Lewis v. State

898 N.E.2d 1286, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 15, 2009 WL 81384
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 14, 2009
Docket49A05-0806-CR-319
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 898 N.E.2d 1286 (Lewis 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
Lewis v. State, 898 N.E.2d 1286, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 15, 2009 WL 81384 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

DARDEN, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Marques Lewis appeals the trial court’s sentencing order, which did not award him credit time for pretrial 1 home detention.

We affirm.

ISSUE

Whether Lewis is entitled to credit for time on pretrial home detention.

FACTS

After his arrest with several other individuals, Lewis was charged with committing two class D felony offenses — criminal trespass and criminal gang activity — at Lawrence North High School on May 11, 2007. Initially, Lewis was incarcerated, but on July 30, 2007, the trial court found Lewis “an acceptable risk” for pretrial release and ordered him released on his own recognizance for placement by Community Corrections on home detention. (App.57). On August 2, 2007, Lewis was placed on home detention with two conditions — that he stay away from the school and have no contact with his co-defendants.

On April 4, 2008, Lewis advised the trial court that he had entered into a plea agreement, tendered a copy thereof, and requested “a Guilty Plea and Sentencing Hearing.” (App.107). 2 On April 30, 2008, the trial court held the hearing. Lewis affirmed that he intended to plead guilty to the charge of criminal trespass as a class D felony. The State asserted that pursuant to the plea agreement, Lewis’ sentence would not exceed 730 days, but he would be ordered to comply with specific “conditions of probation” spelled out in the plea agreement. (Tr. 7). 3 The trial court confirmed that Lewis understood the terms of the agreement and the rights he was waiving by entering the guilty plea. The State asserted that it would present evidence that on May 11, 2007, at the end of the school day, Lewis and others drove “past a no trespass sign that was posted at the entrance of’ the high school, a place where Lewis “was not a student,” and began “yelling and issuing hand gestures ... believed to be gang signs at other students” on the school property. (Tr. 21, 20). The trial court found that Lewis’ plea was “freely and voluntarily made and that a factual basis exist[ed] to support the plea”; it accepted the plea and entered judgment of conviction. (Tr. 22). Counsel for Lewis renewed his request “to proceed to sentencing.” Id.

Lewis confirmed that as a juvenile, he had a true finding for battery as an A *1289 misdemeanor, for which he was placed on probation. He further admitted that on July 12, 2007, he had a trae finding of attempted robbery, and thereafter completed the probation term imposed in that regard. Counsel for Lewis tendered, and the trial court admitted, his memorandum asserting that he should be given credit for the actual days he served on home detention, with an exhibit. The exhibit was an email inquiry to Community Corrections asking whether there was “any difference in the level of security and how pre-trial home detainees and post-conviction home detainees are monitored,” and whether such detainees paid identical fees. (Ex. B). The “daily reporting coordinator's]” response was that there was

no difference in security, procedures, or rules between post trial and pre trial detention participants. The only differences that would incur [sic] would be based upon any additional conditions the Court may have ordered (i.e. additional testing, education or SAET conditions, etc.);

and that the fees were the same. Id. Counsel then argued that Lewis should be given 78 days credit for his initial incarceration, 78 days good-time credit therefor, and “275 actual days” credit for his time on home detention since August 2, 2007, for a total credit of 431 days. (Tr. 31). Counsel argued against “any sentence ... above the presumptive,” and that “any additional time the Court imposes beyond his 431 days should be suspended” and “on probation.” (Tr. 33).

The trial court sentenced Lewis to 545 days, with 156 to be executed; it specified that Lewis had “78 actual days of credit, plus 78 days of good time credit for 156 days total, so it’s time served.” (Tr. 36). The trial court then suspended the remaining 389 days of the sentence, placed Lewis “on probation for 365 days,” 4 and ordered him to comply with the numerous conditions specified in his plea agreement 5 — with the added probation “condition of full-time employment.” Id. Addressing Lewis’ argument for home detention credit time, the trial court stated as follows:

The 275 days that he was on home detention was home detention that was served at the same time that he was on probation for the Armed Robbery. In my mind, the reason for the probation, or the home detention, or the — the home detention — I’m sorry — was two-fold, one to make sure that the community was safe from any future potential allegations such as these, and additionally, just to ensure that I knew where he was and that he would be back to court.

(Tr. 37).

On May 22, 2008, Lewis filed a motion to correct erroneous sentence, arguing that the trial court “erroneously denied” him “credit for 275 actual days he served on home detention as a condition of pretrial release.” (App.171). On June 6, 2008, the trial court denied Lewis’ motion.

*1290 DECISION

When a statute provides for jail time credit, the trial court does not “have discretion in awarding or denying such credit.” Molden v. State, 750 N.E.2d 448, 449 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (citing Weaver v. State, 725 N.E.2d 945, 947 (Ind.Ct.App.2000)). “However, those sentencing decisions not mandated by statute are within the discretion of the trial court and will be reversed only upon a showing of abuse of that discretion.” Id. (citing Jones v. State, 698 N.E.2d 289, 291 (Ind.1998)). When a defendant “had not yet been convicted and was serving a stint of pretrial home detention,” no statute mandates an award of “credit for time served against his eventual sentence.” Id. at 450 (citing Purcell v. State, 721 N.E.2d 220, 223, 224 n. 6 (Ind.1999)), 451 (“There is no statute that addresses credit for time served while on pretrial home detention.”). Hence, whether to award credit for such time is a matter of trial court discretion. Id. at 451.

Lewis reminds us that the Equal Protection Clause “guarantees that similar individuals will be dealt with in a similar manner by the government.” Id. (citing Phelps v. Sybinsky, 736 N.E.2d 809, 818 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied).

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Bluebook (online)
898 N.E.2d 1286, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 15, 2009 WL 81384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-state-indctapp-2009.