Mendez v. State

367 N.E.2d 1081, 267 Ind. 67, 1977 Ind. LEXIS 465
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 28, 1977
Docket676 S 171
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 367 N.E.2d 1081 (Mendez 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
Mendez v. State, 367 N.E.2d 1081, 267 Ind. 67, 1977 Ind. LEXIS 465 (Ind. 1977).

Opinion

Prentice, J.

Defendant was convicted in a trial by jury of Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Ind. Code (Burns Ind. Stat. Ann. 1974 Supp.) 35-24.1-4-1 (Repealed by Acts 1975, P.L. 338 §4). For present law see Ind. Code (Burns 1975) 35-24.1-4.1-1, to-wit: Heroin. He was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years and fined one thousand dollars. This appeal presents the following issues:

(1) Whether the trial court erred by denying defendant’s motion to dismiss and discharge which was based upon an allegation that the affidavit supporting the warrant for his arrest failed to show probable cause.

(2) Whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for change of venue.

(3) Whether the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the evidence obtained in an alleged scheme of entrapment not supported by probable cause.

(4) Whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, predicated upon the *69 State’s alleged failure to prove that defendant had not been entrapped.

(5) Whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, based upon the State’s failure to introduce evidence that heroin is a proscribed substance under Indiana’s Uniform Controlled Substance Act.

(6) Whether the trial court erred in giving State’s instruction number two.

(7) Whether the trial court erred in refusing defendant’s motion for a mistrial based upon alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

ISSUE I

This charge presents no issue for review, inasmuch as it relates solely to the validity of the defendant’s arrest. It appears that the affidavit in question, although it may have contained some allegations of questionable credibility, established probable cause without reference to such allegations. Nevertheless, the question is a moot one, as there has been no showing that any of the State’s evidence was obtained in consequence of the arrest. Defendant’s argument that a reversal after trial is required, to comport with constitutional requirements and to be consistent with the exclusionary rule applied to evidence illegally obtained is without logic. Evidence obtained in consequence of an illegal arrest is excludable, just as is evidence obtained in consequence of an illegal search. Other remedies are available to protect against unlawful arrests and detainers.

The illegality of an arrest affects only the admissibility of the evidence obtained as a result thereof or of a search following it. It does not affect the right of the State to try the arrestee. Wells v. State, (1971) 256 Ind. 161, 267 N.E.2d 371; Walker v. State, (1974) 261 Ind. 519, 307 N.E.2d 62.

*70 ISSUE II

Defendant filed a motion for change of venue from the county, alleging that publicity in the news media was such as to impair his right to a fair and impartial trial. In support of his motion, he filed a supporting affidavit and copies of two newspaper articles which reported his bail hearing. The trial court found that defendant had not established the alleged prejudice, but took the motion under advisement. After preliminary voir dire examination of prospective jurors, the motion was denied.

The decision on a motion for a change of venue is a matter within the trial court’s discretion. Jarver v. State, (1976) 265 Ind. 525, 356 N.E.2d 215: McFarland v. State, (1975) 263 Ind. 657, 336 N.E.2d 824; Gatchett v. State, (1973) 261 Ind. 109, 300 N.E.2d 665. An applicant for a change of venue has the burden to establish the grounds for such change, and it is the duty of the trial court to determine, from the evidence, if such grounds have, in fact, been proved. In so doing, the trial court assesses the evidence, both as to weight and credibility. It may not act arbitrarily, but it has much discretion, and even though the application and evidence be uncontroverted it, nevertheless, establishes but a prima facie basis, which is not binding upon the court. Jarver v. State, supra; Brown v. State, (1969) 252 Ind. 161, 247 N.E.2d 76.

The only evidence contained in the record which would suggest exposure by potential jurors to community bias consisted of the two newspaper articles aforementioned, both of which were published two months prior to the trial. They are not sufficient by themselves, however, to show the necessary degree of pervasive and inflammatory sentiments from which it may be presumed that the defendant could not receive a fair trial. See Sheppard v. Maxwell, (1966) 384 U.S. 333, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 16 L.Ed.2d 600; Estes v. Texas, (1965) 381 U.S. 532, 85 S.Ct. 1628, 14 L.Ed.2d 543; Rideau v. Louisiana, (1963) 373 U.S. 723, 83 S.Ct. 1417, 10 L.Ed.2d 663.

*71 Additionally, there has been no showing of any actual prejudice to the defendant from the denial of the change of venue motion. Inasmuch as the trial court waited until after the jury voir dire to make its ruling, the defendant had the opportunity to discover the extent, if any, to which prospective jurors had been exposed to potentially prejudicial publicity and their ability to render an impartial verdict in the face of it. See Murphy v. Florida, (1975) 421 U.S. 794, 95 S.Ct. 2031, 44 L.Ed.2d 589; Irvin v. Dowd, (1961) 366 U.S. 717, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 6 L.Ed.2d 751. This voir dire examination is not contained in the record before us, and, therefore, is not subject to our review. Cooper v. State, (1972) 259 Ind. 107, 284 N.E.2d 799; Fortune v. State, (1937) 212 Ind. 325, 9 N.E.2d 81; Campbell v. State, (1887) 148 Ind. 527, 47 N.E. 221.

ISSUE III

The defendant moved to suppress any evidence of the narcotics transaction upon the ground that the State had failed to establish probable cause to suspect him of trafficking in narcotics at the time it arranged the purchase by a police informer. The motion was denied, and we find no error in that ruling.

The controlled buy took place on April 16, 1975.

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Bluebook (online)
367 N.E.2d 1081, 267 Ind. 67, 1977 Ind. LEXIS 465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mendez-v-state-ind-1977.