Taylor v. State

836 N.E.2d 1024, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 2125, 2005 WL 3005781
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided November 10, 2005·No. 49A02-0410-CR-898·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinions

OPINION

SHARPNACK, Judge.

Woodrow Taylor appeals his conviction for criminal trespass as a class A misdemeanor.1 Taylor raises one issue, which we restate as whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Taylor's conviction. We affirm.

The relevant facts follow. On March 11, 2004, Taylor attended classes at IPS School 26 in Indianapolis, pursuant to his class schedule, from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m. Around noon, Indianapolis Public School Police Officer Thomas MeClendon saw Taylor standing in the hallway by the front entry. Officer McClendon asked Taylor what he was doing, and Taylor told the officer he was waiting for the city bus. Officer McClendon told: Taylor it was fine as long as he waited in the hallway by the front entry.

While patrolling the school, Officer McClendon saw Taylor walking around in the building on two separate occasions. After his patrol ended, Officer McClendon waited for Taylor 'at the front entry. When Taylor returned, Officer McClendon told him to leave the building, repeating himself five times in quick succession. Taylor responded, "[ylou must be hard of hearing," and "[I am] not leaving the building." Transeript at 9. Officer McClendon then placed Taylor under arrest.

The State charged Taylor with trespass as a class D felony.2 After a bench trial, the trial court found Taylor guilty but [1026] reduced the conviction to a class A misdemeanor pursuant to the alternative misdemeanor sentencing provisions. The trial court sentenced Taylor to serve 180 days on probation. Taylor filed a motion to reconsider, which the trial court denied.

The sole issue is whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Taylor's conviction. When reviewing claims of insufficiency of the evidence, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses. Jordan v. State, 656 N.E.2d 816, 817 (Ind.1995), reh'g denied. Rather, we look to the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom that support the con-vietion. Id. We will affirm the conviction if there exists evidence of probative value from which a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

The offense of criminal trespass is governed by Ind.Code § 85-48-2-2, which provides, in pertinent part: "A person who ... not having a contractual interest in the property, knowingly or intentionally refuses to leave the real property of another person after having been asked to leave by the other person or that person's agent . commits criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class D felony if it is committed ... on school property." Thus, to conviet Taylor of criminal trespass as a class D felony, the State needed to prove that Taylor: (1) did not have a contractual interest in the property; (2) knowingly or intentionally refused to leave the real property of another person; (3) after having been asked to leave by the other person's agent; and (4) the offense is committed on school property.

Taylor argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction because he had a contractual interest in remaining on the school property. A "contractual interest," as it is used in the criminal trespass statute, refers to the right to be present on another's property, arising out of an agreement between at least two parties that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. A.E.B. v. State, 756 N.E.2d 536, 540 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (relying on Woods v. State, 703 N.E.2d 1115, 1117 (Ind.Ct.App.1998)). The State is not required to disprove every conceivable contractual interest the defendant might have had in the property. Fleck v. State, 508 N.E.2d 539, 541 (Ind.1987).

At trial, the State presented the following evidence regarding the lack of a contractual interest. The following exchange occurred between the prosecutor and Officer MeClendon:

Q. Okay. Did Mr. Taylor pay rent to the school or did he have any contractual interest in that property that you know of?
A. Not that I know of,.
[Defendant's Attorney]: as to... Objection
A. No, sir.
Q. Okay.
[Defendant's that? Attorney]: Strike
THE COURT: Objection stricken.
Q. Is part of your job to make sure that people aren't hanging around the school that aren't supposed to be there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And is Mr. Taylor one of those people that was hanging around where he wasn't supposed to be?
A. Yes, sir.

Transcript at 9-10. Further, the record shows that Taylor was scheduled to attend class only from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m., and he was still at school around noon. At the close of trial, the trial court stated:

[1027] Provisionally I agree with the Defense contention that [Taylor] had a contractual interest at IPS School 26. However, that contractual interest ended at 10:15 on March l1ith, 2004, when his classes ended. The Defendant was on school property two (2) hours after the conclusion of his classes. The indications in the report filed by Officer McClendon and testimony is provided, this is somewhere around 12:00, 12:15, about two (2) hours after classes let out. Notwithstanding any subjective belief regarding his right to be on the property, Mr. Taylor was instructed by an IPS officer to stay at one location, and Mr. Taylor refused that order .... But Mr. Taylor was given an opportunity to remain in the building to wait for his bus when Officer McClendon first encountered him. Mr. Taylor disregarded that instruction and when confronted and told to leave the building, the evidence is that he responded with attitude. That is my characterization based on the testimony that I have received. Given that, I find that the State has proven its case.

Id. at 22-28.

Taylor argues that the trial court improperly based its verdiet "on the notion that a student's right to remain at his or her school ends when classes are finished." Appellant's Brief at 5. Taylor argues that the trial court improperly found that he did not have a contractual interest in remaining on the school property because his classes had ended at 10:15 a.m. During trial, on his motion to reconsider, and on appeal Taylor relies on to support his belief that he had a contractual interest in remaining on the school's property.

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Taylor v. State, 836 N.E.2d 1024, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 2125, 2005 WL 3005781 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).

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Taylor v. State
836 N.E.2d 1024 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)