Lomax v. State

510 N.E.2d 215, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 2857
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 15, 1987
Docket53A01-8612-CR-326
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 510 N.E.2d 215 (Lomax 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
Lomax v. State, 510 N.E.2d 215, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 2857 (Ind. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinions

ROBERTSON, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Gladys Lomax appeals her conviction of neglect of a dependent, a class D felony.

We affirm.

On September 20, 1984, Bloomington police received a report of windows being broken at 404 South Washington Street, a residence owned by Gladys Lomax. When Officer Robert Neely arrived, he observed several windows broken apparently from the inside, because the glass was lying on the ground outside the house. Neely could see a man with a long beard inside the house, clad in a T-shirt only,. Neely surmised that Gladys lived in the home, having seen her on the porch on several occasions. Assuming the man inside was an intruder, he radioed for help. Officer Hunter arrived shortly. The officers attempted to speak to the man through a window but they could get no response. He eventually retreated into the house where the officers could no longer see him. Finding the front door locked, Neely hoisted Hunter through the open window. Once inside, Hunter opened the front door for Neely.

The officers found the man they had seen earlier on a bed in the west portion of the house. The man was cowering on the bed and was unable to answer the officers' questions. The police reported seeing fee-es on the bed and stains which they believed to be urine. Also, feces appeared to be smeared on the wall by the bed. The man, later identified as Mark Lee Lomax, the son of Gladys, had excrement on his legs. The house smelled strongly of waste, and the room was teeming with flies. Garbage and trash had accumulated throughout the house, leaving only a path through which the officers could walk.

Gladys drove up to the house while the police were there; she admitted that she owned the home and that the man inside was her son. After back-up officers had secured the house, Neely left to obtain a search warrant. When the officers arrived with the search warrant, they noticed that Mark had been cleaned up and was wearing trousers. With Gladys' help, the police were able to coax Mark into a police car, and he was taken to Bloomington Hospital.

Gladys was charged with neglect of a dependent and found guilty after a jury trial.

Gladys presents for review four issues:

I. Whether the trial court committed reversible error in permitting the expert testimony of Dr. Kissell?

II. Whether the trial court committed reversible error by refusing to exclude Sharon Groeger's testimony as a sanction for the State's failure to give the defense her statement?

III. Whether the verdict is supported by sufficient evidence?

IV. Whether the trial court committed reversible error in overruling Gladys' motion to suppress?

ISSUE I.

Gladys lodged three objections to Dr. Kissell's testimony. First she contends that his testimony should not have been allowed because Dr. Kissell's name did not appear on the State's witness list. The State concedes that Dr. Kissell's name was never added to its list of witnesses. Instead, the State informed the defense the day before Dr. Kissell was to testify that the State would call him.

After Gladys objected to Dr. Kis-sell's testifying, the court granted the defense a recess in order for defense counsel to interview Dr. Kissell. After court reconvened, counsel for Gladys did not renew his objection based upon the State's failure to comply with discovery. Since Gladys did not renew her objection or otherwise in[218]*218form the court that the recess did not cure the State's transgression, then the issue is waived. Even after a consideration on the merits, we find no reversible error. The trial court has discretion to remedy any transgressions of discovery orders. Harris v. State (1981), Ind., 425 N.E.2d 112; Carson v. State (1979), 271 Ind. 203, 391 N.E.2d 600. Sanctions are discretionary, not mandatory. Rowley v. State (1979), 271 Ind. 584, 894 N.E.2d 928. The proper remedy for the State's failure to comply with a discovery order is a continuance unless the State's failure to produce is so misleading or demonstrates such bad faith that exclusion of the evidence is the only way to preserve a defendant's right to a fair trial. Bieghler v. State (1985), Ind., 481 N.E.2d 78; Riley v. State (1982), Ind., 482 N.E.2d 15. Gladys has not demonstrated how the State's late substitution of expert witnesses was so misleading or demonstrated such bad faith that the recess was an improper remedy.

Dr. Kissell was permitted to testify regarding his observation of Mark Lo-max on June 10, 1985, about nine months after the events leading to the neglect charge. Gladys contends that this testimony was irrelevant to any material issue in this case. Rulings of the trial court as to relevancy of evidence are accorded wide latitude, and are reviewable only for abuse of discretion. Neaveill v. State (1985), Ind. App., 474 N.E.2d 1045. Evidence is relevant, and therefore admissible, if it tends to prove or disprove a material fact or sheds any light on the guilt or innocence of the accused. Cox v. State (1985), Ind., 475 N.E.2d 664, 672. Furthermore, evidence which would otherwise be admissible may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues or misleading the jury. A trial court is given wide latitude in weighing the probative value of evidence with respect to a material fact as against the possible prejudice of its admission in a criminal proceeding.

Hutchinson v. State (1985), Ind., 477 N.E.2d 850, 854.

After rendering an opinion regarding Mark's mental condition in September 1984 based on other doctors' examinations of Mark in September 1984, Dr. Kissell testified that his first direct contact with Mark occurred on June 10, 1985, pursuant to Mark's convalescent leave from Madison State Hospital. He then testified that his evaluation of Mark in June 1985 was consistent with the evaluation he had made based on the records of September 1984. Evidence as to Dr. Kissell's later consultation with Mark tended to buttress Dr. Kissell's opinion regarding Mark's mental disability in September 1984, his disability and resulting dependency being material issues of fact.1 Moreover, we can discern no undue prejudice to Gladys resulting from testimony of her son's ongoing mental infirmity. The evidence being relevant, there was no error in admitting it.

Gladys' final argument for the exclusion of Dr. Kissell's testimony is that she was a patient of Dr. Kissell and therefore could assert a privilege as to the doctor's testimony. Under IND.CODE 34-1- ~ 14-5(4), physicians are not competent witnesses "... as to matter communicated to them, as such, by patients, in the course of their professional business, or advice given in such cases...." Whether or not a physician will be permitted to testify concerning confidential communications is a privilege to be exercised by the patient himself. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co. v. Kramer (1938), 105 Ind.App. 591, 14 N.E.2d 741.

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Lomax v. State
510 N.E.2d 215 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1987)

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510 N.E.2d 215, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 2857, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lomax-v-state-indctapp-1987.