Turner v. State

650 N.E.2d 705, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 519, 1995 WL 265144
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 9, 1995
DocketNo. 32A04-9404-CR-146
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 650 N.E.2d 705 (Turner v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. State, 650 N.E.2d 705, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 519, 1995 WL 265144 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

OPINION

CHEZEM, Judge.

Case Summary

Appellant-Defendant, Douglas Turner ("Turner"), appeals his two convictions of Aiding, Inducing or Causing Public Indecency,1 class A misdemeanors. We affirm.

Issues

Turner presents four issues for our review. We consolidate and restate these issues as follows:

I. Was the verdict supported by sufficient evidence that Turner committed the offense of Aiding, Inducing or Causing Pub-lie Indecency?
II. Was evidence concerning a civil zoning proceeding against Turner admissible?
[707]*707III. Were certain statements made by the Prosecutor during voir dire proper?

Facts and Procedural History

The facts most favorable to the verdict are: At all times relevant to the charges herein, Turner was the owner of the Turn Around Lounge in Belleville, Indiana. On the evening of October 19, 1992, Officer Clark Fine and Officer John Hancock of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department, witnessed Linda Boyd ("Daniels") and Marsha Willis ("Willis") dancing at the Turn Around Lounge. Each of the women was wearing a "G-string.2 Both officers believed that Daniels and Willis had violated Indiana's Public Indecency Statute by unlawfully exposing their buttocks.3 Turner was generally moving around within the lounge that evening while the dancing occurred. Later that night, the officers placed Daniels and Willis under arrest for Public Indecency, and placed Turner under arrest for Aiding, Inducing or Causing Public Indecency.

On October 27, 1992, Daniels was again dancing in a G-string at the Turn Around Lounge. On that evening, however, Turner was not in the open area of the lounge where the dancing had occurred. That night, Officer Danny Williams of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department arrested Daniels and Turner for Public Indecency, and Aiding, Inducing and Causing Public Indecency, respectively.

In total, Turner was charged with two counts of Aiding, Inducing or Causing Public Indecency which were merged into one cause. In the jury trial which ensued, Turner represented himself although stand-by counsel was appointed. During the trial, testimony was admitted indicating that "pasties and a G-string" was the adult entertainment industry's understanding of the legal minimum standard for women's attire. Additionally, evidence was admitted regarding a civil agreed stipulation between Turner and Hendricks County suggesting the same minimum standard. The jury found Turner guilty on both counts and he was sentenced accordingly.

Discussion and Decision

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Turner contends that the verdiet was not supported by sufficient evidence with regard to each material element of the crime charged. Turner argues that the State failed to prove that Daniels or Willis committed an act of public indecency as defined by Ind. Code § 85-45-4-1, and as interpreted by Chief Justice William Rehnquist in Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. (1991), 501 U.S. 560, 111 S.Ct. 2456, 115 L.Ed.2d 504. We do not agree with Turner's reading of the applicable law.

When reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge witnesses' credibility. Morrison v. State (1993), Ind. App., 613 N.E.2d 865, trans. denied. We look only to the evidence of probative value and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom which support the verdict. Id.

Indiana Code § 35-45-4-1 provides:

(a) A person who knowingly or intentional ly, in a public place:
(3) appears in a state of nudity; commits public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor.
(b) "Nudity" means the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering, the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple, or the showing of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. (emphasis added)

Indiana Code $ 35-41-2-4 provides:

A person who knowingly or intentionally aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense commits that offense, even if the other person:
(1) has not been prosecuted for the offense;
[708]*708(2) has not been convicted of the offense; or
(3) has been acquitted of the offense.

Thus, to convict Turner of the charged offense it was necessary first to demonstrate that a violation of the Public Indecency statute occurred, and then to show that Turner aided, induced or caused the commission of the offense. Ind.Code § 85-41-2-4-,

In determining whether a violation of the Public Indecency statute occurred, we are guided by our supreme court's decision in Erhardt v. State (1984), Ind., 468 N.E.2d 224. Erhardt concerned a woman who entered a "Miss Erotica of Fort Wayne" contest in February of 1982. Erhardt v. State (1984), Ind.App., 463 N.E.2d 1121, 1122. During a portion of the dance segment of the contest, Erhardt danced wearing only a G-string and seotch tape criss-crossed over her nipples. Thereafter, Erhardt was arrested for, and convicted of, public indecency. Id.

On appeal, the Fourth District reversed Erhardt's conviction, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction. Judge Conover dissented. In that dissent, he first noted Erhardt's argument: there was insufficient evidence to convict Er-hardt because the minimal opaque covering Le., G-string) on her buttocks satisfied the statute's minimum requirements. Id. at 1126. Judge Conover then noted the standard of review for sufficiency and quoted the language of the indecency statute. He then concluded:

From the evidence at trial, the court could reasonably find neither Erhardt's nipples nor her buttocks were covered with opaque material as required by the statute. Because it did so find, this case falls squarely within the proscription of the nudity statute. The evidence was sufficient to support Erhardt's conviction.

Id. at 1127.

In setting aside the Court of Appeals' opinion in Erhardt and affirming the decision of the trial court, Chief Justice Givan stated, "Judge Conover wrote a dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals which is correct in every respect." Erhardt, 468 N.E.2d at 225. Our supreme court further stated that Er-hardt violated the Public Indecency statute when she danced in the nude with her nipples covered by transparent tape and with her buttocks exposed. As such, our supreme court held, her "conviction must stand." Id.

In the present case, Daniels and Willis each wore G-strings.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
650 N.E.2d 705, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 519, 1995 WL 265144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-state-indctapp-1995.