Case Title: Sanford v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 49S05-1604-PC-210

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 2016-04-27T00:00:00Z

Document:
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT 
 
 
 
 
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE 
Stephen T. Owens 
 
 
 
 
 
Gregory F. Zoeller  
Public Defender of Indiana 
 
 
 
 
Attorney General of Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
James T. Acklin  
 
 
 
 
 
Angela N. Sanchez 
Chief Deputy Public Defender 
 
 
 
 
Deputy Attorney General 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
In the 
Indiana Supreme Court  
_________________________________ 
 
No. 49S05-1604-PC-210 
 
RONALD L. SANFORD, JR.,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Appellant (Petitioner below), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    v. 
 
STATE OF INDIANA,    
 
 
 
 
 
Appellee (Respondent below).  
 
 
_________________________________ 
 
Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, No. 49G04-8804-PC-40167  
The Honorable Lisa F. Borges, Judge 
The Honorable Anne Flannelly, Magistrate  
_________________________________ 
 
On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A05-1506-PC-485 
_________________________________ 
 
April 27, 2016  
 
Per Curiam. 
In 1987, thirteen-year-old Ronald Sanford and a friend forced their way into the home of 
Sanford’s elderly neighbors, robbed them, and stabbed them to death.  The State initially charged 
Sanford as a juvenile, but he was waived into adult court and charged with multiple felonies, 
including two counts of murder.  Represented by a public defender, Sanford pleaded guilty to two 
FILED
C L E R K
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
Apr 27 2016, 10:48 am
 
 
counts of murder, one count of class A felony robbery, and one count of class B felony burglary, 
and the State dismissed the remaining counts.  The plea agreement left sentencing to the discretion 
of the trial court, and in 1989, when Sanford was fifteen, the court sentenced Sanford to an 
aggregate term of 170 years in the Department of Correction.  The trial court never advised him 
that he had the right to appeal his sentence. 
 
Beginning in 1991, Sanford attempted to obtain his trial court transcripts to prepare a 
petition for post-conviction relief.  Over the next four and a half years, all six of Sanford’s requests 
for transcripts were denied.  After these repeated denials, Sanford felt he had reached a dead end.  
Then, beginning in 2004, Sanford again began seeking copies of his transcripts and other case 
filings.  His motion requesting transcripts was denied by the trial court.  His public records request 
to the Marion County Clerk’s Office could not be fulfilled because the original case file and the 
microfilm were missing from the clerk’s records.  Sanford thus received only copies of filings 
made beginning in 2005.  In July 2006, Sanford filed a pro se PCR petition and request for 
transcripts.  The trial court granted his request for transcripts, but nearly two years later Sanford 
still had not received the transcript of his plea hearing, and after filing multiple continuances in 
the PCR court, he moved for and was granted permission to withdraw his petition without 
prejudice.  In January 2010, Sanford moved to compel compliance with the trial court’s 2006 order 
for transcripts, but the trial court denied his motion because by that point, his PCR petition had 
been withdrawn.  In June 2011, Sanford again filed a pro se PCR petition.  The trial court appointed 
the State Public Defender to represent Sanford, and counsel requested continuances of the PCR 
hearing.   
 
In February 2015, Sanford, by counsel, filed a petition for permission to file a belated 
Notice of Appeal under Indiana Post-Conviction Rule 2.1  The trial court held Sanford’s PCR 
petition in abeyance, and in April 2015, held a hearing on his Post-Conviction Rule 2 petition. The 
trial court denied Sanford’s petition and the Court of Appeals affirmed.  Sanford v. State, --- 
N.E.3d ---, 2016 WL 359283 (Ind. Ct. App. Jan. 29, 2016).  Sanford now asks this Court to grant 
transfer and permit him to file a belated Notice of Appeal to appeal his sentence. 
                                                 
1 In short (as relevant here), Post-Conviction Rule 2 provides an avenue by which certain criminal 
defendants may pursue a direct appeal after the time for filing a Notice of Appeal has expired.  
 
 
 
A court will grant a defendant permission to file a belated Notice of Appeal under Post-
Conviction Rule 2 if the defendant’s failure to file a timely Notice of Appeal was not his or her 
fault, and if the defendant has been diligent in requesting permission to file a belated Notice of 
Appeal under the Rule.  Under the unique circumstances of this case, we find that Sanford should 
be permitted to file a belated Notice of Appeal.  Accordingly, we grant transfer, reverse the 
judgment of the trial court, and remand with instructions to grant Sanford’s Post-Conviction Rule 
2 petition.  In all other respects we summarily affirm the Court of Appeals’ decision.  See Ind. 
Appellate Rule 58(A)(2).   
 
  
         
All Justices concur.