FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
WILLIAM VAN DER POL, JR. STEPHEN R. CARTER
Martinsville,Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
NICOLE M. SCHUSTER Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
SHERRY PIERCE SALLEE, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 55A05-0201-CR-26
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
APPEAL FROM THE MORGAN SUPERIOR COURT I
The Honorable G. Thomas Gray , Judge
Cause No. 55D01-0105-CF-137
MARCH 27, 2003
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
HOFFMAN, Senior Judge
Defendant-Appellant Sherry Pierce Sallee (Pierce) appeals her convictions of criminal deviate conduct, a
Class A felony, and criminal confinement, a Class D felony. We affirm.
Pierce raises four issues for our review, which we renumber and restate as:
I. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in not allowing Pierce to present
evidence of the victims sexual history.
II. Whether the trial court erred in ordering the sentences to be served consecutively.
III. Whether the sentence was manifestly unreasonable.
IV. Whether the trial court committed reversible error in denying Pierces request to suppress
evidence seized during a warrantless search of Pierces purse.
The facts most favorable to the verdicts reveal that on April 9, 2001,
the victim, an eighteen-year-old female, left her apartment to go to a nearby
BigFoot service station. Pierce and her then-boyfriend, Edward Sallee (Sallee), approached the
victim, and Sallee offered the victim twenty dollars if she would give them
a ride to their house.
See footnote The victim agreed to give them a
ride, but she refused payment.
Sallee got into the back seat of the victims car, and Pierce rode
in the front seat. The victim drove the car until her passengers
told her to pull over at a gravel road. The victim put
the car in neutral, and Sallee grabbed her from behind and attempted to
pull her into the backseat with Pierces help. The victim screamed and
kicked and managed to hit the car horn with her foot before Sallee
pulled her into the backseat with him. Pierce got into the drivers
seat and drove away. The victim huddled in the back and told
her passengers to take her money or her car but to drop her
off. Pierce told the victim to be quiet, or she would kill
her.
Concerned that the victim would be able to see where they were going,
Sallee put a t-shirt over the victims head and fastened it with duct
tape around her neck. The t-shirt only partially blocked the victims vision.
Both Pierce and Sallee told the victim that if she did not
do everything right, they would kill her.
Pierce then drove to a wooded area and stopped at a black and
white house surrounded by trees. Pierce and Sallee took the victim into
the house and sat her on a bed. They told the victim
to keep her eyes shut, removed the t-shirt, and placed duct tape over
the victims eyes.
Over the course of the next hours, Pierce and Sallee forced
the victim to perform or submit to various sexual acts. The victim
was forced to perform oral sex on both Pierce and Sallee; both Pierce
and Sallee performed oral sex on the victim; Sallee penetrated the victims vagina
with his penis; and Pierce used a sexual device to penetrate the victims
vagina. In addition to the sexual acts, Pierce and Sallee forced the
victim to smoke and snort what they called crank, which made the victim
sick at her stomach. The victim complied with all of their demands
because she was afraid for her life; numerous times, Pierce and Sallee told
the victim that if she saw anything or if she told anyone, they
would kill her.
Pierce and Sallee returned the victims clothes to her and when she was
dressed, put her in the backseat of her car. They dropped her
off at the side of the road and told her that her car
would be in the local Wal-Mart parking lot. They then drove away.
The victim removed the duct tape from her eyes and flagged down
a passing car driven by her roommate, A.B. When the victim told
A.B. that she had been raped, A.B. took her to the police department
to speak with police and then to the hospital, where doctors performed a
physical examination.
A security tape at the Wal-Mart revealed that after the victims car had
been driven into the lot, two unidentified individuals had departed the car and
entered a small pickup truck. The pickup truck had been parked in
the back part of the lot. The investigating officers were unable to
ascertain who the truck belonged to, but they did observe that the truck
was painted in a camouflage pattern.
Pierce and Sallee were arrested approximately one month after the incident. Pierce
was charged with criminal deviate conduct, a Class A felony; sexual battery,
a Class C felony; and criminal confinement, a Class D felony. Following
a jury trial, Pierce was convicted on each of the charges and later
sentenced to a total of fifty-three years.See footnote She now appeals.
I.
Pierce contends that the trial court erred in excluding her proffered evidence regarding
the victims prior sexual history. Pierce asserts that the trial courts ruling
deprived her of a fair trial.
The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admission of evidence.
Jackson v. State, 697 N.E.2d 53, 54 (Ind. 1998). A trial
courts ruling on the admissibility of evidence will be disturbed on review only
upon a showing of an abuse of discretion. Id. An abuse
of discretion occurs when the trial courts ruling is clearly against the logic,
facts, and circumstances presented. Platt v. State, 589 N.E.2d 222, 229 (Ind.
1992). In determining the admissibility of evidence, this court will only consider
the evidence in favor of the trial courts ruling and unrefuted evidence in
the defendants favor. Brand v. State, 766 N.E.2d 772, 778 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2002), trans. denied.
The admission of evidence pertaining to a victims past sexual conduct is governed
by Indiana Evidence Rule 412. This rule provides that, with very few
exceptions, evidence of a victims past sexual conduct may not be admitted.
The rule states the exceptions to the general rule as (1) evidence of
the victims past sexual conduct with the defendant; (2) evidence which shows that
some person other than the defendant committed the act upon which the prosecution
is founded; (3) evidence that the victims pregnancy at the time of trial
was not caused by the defendant; or (4) evidence of conviction for a
crime to impeach under Rule 609. In addition to these enumerated exceptions,
a common-law exception has survived the 1994 adoption of the Indiana Rules of
Evidence. See Graham v. State, 736 N.E.2d 822, 825 (Ind. Ct. App.
2000), trans. denied. This exception provides that evidence of a prior accusation
of rape is admissible if: (1) the victim has admitted that her prior
accusation of rape is false; or (2) the victims prior accusation is demonstrably
false. Id.
Pierce sought to introduce evidence to counteract alleged assertions by the State
that the victim was sexually naïve and to attack her credibility.
See footnote She
proferred evidence that the victim first engaged in sexual intercourse at the age
of fourteen. She also wished to introduce evidence that the victim stated
in a pre-trial deposition that her guess was that she had last had
intercourse with her sometimes boyfriend a couple of months prior to this incident,
while her boyfriend stated in his deposition that sexual intercourse between the two
had most likely occurred within days before the incident. This evidence
does not fit into any of the exceptions listed in Evid.R. 412.
Pierce contends, however, that the evidence impacted her Sixth Amendment right to present
evidence.
Evid.R. 412 is intended to prevent the victim from being put on trial,
to protect the victim against surprise, harassment, and unnecessary invasion of privacy, and,
importantly, to remove obstacles to reporting sex crimes.
State v. Walton, 715
N.E.2d 824, 826 (Ind. 1999) (quoting Williams v. State, 681 N.E.2d 195, 200
(Ind. 1997)). Evid.R. 412 appears to be a stylistic revision of Indianas
Rape Shield Act, and so brings only slight change to Indiana law.
Miller, 12 Indiana Practice § 412.101, p. 542 (1995 ed.) (citing Ind. Code
§ 35-37-4-4). To the extent there is a difference between the two,
the rule controls. Graham, 736 N.E.2d at 824-25. The Rape Shield
Act has repeatedly been found constitutional on its face so long as it
does not violate a defendants right to cross-examination. Id. at 826-27.
The constitutionality of an act or rule as applied to preclude particular exculpatory
evidence remains subject to examination on a case by case basis. Steward
v. State, 636 N.E.2d 143, 148 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994), affd, 652 N.E.2d
490 (Ind. 1995). The trial courts exclusion of evidence must not prevent
the defendant from conducting a full, adequate, and effective cross-examination. Id.
Thus, this court has held that the validity of precluding particular exculpatory evidence
should be determined on a case-by-case basis to assure that no violation of
the right to cross-examination has occurred. Clark v. State, 728 N.E.2d 880,
887 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000), trans. denied.
Here, the State emphasizes that Evid.R. 412(b) requires that a defendant, absent a
showing of good cause, must file a written motion at least ten days
before trial describing any evidence of past sexual conduct that she proposes to
offer. Pierce did not give such notice or make a showing of
good cause to the trial court. In addition, she does not address
the issue of notice in either her initial or her reply brief.
It appears that her failure to do so is based upon a belief
that the requirements of Evid.R. 412(b) only apply when a defendant is proposing
to offer evidence pertaining to one of the exceptions listed in Evid.R. 412(a).
Unlike Ind. Code § 35-37-4-4(c), which requires special procedures only when the defendant
proposes to offer evidence pertaining to the exceptions listed in a prior subsection,
Evid.R. 412(b) requires the defendant to give written notice any time the defendant
proposes to offer evidence under this rule.
See footnote We read this rule as
referring to both the general rule prohibiting the admission of past sexual conduct
and the exceptions listed thereafter. This reading of the rule is consistent
with both the language and the intent of the rule.See footnote
Pierces failure to comply with Evid.R. 412(b) precluded her from presenting evidence of
the victims past sexual history. Her failure also results in waiver
of this issue on appeal.
Furthermore, even if Pierce had complied with the requirements of Evid.R. 412(b), she
still would not prevail. The offer of evidence that the victim first
engaged in sexual intercourse at fourteen was premised on Pierces contention that the
State had characterized the victim as sexually naïve. In support of this
contention, Pierce cites this court to a portion of the prosecutors opening statement,
which, of course, is not evidence. In the cited portion, the prosecutor
makes reference to the victims obvious youth, but she does not refer to
any sexual naïvete. In fact, the victim later testified that she had
cohabited with her sometimes boyfriend for a short period of time. Under
these circumstances, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in prohibiting Pierce
from offering the proffered evidence.
Pierce also argued both to the trial court and this court that it
was necessary to point out the discrepancy between the victims and the boyfriends
depositions to show that the victim was not credible. The trial transcript
discloses that Sallee and Pierce vigorously attacked the victims credibility throughout her
testimony, comparing her testimony to the physical evidence, probing her financial situation, and
using her previous deposition to impeach her.See footnote We cannot say under the
circumstances of this case that the trial courts ruling prevented Pierce from exercising
her Sixth Amendment right to present a defense.
Pierce cites
Turney v. State, 759 N.E.2d 671 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001), trans.
denied, and related cases for the proposition that the trial courts decision
deprived her of her right to conduct an effective cross-examination and to confront
her accuser.
See footnote These cases hold that using the Rape Shield Act to
exclude evidence establishing another possible source of the victims behavioral problems impede[s] a
defendants ability to rebut inferences that the jury was allowed to draw from
the expert testimony concerning child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome.
Id. at 677.
The facts of the present case differ significantly from the
facts and circumstances in Turney and like cases; accordingly, the narrow, fact-sensitive exception
to the Rape Shield Act stated therein does not apply in the case
before us.
Pierce contends that her convictions of and sentences for criminal confinement and criminal
deviate conduct constitute a violation of the double jeopardy provisions found in Article
1, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution. Specifically, Pierce contends that the
convictions and sentences fail under the actual evidence test set forth by our
supreme court in Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32, 53 (Ind. 1999).
In order to show that two challenged offenses constitute the same offense under
the actual evidence test, a defendant must demonstrate a reasonable possibility that the
evidentiary facts used by the fact-finder to establish the essential elements of one
offense may also have been used to establish the essential elements of a
second challenged offense. Richardson, 717 N.E.2d at 53. Application of the
actual evidence test requires the reviewing court to identify the essential elements of
each of the challenged crimes and to evaluate the evidence from the jurys
perspective, considering relevant jury instructions, argument of counsel, and other factors that may
have guided the jurys determination. Spivey v. State, 761 N.E.2d 831, 832
(Ind. 2002). Under the actual evidence test, Indianas double jeopardy clause is
not violated when the evidentiary facts establishing the essential elements of one offense
also establish only one or even several, but not all, of the essential
elements of a second offense. Id. at 833.
Here, Pierce asserts that there is a reasonable possibility that the evidentiary
facts used by the jury to find her guilty of criminal deviate conduct
as a Class A felony were also used to find her guilty of
confinement. In essence, Pierce argues that her conviction and sentence for criminal
confinement as a Class A felony cannot stand under the fourth of five
formulations first enumerated by Justice Sullivan in Richardson and then noted by our
supreme court in Guyton v. State, 771 N.E.2d 1141, 1143 (Ind. 2002).
Under this formulation, Indianas double jeopardy clause is violated when there is conviction
and punishment for an enhancement of a crime where the enhancement is imposed
for the very same behavior or harm as another crime for which the
defendant has been convicted and punished. Id. (quoting Richardson, 717 N.E.2d
at 55-57 (Sullivan, J., concurring)).
The information charging Pierce with confinement states that on or about April 9,
2001, in Morgan County, State of Indiana, [Pierce] did knowingly confine [the victim]
without the consent of [the victim]. Appellants App. at 422. The
Class D felony of confinement occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally confines
another person without the other persons consent. Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3.
See footnote
The information charging Pierce with criminal deviate conduct states that on or about
April 9, 2001, in Morgan County, State of Indiana, [Pierce] did knowingly cause
[the victim], another person, to submit to deviate sexual conduct when [the victim]
was compelled to do so by force and threatening [of] the use of
deadly force. Appellants App. at 422. The Class A felony of
criminal deviate conduct occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally causes another person
to perform or submit to deviate sexual conduct and it is committed by
using or threatening the use of deadly force. Ind. Code § 35-42-4-2.
The victim testified at trial that after she pulled her car off the
road, she was forced into the back seat by Pierce and Sallee.
The victim also testified that Pierce assisted Sallee in forcing the victim into
the back seat and that Pierce then drove the car while Sallee placed
the t-shirt over the victims head. Pierce and Sallee refused to let
the victim out of the car despite her pleas that they do
so. These facts, without reference to any subsequent events, are sufficient to
support Pierces conviction of confinement.
The victim testified that the sexual attacks began in Pierces house. During
these attacks, the victim was told on numerous occasions that Pierce and Sallee
would kill her if she did anything wrong. Because of the tape
over her eyes, the victim was unable to ascertain whether Pierce and Sallee
had a weapon. She submitted to their attacks, however, because she believed
that they would follow through on their threats. These threats of deadly
force enabled Pierce to commit several acts of criminal deviate conduct, and they
are separate from the confinement which occurred in the car. No double
jeopardy relief is provided where the behavior forming the basis of the enhancement
is separate and distinct.
Richardson, 717 N.E.2d at 56.
III.
Pierce contends that the trial court erred in imposing the maximum sentence for
her two offenses and in requiring the sentences to be served consecutively.
See footnote
Pierce argues that the sentences imposed do not reflect the considerations set forth
in Indiana Appellate Rule 7.
We note that Indiana statutes authorize the enhanced and consecutive sentences imposed in
this case.
See Ind. Code § 35-38-1-7.1; Ind. Code § 35-50-1-2.
Sentences which are authorized by statute will not be revised unless the sentences
are inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character
of the offender. App.R. 7(B).
See footnote We will not substitute our opinion
for that of the trial court.
See Sallee, 777 N.E.2d at 1216.
Pierce argues that the enhanced and consecutive sentences are inappropriate in light of
her character. Specifically, she argues that the trial court failed to give
proper consideration to what she contends is a complete lack of any criminal
convictions in her past. Brief of Appellant at 24.
The hearing transcript discloses that the trial court determined that Pierce had prior
contact with the criminal justice system. The evidence indicates that Pierce had
admitted to the misdemeanor of conversion on a prior occasion and that she
had been arrested in 1994 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The
trial court ultimately determined that Pierces record was neither a mitigator nor an
aggravator.
The court then noted the aggravators in support of its conclusion that the
sentences should be both enhanced and run consecutively. The court stated its
belief that Pierce was likely to commit another offense because of her propensity
to take on the personality of the bunch of losers she chose to
associate with. Tr. 1173. This is a proper consideration under Ind. Code
§ 35-38-1-7.1(a)(1). The court also stated that it was considering the
impact of the crime upon the victim, a valid aggravator. See Smith
v. State, 695 N.E.2d 909, 911. The court further stated that it
was considering the particular circumstances of the crime, including the fact that Pierce
and Sallee sexually attacked the victim for over four hours and that they
accomplished their abduction by taking advantage of a Good Samaritan.
In light of the trial courts statements, we cannot say that Pierces relatively
clean prior record was significant enough to offset the danger of repeat violations,
the impact upon the victim, and the particular circumstances of the offense.
Accordingly, we find the sentences to be appropriate.
IV.
Pierce contends that the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the State
to present evidence procured from her purse during a search of her vehicle.
Pierce argues that her consent to the search of the vehicle did
not pertain to the search of the purse located in the vehicle.
Pierce maintains that the trial courts denial of her in-trial motion to suppress
the evidence was a violation of both the federal and state constitutions.
Before Pierce made her objection, the State presented evidence that Pierce and Sallee
were seen standing around at the Bigfoot station approximately one month after the
victim was attacked. They were waiting for a ride, as they supposedly
had been in April. Stephen Purtlebaugh, who had observed the couple approach
the victim in April, called the police. The couple was approached by
a Martinsville police officer, and Pierce gave the officer a drivers license as
identification. Sallee claimed that he had no identification, and he told the
officer that his name was Darren Bryant.
Suspecting that Pierce and Sallee were trying to abduct another victim and that
they were using the same plan that they used in April, Morgan County
Sheriffs Department Detective Larry Sanders drove to the Wal-Mart parking lot to determine
whether the camouflaged pickup truck was parked there. He did not find
the truck in the Wal-Mart lot, but he did see it parked in
the lot of a nearby fast food restaurant. He called in the
license plate number and was informed that the truck belonged to Pierce.
Detective Sanders went to the Big Foot station to question Pierce and Sallee,
but they had already left. Detective Sanders then observed Pierces truck being
driven down a local highway, and he called for a local police officer
to make a stop. The stop was made, and Sallee exited the
truck. Sallee first told Detective Sanders that his name was Darren Bryant,
but he gave proper identification after learning that Detective Sanders knew the real
Bryant.
After Sallee was handcuffed, Detective Sanders approached Pierce, who was standing next to
the truck. Detective Sanders asked Pierce if she would consent to a
search of the truck, and she consented. Detective Sanders observed some marijuana
in the ashtray, and he advised Pierce that she was under arrest.
He then opened a purse located in the truck and found a roll
of duct tape inside. Subsequent tests revealed that this duct tape was
of common origin with the tape that had been placed over the victims
eyes. It was this duct tape that was the focus of Pierces
objection and suppression motion.
The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure has been extended to
the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Norris v. State, 732 N.E.2d 186,
188 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000). The fundamental purpose of the Fourth Amendment
is to protect the legitimate expectations of privacy that citizens possess in their
persons, their homes and their belongings. Id.
For a search to be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, a warrant is
required unless an exception to the warrant requirement applies. Id. Because
it is undoubtedly reasonable for the police to conduct a search once they
have been permitted to do so, a consensual search is a well-established exception.
Id. The search, however, must be within the scope of
the consent given. Pinkney v. State, 742 N.E.2d 956, 960 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2001), trans. denied.
The scope of a consent search was discussed by the United States Supreme
Court in Florida v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 111 S.Ct. 1801, 114 L.Ed.2d
297 (1991). In Jimeno, an officer stopped the defendant for a traffic
violation and asked if he could search the vehicle because he believed the
defendant was carrying drugs in it. The defendant consented to the search,
stating that he had nothing to hide. The officer then located a
folded paper bag on the floorboard, opened it, and found cocaine inside.
The Court upheld the search, stating:
The standard for measuring the scope of a suspects consent under the Fourth
Amendment is that of objective reasonablenesswhat would the typical reasonable person have understood
by the exchange between the officer and the suspect? . . .
The scope of the search is generally defined by its expressed object. .
. . [The officer] had informed respondent that he believed respondent was
carrying narcotics and that he would be looking for narcotics in the car.
We think that it was objectively reasonable for the police to conclude
that the general consent to search [the] car included consent to search containers
within that car which might bear drugs. A reasonable person may be
expected to know that narcotics are generally carried in some form of container.
Contraband goods rarely are strewn across the trunk or floor of a
car. . . .
Respondent argues, and the Florida trial court agreed with him, that if the
police wish to search closed containers within a car they must separately request
permission to search each container. But we see no basis for adding
this sort of superstructure to the Fourth Amendments basic test of objective reasonableness.
A suspect may of course delimit as he chooses the scope of
the search to which he consents. But if his consent would reasonably
be understood to extend to a particular container, the Fourth Amendment provides no
grounds for requiring a more explicit authorization. . . .
111 S.Ct. at 1804 (citation omitted).
When reviewing the trial courts determination regarding the validity of a search, we
consider the evidence favorable to the trial courts ruling and any uncontradicted contrary
evidence. Pinkney, 742 N.E.2d at 960. The test is the sufficiency
of the evidence. Id.
Here, Detective Sanders description of his conversation with Pierce does establish that he
asked for permission to search the truck and that he advised Pierce she
did not have to consent. Detective Sanders description does not, however, provide
any indication of what the object of the search was at the time
Detective Sanders secured the consent. We cannot make a determination about the
objective reasonableness of opening a closed purse from the exchange between Detective Sanders
and Pierce. Accordingly, we must conclude that the State failed to show
that Pierce consented to the search of her purse. Thus, the trial
court erred in denying Pierces objection and motion to suppress the roll of
duct tape.
Although we have determined that the trial court erred in denying Pierces objection
and motion to suppress, we must now examine whether the error was harmless.
See Gibson v. State, 733 N.E.2d 945, 958 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).
A Fourth Amendment error is subject to constitutional harmless error analysis.
Id. An erroneous admission of evidence is harmless where its probable impact,
in light of all the evidence in the case, is sufficiently minor so
as not to affect the substantial rights of the party. Indiana Appellate
Rule 66(A).
In this case, the victim gave a very detailed description
of the sexual attacks committed by Pierce and Sallee. The victim testified
that she met Pierce and Sallee at the Big Foot station and agreed
to give them a ride, testimony that was corroborated by an acquaintance who
was at the Bigfoot station. The victim also testified that duct tape
was placed over her eyes as a blindfold, and this testimony was corroborated
by the witness who picked the victim up right after her release by
Pierce and Sallee. This witness observed that the victims face was red
from temple to temple and that the victim had a shiny silver line
on her forehead. In addition, Sallee testified that Pierce participated in sexual
acts with himself and the victim. Furthermore, various police officers testified about
the Wal-Mart surveillance tape, the link between Pierces truck and the return of
the victims car to the lot, and the fact that at the time
they were apprehended Pierce and Sallee were apparently using the same plan to
abduct and sexually attack another victim. In light of this evidence, we
conclude that the probable impact of the erroneous admission of the duct tape
was sufficiently minor to warrant the conclusion that Pierces substantial rights were not
affected.
In summary, the trial court did not err in denying Pierces request to
present evidence of the victims prior sexual activity. In addition, the trial
courts imposition of enhanced and consecutive sentences was appropriate. Furthermore, any error
in admitting the duct tape was harmless.
Affirmed.
RILEY, J., concurs.
SULLIVAN, J., concurring in result with separate opinion.
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
SHERRY PIERCE SALLEE, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 55A05-0201-CR-26
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee. )
SULLIVAN, Judge, concurring in result
I concur in result as to Parts I and II. I fully
concur as to Parts III and IV.
With regard to Part I, I agree that the trial court did not
err in excluding Pierces profferred evidence of the victims sexual history. I
do not, however, agree that such exclusion is appropriately premised upon Pierces failure
to comply with the ten-day notice provision of Ind. Evidence Rule 412(b).
In this regard I am in agreement with the discussion of this court
in Sallee v. State, 777 N.E.2d 1204, 1211 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) to
the effect that the ten-day notice requirement applies only with respect to evidence
sought to be admitted as an exception to the general rule pursuant to
Ind.Code § 35-37-4-4(b) (Burns Code Ed. Repl. 1998). Although the majority here
correctly observes that [t]o the extent that there is a difference between [The
Rape Shield Statute and Evid R. 412], the rule controls, I do not
find any difference between the two in the context of the issue before
us. Slip op at 6. Evidence Rule 412(a), covering exceptions to
the general rule, tracks, virtually verbatim, the exceptions as set forth in I.C.
§ 35-37-4-4 itself, except that the Rule adds one more exception, i.e. use
of the evidence of a conviction of a crime to impeach under Evidence
Rule 609
See footnote
.
Furthermore, and more importantly, under the circumstances of this case, it would seem
illogical to require compliance with the ten day notice requirement when the impetus
for attempting to introduce the sexual history evidence did not arise until the
trial itself when the State arguably attempted to paint the victim as young
and/or sexually naive.
With regard to Part II, I concur but do so with two parenthetical
observations. I would first observe that with respect to the matters being
appealed, the majority states that the trial court merged the sexual battery conviction
into the criminal deviate conduct conviction. Slip op. at 4, n.2 (emphasis
supplied). However, although the jury returned a guilty verdict upon the sexual
battery charge, the trial court did not enter a judgment of conviction upon
that verdict and of course, in its merger order, did not sentence Pierce
for that crime. See Carter v. State , 750 N.E.2d 778 (Ind.
2001). Accordingly, as there was no conviction for sexual battery there is
no need to vacate a conviction upon double jeopardy principles.
Secondly, I must respectfully disagree with the majoritys conclusion, as drawn from our
Supreme Courts decision in Spivey v. State, 761 N.E.2d 831 (Ind. 2002), that
there is not a double jeopardy violation unless proof of all of the
essential elements of one offense also establish all of the elements of the
second offense.
In an opinion of clarification upon rehearing of our decision in Alexander v.
State, 768 N.E.2d 971 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002), this court held:
We thus reiterate our holding in Alexander, that the Richardson actual evidence test,
as applied by our Supreme Court, has found double jeopardy to be violated
where the evidentiary fact(s) establishing one or more elements of one challenged offense
establish all of the elements of the second challenged offense. For there
to be a double jeopardy violation it is not required that the evidentiary
facts establishing all of the elements of one challenged offense also establish all
of the essential elements of a second challenged offense. To be sure,
if such is the case, double jeopardy has been violated, but that scenario
is not the only situation in which double jeopardy prohibitions exist. Both
of the offenses being analyzed for double jeopardy purposes must be viewed in
the context of the other offense. If the evidentiary facts establishing any
one or more elements of one of the challenged offenses establishes the essential
elements of the second challenged offense, double jeopardy considerations prohibit multiple convictions.
772 N.E.2d 476, 478 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied.
Be that as it may, I agree that in the case
before us the crime of deviate sexual conduct was separate and distinct from
the crime of criminal confinement and that the two convictions do not run
afoul of double jeopardy protections.
Subject to the above, I concur in the affirmance of Pierces convictions and
the sentences imposed for those crimes.
Footnote:
Sallee, who later married Pierce, was also charged as a result of
this incident. Pierce and Sallee were tried as co-defendants during the same
jury trial. He, too, was found guilty as charged. His convictions
were affirmed by this court.
See Sallee v. State, 777 N.E.2d 1204
(Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied.
Footnote:
The trial court merged the sexual battery conviction into the criminal deviate
conduct conviction.
Footnote: Pierce also contends that the evidence was necessary to overcome the States
position that the victim was young. It is undisputed that the victim
was nineteen-years-old at the time of trial.
Footnote: Evid.R. 412(b) provides:
If a party proposes to offer evidence under this rule, the following procedure
must be followed:
(1) A written motion must be filed at least ten days before trial
describing the evidence. For good cause, a party may file such motion
less than ten days before trial.
(2) The court shall conduct a hearing and issue an order stating what
evidence may be introduced and the nature of the questions to be permitted.
Footnote: We note that in
Graham we also held that the procedural requirements
of Evid.R. 412(b) obtain when the defendant proposes to offer evidence of the
victims prior false accusations of rape. 736 N.E.2d at 826. We
arrived at our holding by referring to language found in Walton rather than
the language of the rule itself. But see, Sallee, 777 N.E.2d at
1211, n. 6 (interpreting Evid.R. 412(b) by reference to the language of Ind.
Code § 35-37-4-4(c)).
Footnote:
It was Sallees and Pierces contention that the victim initiated the sexual
contact by offering to have sex with Sallee and Pierce if they would
steal her car, as she was unemployed and trying to sell the car.
Footnote: Pierce also cites
Steward and Davis v. State, 749 N.E.2d 552 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2001), trans. denied.
Footnote:
Both Pierce and the State refer to the threat of force element
of confinement in their briefs.
See Appellants Brief at 23; Appellees Brief
at 25. We note that there is no threat of force element
in confinement as charged against Pierce. See Sallee, 777 N.E.2d at 1213,
n. 7.
Footnote:
The trial court sentenced Pierce to serve fifty years for the Class
A felony of criminal deviate conduct. The trial court also sentenced Pierce
to serve three years for the Class D felony of criminal confinement.
The sentences were consecutive, for a total sentence of fifty-three years.
Footnote: On July 19, 2002, our supreme court amended App.R. 7(B) effective January
1, 2003. The rule is directed to the reviewing court and sets
forth the standard for review that is in effect at the time the
decision or opinion is handed down. Although the sentence here was imposed
prior to January 1, 2003, we apply the new rule.
Footnote:
It should be noted that Rule 609 concerning impeachment allows
evidence of several crimes which have been held to reflect adversely upon the
witnesss credibility or honesty. The only crime enumerated in Rule 609 which
arguably involves the past sexual conduct of the witness is rape. One
may meritoriously contend that the additional exception for impeachment purposes does not in
any way dilute the conclusion that in all other respects the ten-day notice
provisions of both the Rule and the statute are closely tied to the
three exceptions which are found in each.