Walker v. State

813 N.E.2d 339, 2004 WL 1789513
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 6, 2004
Docket49A05-0311-CR-560
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 813 N.E.2d 339 (Walker 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
Walker v. State, 813 N.E.2d 339, 2004 WL 1789513 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

Bruce Walker ("Walker") was convicted of Class D felony operating while intoxicated, 1 Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, 2 and Class B misdemeanor public intoxication 3 in Marion Superior Court. Walker appeals, presenting the following restated issues:

I. Whether Walker received effective assistance of counsel; and
II. Whether sufficient evidence supports Walker's resisting law enforcement conviction.

Concluding Walker received effective assistance of counsel but the State failed to prove Walker resisted law enforcement, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

Facts and Procedural History

On May 26, 2002, Park Ranger Michael Fuller ("Ranger Fuller") observed a vehicle driven by Walker traveling below the speed limit, weaving across the centerline, hitting mailboxes, and almost driving into a ditch. Ranger Fuller attempted to stop Walker, but Walker ran a red light, drove two blocks, and drove into a residential yard.

Ranger Fuller instructed Walker to remain in his vehicle, but Walker pulled himself from his vehicle and began to stagger. Walker smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and slurred his speech. Ranger Fuller handcuffed Walker after Walker refused to put his hands on his vehicle.

*341 Walker failed the horizontal gaze nys-tagmus sobriety test. Upon this failure, Ranger Fuller read Walker Indiana's Implied Consent Law and asked Walker if he would submit to a breath test. Walker refused. The State then charged Walker with Class D felony operating while intoxicated, 4 Class A misdemeanor driving while suspended, Class A misdemeanor battery, Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, and Class B misdemeanor public intoxication.

During Walker's bench trial, the State admitted probable cause affidavits for the purpose of demonsfirating Walker's identity. 5 Walker was acquitted of battery and driving while suspended but convicted of operating while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement, and public intoxication. The trial court sentenced Walker to 545 days executed in the Department of Correction and 365 days in community corrections. Walker now appeals.

I. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Walker claims his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the admission of the probable cause affidavits and this failure prejudiced him because the affidavits were the only documents establishing that the Bruce Walker convicted of operating while intoxicated in 1997 is the same Bruce Walker in the case at bar. In order to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must demonstrate (1) his or her counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, because of counsel's errors, the result of the proceeding is unreliable. See Conner v. State, 711 N.E.2d 1238, 1248 (Ind.1999).

For the Class D felony enhancement charged, supporting evidence must be admitted to identify the defendant as the same defendant named in prior convictions: Hernandez v. State, 716 N.E.2d 948, 953 (Ind.1999). If this evidence yields logical and reasonable inferences from which the finder of fact could determine the defendant is the same defendant disclosed in the previous conviction, a sufficient connection has been shown. Straub v. State, 567 N.E.2d 87, 93 (Ind.1991).

Walker claims "[no] evidence other than the probable cause affidavits linked Walker to the prior 1997 conviction." Br. of Appellant at 8. We disagree. Walker's matching date of birth and drivers license number are on the charging informations for his current charges and his 1997 conviction. Ex. Vol., p. 7; Appellant's App. p. 20. The Indiana Abstract of Court Record also indicates that the Bruce Walker of the 1997 conviction has the same birth date as Walker. Ex. Vol. p. 5. Finally, Walker's matching date of birth is on his 1997 breathalyzer ticket. Ex. Vol. p. 12. This is sufficient evidence to establish Walker's identity. See Jones v. State, 716 N.E.2d 556, 558 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); Keegan v. State, 564 N.E.2d 533, 536 (Ind.Ct.App.1990). Walker has failed to meet his burden of proving his conviction is unreliable.

Walker also claims that the admission of the probable cause affidavits was fundamental error. However,

while we frame the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel and fundamental error in somewhat different terms-appropriately so, since the first is a standard of Federal Constitutional law and the second of state ériminal procedure- *342 they will invariably operate to produce the same result where the procedural posture of the claim is caused by counsel's failure to object at trial.

McCorker v. State, 797 N.E.2d 257, 262-63 (Ind.2003). Accordingly, our conclusion that Walker received effective assistance of counsel necessarily precludes Walker's right to relief under the theory of fundamental error.

II. Resisting Law Enforcement

A conviction for resisting law enforcement may be had if the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant:

(a) knowingly or intentionally:
(1) forcibly resists, obstructs, or interferes with a law enforcement officer or a person assisting the officer while the officer is lawfully engaged in the execution of his duties as an officer.

Ind.Code § 85-44-8-8(a)(1).

Walker contends the State failed to prove the "law enforcement officer" element of resisting law enforcement because the State did not prove a park ranger is a law enforcement officer. In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we will affirm the conviction unless, considering only the evidence and the reasonable inferences favorable to the judgment, and neither reweighing the evidence nor judging witness credibility, we conclude no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Tyson v. State, 766 N.E2d 715, 717-18 (Ind.2002).

Indiana Code section 9-13-2-92 defines a law enforcement officer as: a state police officer; a city or county police officer; a sheriff; a county coroner; or a conservation officer. Ind.Code § 9-13-2-92 (1992).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
813 N.E.2d 339, 2004 WL 1789513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-state-indctapp-2004.