McCann v. State

854 N.E.2d 905, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1983, 2006 WL 2847403
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 29, 2006
Docket49A05-0603-PC-157
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 854 N.E.2d 905 (McCann 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
McCann v. State, 854 N.E.2d 905, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1983, 2006 WL 2847403 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

Mario McCann appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. Issues

We restate McCann's issues as follows:

I. Whether trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the trial court's instruction on attempted murder and tender a correct instruction; and
II. Whether appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to raise a double jeopardy argument regarding McCann's convictions and sentences for attempted murder and class A felony burglary.

Facts and Procedural History

We recite the facts most favorable to the judgment as outlined in McCann's direct appeal to this Court:

On the evening of August 2, 1997, McCann approached and talked to AL. ("A.L.") and Anthony Dozier ("Dozier") at their home at 38th Street and College Avenue in Indianapolis. After McCann left, A.L. went upstairs and fell asleep in her bed with the television on. When AL. awoke McCann was in her bedroom. McCann tried to pull her covers off and told her he had a gun that he would use if she was not quiet. Additionally, McCann touched A.L.'s breasts and stated "shut up, it [won't] take very long, and then [I'll] leave [you] alone." AL. viewed McCann's face for approximately ten minutes. A.L.'s boyfriend, Dozier, then entered the bedroom, saw McCann, and began to struggle with McCann. During this struggle, McCann shot Dozier in the chest. MeCann then left through the bedroom window. Dozier viewed McCann's face for approximately five minutes. An upstairs neighbor called the police.
Detective Lawrence Cahill ("Detective Cahill"), of the Indianapolis Police Department, responded to the police radio call, and conducted the investigation of the crime. AL. described MeCann as a young black male approximately five feet ten inches in height, and other residents of the apartment and neighbors indicated to Detective Cahill that the suspect's first name was Mario. From a police database, Detective Cahill printed [908]*908out photographs comprised of black males named Mario. Then, after eliminating pictures from suspects that were in the database more than once and removing names, Detective Cahill presented a thirty-two-picture array to A.L. and Dozier. Two of the pictures within this array were of McCann. Both Dozier and AL. identified McCann as the person who attempted to rape A.L. and shot Dozier. Thereafter, McCann was arrested and charged for Attempted Murder, Burglary, and Attempted Rape.
Prior to trial, McCann moved to suppress A.L.'s and Dozier's in-court identifications of him. McCann argued that the out of court identification procedures were unduly suggestive. The trial court denied this motion. During trial, McCann renewed his objections to A.L.'s and Dozier's in-court identifications. These objections were denied.
[On February 9, 1999,] McCann was found guilty on all three charged of fenses. [At a sentencing hearing on March 8, 1999, the] trial court cited four aggravating circumstances and ho mitigating circumstances. The trial court sentenced McCann to fifty years for each offense, with the Attempted Murder conviction and Burglary conviction to run consecutively and the Attempted Rape conviction to run concurrently. McCann was sentenced to a total executed sentence of one hundred years.

McCann v. State, 742 N.E.2d 998, 1001-02 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (McCann I"), aff'd in part and vacated in part by 749 N.E.2d 1116 (Ind.2001) ("McCann II"). Another panel of this Court affirmed McCann's convictions but remanded for resentencing based on the trial court's finding of two improper aggravators. McCann I, 742 N.E.2d at 1007-08. On transfer, our supreme court held that one of those aggra-vators was proper and affirmed McCann's convictions and sentence. McCann II, 749 N.E.2d at 1120-21.

On September 18, 2002, McCann filed pro se an amended petition for post-conviction relief. The State filed its answer on October 15, 2002. On August 29, 2005, McCann filed by counsel a motion to amend his petition, which the post-convietion court granted three days later. The State filed its response on September 7, 2005. On October 4, 2005, the post-convietion court held a hearing on McCann's petition. On January 31, 2006, the post-conviction court denied MeCann's petition. McCann now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

Standard of Review

In addressing MceCann's allegations of error, we employ the following standard of review:

The petitioner in a post-conviction proceeding bears the burden of establishing grounds for relief by a preponderance of the evidence. Ind. Post-Conviction Rule 1(5). When appealing from the denial of post-conviction relief, the petitioner stands in the position of one appealing from a negative judgment. On review, we will not reverse the judgment unless the evidence as a whole unerringly and unmistakably leads to a conclusion opposite that reached by the post-conviction court. Further, the post-conviction court in this case entered findings of fact and conclusions thereon in accordance with Indiana Post-Convietion Rule 1(6). A post-conviction court's findings and judgment will be reversed only upon a showing of clear error-that which leaves us with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. In this review, we accept findings of fact unless clearly erroneous, but we accord no deference to conclusions of law. The post-conviction court is the [909]*909sole judge of the weight of the evidence and the credibility of witnesses.

Walker v. State, 843 N.E.2d 50, 56 (Ind.Ct. App.2006) (quotation marks and some citations omitted), trans. denied.

I. Attempted Murder Instruction

McCann first contends that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the trial court's attempted murder instruction and tender a correct instruction.1 Regarding ineffectiveness claims, our supreme court has stated,

A defendant claiming a violation of the right to effective assistance of counsel must establish the two components set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); accord Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 390-91, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This requires a showing that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, id. at 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052, and that the errors were so serious that they resulted in a denial of the right to counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment, id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Id. To establish prejudice, a defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
854 N.E.2d 905, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1983, 2006 WL 2847403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccann-v-state-indctapp-2006.