Perry v. State

471 N.E.2d 270, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1052
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 30, 1984
Docket782S264
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 471 N.E.2d 270 (Perry 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
Perry v. State, 471 N.E.2d 270, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1052 (Ind. 1984).

Opinion

PRENTICE, Justice.

Following a trial by jury, Defendant (Appellant) was convicted of Attempted Burglary, a class C felony, Ind.Code §§ 35-41-5-1 and 85-48-2-1 (Burns 1979) and was found to be an habitual offender, Ind.Code § 35-50-2-8 (Burns Supp.1984) He was sentenced to thirty-five years imprisonment.

The Defendant's direct appeal presents nine issues for our review which we have consolidated into eight (8) issues as follows:

1. Whether the charging information sufficiently charged the offense of attempted burglary;

2. Whether the trial court erred in denying Defendant's motion for discharge pursuant to Criminal Rule 4(B);

83. Whether the trial court erred in denying Defendant's request to have him examined to determine his competency to stand trial;

4, Whether the trial court erred when it held the trial in Defendant's absence;

5. Whether the trial court erred in denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the jury panel;

6. Whether the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence Defendant's statements to the police;

7. Whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction for attempted burglary;

8. Whether the habitual offender proceedings placed Defendant twice in jeopardy for the same offense.

The record disclosed that on January 15, 1981, two Anderson police officers responded to a burglar alarm call at Allen's Jewelry and Loan Company and apprehended the Defendant and an accomplice on the roof of the building. The owner of the store testified that a hole, which was discovered in the roof, had not been there earlier in the evening when he had closed the store. Police recovered a hatchet type hammer, a tire fron, and a knife from the roof near the hole. They also recovered a yellow pillow case which had been tied around the accomplice's neck.

*273 ISSUE I

Defendant's first assignment of error challenges the sufficiency of the charging information. Defendant failed to raise the issue at trial or in his motion to correct errors, but he argues that the alleged defects in the information constituted fundamental error. "To be categorized as fundamental error and thus to transcend our procedural requirements, the error must be blatant, and the potential for harm must be substantial and appear clearly and prospectively." Nelson v. State, (1980) 274 Ind. 218, 409 N.E.2d 637, 638. Without determining whether the error complained of was blatant, we find that the second requirement of Nelson has not been satisfied. The Defendant has neither attempted to show us how the preparation of his defense was impeded nor demonstrated how he was otherwise harmed. Rufer v. State, (1980) 274 Ind. 643, 413 N.E.2d 880, 882-883.

ISSUE II

On September 16, 1981 and October 1, 1981, Defendant filed pro se motions for an early trial pursuant to Criminal Rule 4(B), which provides that a defendant shall be discharged if not brought to trial within seventy (70) days of a motion for an early trial. He filed a third motion for a speedy trial on October 7, 1981. On November 2, 1981, a trial date of January 19, 1982 was confirmed without objection. Defendant then filed a motion for discharge on November 18, 1981, which motion was denied on November 28, 1981.

This Court has held that when a defendant files a second or subsequent motion for a speedy trial, he is deemed to have abandoned the earlier motions. Rutledge v. State, (1981) Ind., 426 N.E.2d 638, 640. It is, therefore, the date of the final motion, October 7, 1981, from which the seventy-day period began to run. As a consequence, Defendant should have been brought to trial on or before December 16, 1981. However, on November 2, 1981, in the presence of Defendant and his counsel, a date for the trial beyond the seventy-day limit was set, and the Defendant did not object. Hence, the Defendant acquiesced in the January 19 trial date. Wilburn v. State, (1982) Ind., 442 N.E.2d 1098, 1103; Little v. State, (1981) Ind., 415 N.E.2d 44, 46. Moreover, when the Defendant filed his motion for discharge on November 18, 1981, such motion was premature and properly overruled inasmuch as the trial still could have been held within the seventy (70) day time limit of Criminal Rule 4(B). Mickens v. State, (1982) Ind., 439 N.E.2d 591, 595; Banks v. State, (1980) 273 Ind. 99, 100, 402 N.E.2d 1213, 1214.

In his reply brief, Defendant urges this Court to overrule Mickens and Banks; however, we are not persuaded by his argument to do so.

ISSUE HI

Ind.Code § 85-5-8.1-1 (Burns 1979) [repealed effective September 1, 1982; amended and recodified at Ind.Code § 35-36-3~1] provides that when the court, either from its own knowledge or upon the suggestion of any person, has reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant does not have sufficient comprehension to understand the proceedings or to make his defense it shall immediately hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant has that ability. The right to a competency hearing, however, is not absolute. Feggins v. State, (1980) 272 Ind. 585, 586, 400 N.E.2d 164, 166. Such a hearing is required by the statute and due process only when there is evidence before the trial court that creates a reasonable or bona fide doubt as to the defendant's competency. Pate v. Robinson, (1966) 383 U.S. 375, 385, 86 S.Ct. 836, 842, 15 L.Ed.2d 815, 822; Cook v. State, (1972) 258 Ind. 667, 670, 284 N.E.2d 81, 83. The presence of indicators sufficient to require the court to hold a hearing under Ind.Code § 85-5-8.1-1 must, of necessity, be determined upon the facts of each case as it arises, and the decision whether to hold a competency hearing lies in the province of the trial judge. Malo v. State, (1977) 266 Ind. 157, 160-161, 361 N.E.2d 1201, 1204. We will not disturb the decision of the trial court absent an abuse *274 of discretion. Powell v. State, (1982) Ind., 440 N.E.2d 1114, 1120.

In the case at bar, following voir dire examination of the jurors, defense counsel suggested to the court that in light of the Defendant's behavior in court he was not competent to stand trial. The Defendant had had five court-appointed public defenders from the time he was arraigned on January 16, 1981 to the date of the trial on January 19, 1982. His first public defender had advised him to accept a generous plea agreement, but he refused.

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Bluebook (online)
471 N.E.2d 270, 1984 Ind. LEXIS 1052, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perry-v-state-ind-1984.