Kelly v. State

535 N.E.2d 140, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 67, 1989 WL 23166
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 17, 1989
Docket85-S00-8607-CR-692
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 535 N.E.2d 140 (Kelly 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
Kelly v. State, 535 N.E.2d 140, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 67, 1989 WL 23166 (Ind. 1989).

Opinions

DICKSON, Justice.

Defendant-appellant Jason T. Kelly appeals his convictions for theft, a class D felony, and criminal confinement, a class B felony. Our disposition of this case requires that we address two issues: 1) whether the trial court erred in giving final instructions, over the defendant's timely objection, allowing the jury to convict the defendant of a crime for which he was not charged; and 2) whether the evidence was insufficient to support the criminal confinement conviction.

Criminal Confinement Instruction

The criminal confinement charge alleged violation of Ind.Code § 35-42-8-8(a):

(a) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) Confines another person without his consent; or
(2) Removes another person, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, from one (1) place to another;
commits criminal confinement, a Class D felony. However, the offense is a Class C felony if the other person is under fourteen (14) years of age and is not his child, and a Class B felony if it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon or results in serious bodily injury to another person.

It is evident that the above statute, framed in the disjunctive, includes two distinct types of criminal confinement by encompassing both confinement by non-consensual restraint in place and confinement by removal. Addis v. State (1980), Ind. [141]*141App., 404 N.E.2d 59, 60. In Addis, Judge Chipman persuasively reasoned as follows:

Under section one of the statute, the act of nonconsensual confinement is prohibited, irrespective of any intent to remove the individual to another location; thus, the elements of the first type of confinement would be:
(1) knowingly or intentionally,
(2) confining another person,
(3) without their consent.
But lack of consent is not an element of confinement under section two. Instead, it would be necessary to show the accused:
(1) knowingly or intentionally,
(2) removed another person from one place to another,
(3) by fraud, or enticement, force, or threat of force.
Clearly different acts and elements are required to be proven in each section, and the defensive posture would not be the same under the respective sections since the prosecution would necessarily proceed under different theories and proof....
... In view of the dissimilarity between the elements of proof under IC 35-42-3-8(a)(1) and (2), we believe the two sections present two separate crimes.

404 N.E.2d at 61 (citation omitted). We agree that the statutory sections define two separate criminal offenses.

The information alleging the criminal confinement for which the defendant was eventually convicted charged that on August 14, 1985, the defendant "did knowingly confine Todd Gates without his consent and while armed with a deadly weapon." The information did not charge the offense of confinement by removal.

The trial court, over the defendant's timely objection, gave the following instructions: .

Final Instruction No. 1
A person who knowingly confines another person or removes another person, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, while armed with a deadly weapon, commits criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon. The term "confine" means to substantially interfere with the liberty of another person.
Final Instruction No. 3
To sustain the charge of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, the State must prove the following prop-ogitions: First: (a) That the Defendant knowingly confined Todd Gates; or (b) Removed Todd Gates, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, from one place to another; and Second: When the Defendant did so he was armed with a deadly weapon. If you find from your consideration of all the evidence that each of these propositions has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt then you should find the defendant guilty. However, if you find from your consideration of all the evidence that any of these propositions has not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should find the Defendant not guilty.

The defendant argues that the giving of these instructions erroneously enabled the jury to convict him of the offense of confinement by removal under Ind.Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(2), even though he had been charged only with non-consensual confinement under Ind.Code § 35-42-3-8(a)(1). The State argues that the error, if any, was harmless.

Article 1, Section 18 of the Constitution of Indiana entitles a criminal defendant to be advised "the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have copy thereof." The information which must be included in an indictment or information alleging a criminal offense is delineated in Ind.Code § 85-84-1-2. Among other requirements, an information must state "'the name of the offense in the words of the statute or any other words conveying the same meaning" and must set forth "the nature and elements of the offense charged in plain and concise language without unnecessary repetition." Ind.Code § 35-84-1-2(a)(2), (4). In Abner v. State (1986), Ind., 497 N.E.2d 550, 553, we recently stated:

[142]*142In a criminal action, the facts upon which the action is claimed to exist are those facts which constitute the essential elements of the crime charged. These elements and the nature of the offense must be set out in the information.

Deference for an accused's constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and sufficient detail is required "to enable him to prepare his defense, to prepare in the event of double jeopardy, and to define the issues so that the court will be able to determine what evidence is admissible and to pronounce judgment." Manna v. State (1982), Ind., 440 N.E.2d 473, 475. If there is a reasonable doubt as to what offenses are charged, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the defendant. Belcher v. State (1974), 162 Ind.App. 411, 819 N.E.2d 658.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
535 N.E.2d 140, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 67, 1989 WL 23166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelly-v-state-ind-1989.