Turner v. State

508 N.E.2d 541, 1987 Ind. LEXIS 942
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided June 4, 1987·No. 785S296·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

PIVARNIK, Justice.

Defendant-Appellant, Ronald Darnel Turner, was convicted by a St. Joseph Superior Court jury of rape, a class A felony, robbery, a class A felony, and burglary, a class B felony. The trial court sentenced Turner to thirty-five (85) years for rape, ten (10) years for robbery, and ten (10) years for burglary. All three sentences were to be served concurrently. In this direct appeal, Turner raises the following issues for our review:

1) the trial court's lack of jurisdiction over Turner;

2) prosecutorial misconduct;

3) the trial court's refusal to grant Turner's continuance on the day of the trial; and,

4) ineffective assistance of counsel.

The evidence favorable to the jury's determination of guilt is as follows. The victim, while at work, received a phone message supposedly from her son who was at school. The message was that he needed a school book left at their home. The victim returned home to retrieve the book at approximately 11:80 a.m. that morning. As she was about to leave the house, she was confronted by a man wearing a mask and wielding a knife. The man tied her to the bed, covered her eyes and mouth, and demanded money. The victim indicated she had $4.00 in her purse. The man left the *543 room but returned a short time later. He removed the victim's clothes and raped her. Before he left, he said, "That will teach your son to take $19.00 from me in a crap game."

The victim freed herself and called the police. She told them she recognized the voice and build of the man who raped her. She had no doubt it was Turner. She also indicated that $4.00 was missing from her purse. When interviewed by the police, the victim's son admitted he had won about $19.00 from Turner playing pool a few days earlier. A police investigation revealed that Turner was absent from morning classes on the day of the rape. Turner returned to classes that afternoon wearing the same clothing the victim said he was wearing when he raped her.

Before considering Turner's specifications of error in the trial court, we first consider the State's Motion to Strike Appendix to Appellant's Brief. The Appendix contains what appears to be photocopies of documents and transcripts from the Superi- or Courts and the Probate Court of St. Joseph County. Turner was originally charged as an adult in the Superior Court of St. Joseph County. After five months, Turner pointed out to the court that he was under sixteen (16) years of age at the time this crime was committed and moved to dismiss the cause since the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction. The Superior Court accordingly dismissed the action. Two weeks later, the State filed a petition alleging delinquency in the Probate Court, which is also the Juvenile Court of St. Joseph County. The State also filed a request for authorization to file delinquency, which was granted, and a Motion for Waiver of Juvenile Jurisdiction, also granted by the Juvenile Court after a waiver hearing. The appendix in question filed with Appellant's Brief, contains filings and docket sheets from the Superior Court in the action which was dismissed, and the actions taken in the Juvenile Court.

None of these documents and transcripts are certified by any court nor is there any showing that they are a part of the record of this cause. The State's position in its Motion to Strike is that these materials are not a part of the record of proceedings of this cause and are not proper materials for this Court to consider in an appeal. We agree with the State on this issue.

It is the duty of an appellant to present a record that is complete and that supports his claim of error so that an intelligent review of the issues may be made. Berry v. State (1985), Ind., 483 N.E.2d 1369, 1373; Murray v. State (1985), Ind., 479 N.E.2d 1283, 1286. An appellant must see that the record of proceedings contains all pleadings, papers, and transcripts of testimony which disclose and have any bearing on the error he is alleging. Any error alleged but not disclosed by the record, or any matter not contained in the record, will not be a proper subject for review. Averhart v. State (1984), Ind., 470 N.E.2d 666, 683, cert. denied 471 U.S. 1030 105 S.Ct. 2051, 85 L.Ed.2d 323; Tabor v. State (1984), Ind., 461 N.E.2d 118, 126. See also Ross v. State (1978), 268 Ind. 471, 376 N.E.2d 1117, cert. denied 439 U.S. 1080, 99 S.Ct. 862, 59 L.Ed.2d 50.

The material contained in the Appendix had not been properly made a part of the record of proceedings in this cause pursuant to Appellate Rule 7.2 and therefore is outside the record in this cause. They therefore cannot be used to show or support any allegation of error. In responding to the Motion to Strike, Turner supports the propriety of the Appendix by citing Appellate Rule 8.2(A)(4) which allows for the filing of an appendix with a brief for "submission of record or other material deemed useful." It is clear this rule contemplates the submission of record material or material deemed useful that may be placed in an appendix to a brief that is a part of the proper record of proceedings and is properly filed and certified by the clerk and the judge. The Motion to Strike is therefore granted and the material contained in the Appendix and any reference to it in the briefs will not be considered in disposing of this case on the issues presented.

*544 I

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