Lehman v. State

777 N.E.2d 69, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 2002 WL 31389068
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 24, 2002
Docket50A04-0206-CR-271
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 777 N.E.2d 69 (Lehman 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
Lehman v. State, 777 N.E.2d 69, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 2002 WL 31389068 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION

KIRSCH, Judge.

After a jury trial, Quinn Lehman was convicted of two counts of child molesting1 as Class C felonies. He now appeals, raising the following issue for review: whether the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial after the State’s witness, the investigating officer, violated the motion in limine by referring to the investigation of other child molesting complaints against Lehman in his answer to a question on cross-examination.

We reverse and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Lehman and Barbara Bradshaw became involved in a relationship and began living together with Bradshaw’s three children, including six-year-old A.B. At some point, A.B. told her mother that Lehman molested her. Bradshaw confronted Lehman, but Lehman denied the allegation. Later, Lehman and Bradshaw ended their relationship, and both parties moved. Bradshaw’s children were placed in foster care. A.B. repeated her allegations to her foster mother, who contacted law enforcement.

Lehman was charged with two counts of child molesting as Class A felonies. This charge was later amended to add two counts of child molesting as Class C felonies.

At the trial, the trial court granted Lehman’s motion in limine to prohibit the introduction into evidence of other alleged “acts related or unrelated to this cause, including but not limited to any prosecutions in St. Joseph County for sexual offense cases ...” Appellant’s Appendix at 17.

During the direct examination of one of the State’s witnesses, the investigating officer, Ryan Harmon, the trial court advised Harmon of the motion in limine. During his cross-examination, Lehman’s counsel asked Hannon if he did any other type of investigation in this case. After Harmon responded affirmatively, Lehman’s counsel asked, “What else did you do?” Transcript at 116. Harmon stated, “This investigation broadened into a numerous other nine (9) other victims.” Id. Lehman’s counsel moved for a mistrial. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial, struck Harmon’s answer, and instructed the jury to disregard it.

Lehman was convicted of two counts of child molesting as Class C felonies and was acquitted of the other two charges. He now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Lehman contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial after Harmon violated the motion in limine by referring to his investigation of child molesting allegations against Lehman involving nine other victims.

The purpose of a motion in li-mine is to prevent the display of potentially prejudicial material to the jury until the trial court has the opportunity to rule on its admissibility. Herrera v. State, 710 N.E.2d 931, 935 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); Palmer v. State, 640 N.E.2d 415, 419 (Ind.Ct. [72]*72App.1994), superceded, by statute on other grounds. Motions in limine are granted for the purpose of ensuring a defendant a fair determination of Ms guilt or innocence, and it is incumbent upon the parties to alert their witnesses to the court’s order. Palmer, 640 N.E.2d at 419.

Whether to grant or deny a motion for mistrial is a decision left to the sound discretion of the trial court. Price v. State, 656 N.E.2d 860, 863 (Ind.Ct.App. 1995), trans. denied (1996). We will reverse the trial court’s ruling only upon an abuse of that discretion. Id. We afford the trial court this deference on appeal because the trial court is in the best position to evaluate the relevant circumstances of an event and its impact on the jury. Kavanaugh v. State, 695 N.E.2d 629, 632 (Ind.Ct.App.1998); Clark v. State, 695 N.E.2d 999, 1004 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), trans. denied; Palmer, 640 N.E.2d at 419. To prevail on appeal from the denial of a motion for mistrial, the appellant must demonstrate the statement or conduct in question was so prejudicial and inflammatory that he was placed in a position of grave peril to which he should not have been subjected. Kavanaugh, 695 N.E.2d at 632; Clark, 695 N.E.2d at 1004; Palmer, 640 N.E.2d at 419. We determine the gravity of the peril based upon the probable persuasive effect of the misconduct on the jury’s decision rather than upon the degree of impropriety of the conduct. Kavanaugh, 695 N.E.2d at 632; Clark, 695 N.E.2d at 1004.

A mistrial is an extreme sanction warranted only when no other cure can be expected to rectify the situation. Kavanaugh, 695 N.E.2d at 632; Clark, 695 N.E.2d at 1004; Price, 656 N.E.2d at 863. Reversible error is seldom found when the trial court has admonished the jury to disregard a statement made during the proceedings, Kavanaugh, 695 N.E.2d at 632, because a timely and accurate admonition to the jury is presumed to sufficiently protect a defendant’s rights and remove any error created by the objectionable statement. Link v. State, 648 N.E.2d 709, 711 (Ind.Ct.App.1995); Palmer, 640 N.E.2d at 419.

In Palmer, 640 N.E.2d at 418-19, a defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial after a state’s witness violated a motion in limine during her cross-examination. In that case, the defendant was on trial for a specific act of child molesting committed against his victim. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion in limine to exclude evidence of other acts of child molesting committed against the victim and his siblings. At trial, a pediatrician specializing in the area of child sexual abuse testified that her physical examination of the victim revealed indications consistent with the allegation of sexual abuse. During cross-examination, defense counsel asked the witness approximately when this incident of molest took place. She testified “[t]he allegations as we understood them, — was that they had been occurring for approximately two years.” Id. at 419. The trial court found that the order in limine had been violated, but that it did not merit a mistrial. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial, struck the witness’s response, and admonished the jury to disregard it.

In evaluating the defendant’s claim that he was entitled to a reversal on this basis, we noted the trial court’s wide discretion to grant a mistrial. We looked to Ind. Evidence Rule 404(b), which generally prohibits the admission into evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. In determining the gravity of the peril, we examined the probable persuasive effect of the witness’s testimony on the jury’s decision. We noted [73]*73that the trial court articulated on the record that based on its observation of the jury as the witness responded, it did not feel that the jury was shocked and felt confident that it would follow the court’s admonishment and disregard the response. We deferred to the trial court’s judgment because it was in the best position to judge the impact on the jury.

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Lehman v. State
777 N.E.2d 69 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
777 N.E.2d 69, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 1740, 2002 WL 31389068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lehman-v-state-indctapp-2002.