Riley v. State

711 N.E.2d 489, 1999 Ind. LEXIS 306, 1999 WL 322994
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMay 11, 1999
Docket45S00-9608-CR-538
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 711 N.E.2d 489 (Riley 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
Riley v. State, 711 N.E.2d 489, 1999 Ind. LEXIS 306, 1999 WL 322994 (Ind. 1999).

Opinions

DICKSON, J.

The defendant, William Edward Riley, was convicted of two counts of dealing in cocaine, both as class A felonies;1 dealing in a substance represented to be a controlled substance, a class D felony;2 and possession of a narcotic drug, a class D felony;3 and he was found to be a habitual offender.4 The trial court sentenced the defendant to an enhanced sentence of sixty years. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 4(A)(7).

The defendant claims six errors: (1) the trial court’s limitation on the cross-examination of a confidential informant; (2) the trial court’s improper answer to a question from the jury during deliberations; (3) insufficient evidence that the defendant possessed more than three grams of cocaine; (4) insufficient evidence to disprove the defendant’s entrapment defense; (5) insufficient evidence that the defendant dealt in a substance represented to be a controlled substance; and (6) manifestly unreasonable sentence.

Limitation of Cross-Examination

At trial, the State offered the testimony of Anthony Young, a confidential informant, who worked with the police in arranging the purchase of drugs from the defendant. In return, Young was to receive leniency in his own criminal case on drug charges. The defendant sought to cross-examine Young as to his living arrangements. The State objected on the grounds of relevancy, and the trial court held a conference out of the jury’s presence. The defendant contended that his purpose was to determine whether government funds were being used to provide housing and living expenses for Young. Although the cross-examination resumed, a final ruling by the trial court was delayed until all parties had read the relevant case law on the subject. Subsequently, the trial court conducted another hearing out of the jury’s presence, found that Young had a reasonable fear for his safety, and denied the defendant’s request to inquire as to the witness’s street address. The trial court allowed the defendant to inquire as to the type of accommodations in which Young resided, who paid for his residence, and the general location. The defendant did not pursue this information.

The defendant contends that he was presumptively entitled to question a government informant as to the witness’s address, citing Pigg v. State, 603 N.E.2d 154 (Ind.1992). The defendant also contends that the trial court failed to hold an in camera hearing to determine if Young had a reasonable basis for the claimed fear.

When a defendant seeks to cross-examine a confidential informant, he is presumptively entitled to inquire into such matters as the witness’s address. Id. at 157. This right is not absolute, however, and may be limited if the trial court finds that the witness has a reasonable fear of danger were he to disclose his address. Id. Thus, we have required the trial court to conduct an in [492]*492camera hearing during which the defendant may demonstrate the potential resulting prejudice if he is not allowed to pursue the inquiry. Id. We review the trial court’s decision for an abuse of discretion, and the burden is on the party seeking the information to prove an abuse. Id.

Despite the defendant’s contention that the trial court did not conduct the required hearing, the record clearly discloses that a hearing occurred outside the jury’s presence5 during which evidence and argument were presented and a ruling was made. The defendant has failed to demonstrate how this hearing did not comply with our requirement that an in camera hearing be conducted.

During the hearing, the State identified evidence that would support a finding that Young had a reasonable fear of danger were he to disclose his address. Young testified at trial that he believed that the defendant would kill him if the defendant knew Young was working with the police. In addition, a receipt for Young’s moving expenses was submitted to the trial court, a move at least partially attributed to Young’s fear for his own safety. The trial court also acknowledged that both Young and the defendant had been witnesses to murder or close friends of murder victims. Considering these facts, the trial court concluded that a reasonable fear existed. The trial court did not abuse its discretion.

Jury Question

The defendant contends the trial court erred in answering a specific question from the jury during deliberations. Because the defendant presented an entrapment defense, the jury was instructed as to factors that it might consider in determining whether the defendant was predisposed to commit the charged crime. During deliberations, the jury sent a written question to the trial court asking, “Do all answers to A through I [in instruction 13], have to be predisposed to commit the crime, ... in determining if the defendant was predisposed to commit the alleged crime or not.” Record at 791. The trial court called the parties back into the courtroom, informed them as to the question asked, and, over the defendant’s objection, stated that it intended to answer the question “no.” Id.

When jurors request additional guidance from the court, the proper procedure is for the judge to notify the parties so that they may be present before the court communicates with the jury and be informed of the court’s proposed response. Moffatt v. State, 542 N.E.2d 971, 974 (Ind.1989). When the trial court gives a special instruction on one particular issue, it tends to emphasize that issue as being of primary importance and tends to tell the jury what it ought to do. Wallace v. State, 426 N.E.2d 34, 36 (Ind.1981). When the trial court undertakes to answer questions from the jury regarding the instructions without notice to or outside the presence of the parties, a rebuttable presumption of prejudice arises. Stanley v. State, 515 N.E.2d 1117, 1120 (Ind.1987).

The trial court in this case called the parties into the courtroom and informed them of the jury’s question and his intended response. Over a timely objection, the court responded to the question with a “no,” which was a correct expression of the law set forth in the instruction. On the facts in this case, we do not find it likely that this response would unduly emphasize the particular instruction or influence the jury’s action. We find no prejudice in the trial court’s response.

The defendant contends that answering the jury’s question constituted the giving of additional instruction during deliberations because it explained the meaning of the instruction.6 In support of this argument, the [493]*493defendant relies upon two cases in which the trial court had given additional instructions to the jury. Wallace, 426 N.E.2d at 36-37; Faceson v. State, 642 N.E.2d 985, 986-87 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). In Wallace, the deliberating jury requested definitions of legal terms used in the instructions, and the trial court provided a written instruction addressing the terms at issue. We held this to be reversible error. Id. at 36-37. In Faceson, which relied upon Wallace,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
711 N.E.2d 489, 1999 Ind. LEXIS 306, 1999 WL 322994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riley-v-state-ind-1999.