in deliberations by interrogating the alternate and the regular jury members. While we acknowledge the Lindsey

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973 N.E.2d 1154, 2012 WL 3598401, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 402, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jorge-henriquez-v-state-of-indiana-indctapp-2012.