Van Evey v. State

499 N.E.2d 245, 1986 Ind. LEXIS 1352
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 6, 1986
Docket1084S391
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 499 N.E.2d 245 (Van Evey 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
Van Evey v. State, 499 N.E.2d 245, 1986 Ind. LEXIS 1352 (Ind. 1986).

Opinion

DICKSON, Justice.

Petitioner-appellant, Ricky Van Evey, Ir., is before this Court appealing from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He was charged and convicted by a jury for robbery, a class A felony (Ind.Code § 35-42-5-1), and sentenced to twenty (20) years imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed on direct appeal in Evey v. State (1981), 275 Ind. 674, 419 N.E.2d 971. Petitioner raises three issues in this appeal:

1. the trial court's failure to give a jury instruction sua sponte regarding effect of defendant's failure to testify;
2. ineffective assistance of counsel; and,
8. improper waiver of objections to extradition.

The facts relevant to this appeal are as follows. Petitioner, when seventeen years of age, was arrested in Coldwater, Michi gan, and charged with a robbery which occurred on January 15, 1980, in Fort Wayne, Alien County, Indiana. While detained in Coldwater, he waived objections to extradition and was returned to Allen County. Petitioner, by counsel, waived arraignment and pled not guilty. Petitioner did not testify at trial and defense counsel did not call any witnesses on his behalf. Defense counsel did not request, nor did the trial court give, a jury instruction requiring the jury not to draw a negative inference from a defendant's failure to testify.

On this appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief, the State asserts that petitioner has waived a post-conviction remedy because it is predicated on arguments available but not raised in his original appeal. See, eg., Bailey v. State (1985), Ind., 472 N.E.2d 1260. Despite the apparent applicability of that general rule in this case, the State is precluded from now asserting the waiver defense for the first time in this appeal. When the State chooses to meet a petitioner's allegations on their merits at the post-conviction hearing, as in this case, the reviewing court must do likewise on appeal. Brown v. State (1974), 261 Ind. 619, 308 N.E.2d 699; Langley v. State (1971), 256 Ind. 199, 267 N.E.2d 538.

ISSUE I

Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by failing to give a jury instruction, sua sponte, pursuant to Ind.Code § 35-1-31-3 [Acts 1905, ch. 169, § 285, p. 584 (Repealed 1981)]. This code section provided, in relevant part, as follows:

But if the defendant does not testify, his failure to do so shall not be commented *247 upon or referred to in the argument of the cause, nor commented upon, referred to, or in any manner considered by the jury trying the same; and it shall be the duty of the court, in such case, in its charge, to instruct the jury as to their duty under the provisions of this seetion. (Emphasis added)

Petitioner argues that the emphasized language of the statute required the trial court to instruct the jury that it may not draw a negative inference from an accused's failure to testify. Petitioner contends that this requirement existed despite his failure to request the instruction.

In Indiana, the choice of whether or not the trial court instructs the jury on a defendant's failure to testify belongs to the defendant. Parker v. State (1981), Ind., 425 N.E.2d 628. Despite the seemingly mandatory language of Ind.Code § 35-1-31-3, this Court has consistently held that a defendant must request the instruction to preserve error on this specific issue. Porker v. State, supro; Hunt v. State (1978), 260 Ind. 375, 296 N.E.2d 116. We decline to reinterpret this former statute.

ISSUE II

Petitioner claims the post-conviction court erred upon finding he was not denied effective assistance of counsel and argues that the following acts rendered his attorney's assistance ineffective at trial:

1. Counsel failed to request a jury instruction regarding petitioner's failure to testify;

2. Counsel failed to investigate defenses and call witnesses who petitioner believed were important to his defense; and,

3. Counsel refused to let petitioner testify on his own behalf and threatened to "walk out" if petitioner did testify.

Reversal for ineffective assistance of counsel is appropriate in cases where a defendant shows both (a) deficient performance by counsel, and (b) resulting prejudice from errors of counsel so serious as to deprive the defendant of a trial whose result is reliable. Stricklond v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 LEd.2d 674. A claim of ineffective assistance must identify the claimed errors of counsel, so that the court may determine whether, in light of all circumstances, the counsel's actions were outside the range of professionally competent assistance. The proper measure of attorney performance is reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. It shall be strongly presumed that counsel rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment. Judicial serutiny of counsel's performance is highly deferential and should not be exercised through the distortions of hindsight. Isolated poor strategy, inexperience, or bad tactics do not necessarily amount to ineffectiveness of counsel. Strickland, supro; Burr v. State (1986), Ind., 492 N.E.2d 306; Price v. State (1985), Ind., 482 N.E2d 719; Jackson v. State (1985), Ind., 483 N.E.2d 1374; Secton v. State (1985), Ind., 478 N.E.2d 51.

Although defense counsel did not request a final instruction regarding the petitioner's failure to testify, we note that defense counsel may have considered that the giving of a "no adverse inference" instruction might have drawn undue emphasis on the fact that petitioner did not testify. In any event, this Court will not speculate on what may have been the most advantageous strategy in a particular case. Young v. State (1985), Ind., 482 N.E.2d 246. The decision of whether to request the additional instruction was strictly a matter involving counsel's professional judgment in formulating trial strategy. His decision in this case cannot be viewed as constituting ineffective assistance.

In support of petitioner's second premise for showing ineffective assistance of counsel, petitioner boldly alleges that trial counsel "could have presented evidence which raised a 'reasonable probability ... that the fact-finder would have had reasonable doubt respecting guilt." Strickland v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
499 N.E.2d 245, 1986 Ind. LEXIS 1352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-evey-v-state-ind-1986.