Case Title: Walker v. State

Citation: 445 N.E.2d 571

Docket Number: 282 S 65

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 1983-02-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
445 N.E.2d 571 (1983)
Roscoe P. WALKER, Jr., Appellant (Defendant below),
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below).
No. 282 S 65.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
February 24, 1983.
*572 Michael J. O'Reilly, Deputy Public Defender, Lafayette, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Lee Cloyd, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
PRENTICE, Justice.
Defendant (Appellant) was convicted of Burglary, Ind. Code § 35-43-2-1 (Burns 1979) and of being an Habitual Offender, Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8 (Burns Supp. 1982), and sentenced to thirty-two (32) years imprisonment. This direct appeal presents the following issues:
(1) Whether the trial court erred in refusing Defendant's tendered final instruction No. 2 on the defense of voluntary intoxication.
(2) Whether the trial court erred in refusing Defendant's tendered final instruction No. 3, which purported to define and qualify the term "intoxication," as used in the statute rendering voluntary intoxication a defense to certain crimes.
(3) Whether the trial court erred in refusing Defendant's tendered final instruction No. 5 upon Criminal Trespass as a lesser offense included in the offense of Burglary.
(4) Whether the trial court erred in refusing Defendant's tendered final instruction No. 1 on the habitual offender charge, which instruction would have instructed the jury that it might consider Article 1, Section 18 of the Indiana Constitution.
(5) Whether the trial court erred in refusing Defendant's tendered final instruction No. 3 upon the habitual offender charge, which instruction charged that the jury could, in arriving at its verdict upon that charge, take into account its view of the constitutionality of the penalty, as it would apply in this case.
Defendant first contends that the trial court erred in refusing his tendered final instruction No. 2:
The trial court gave three instructions upon intoxication as follows:
Defendant does not argue that any of the court's instructions were incorrect statements of the law, and he did not object to the giving of any of them, Greider v. State, (1979) 270 Ind. 281, 284, 385 N.E.2d 424, 426. It is particularly noteworthy that the court gave Defendant's tendered instruction No. 6 exactly as he had tendered it. Rather, he claims that the trial court's instructions were phrased in a "negative sense," whereas his instruction was phrased in a "positive sense" and would therefore have informed the jury that voluntary intoxication is a valid defense to Burglary. We do not fully comprehend Defendant's argument, which appears to claim a subtle prejudice. The trial court's instructions fully and correctly explained the law of intoxication, as it applied to this case, more fully than did Defendant's tendered instruction. Moreover, we do not perceive any negative impact from the instructions. See Patterson v. State, (1978) 267 Ind. 515, 519, 371 N.E.2d 1309, 1311. Defendant's tendered instruction No. 6 contains a mandate that, if it found the legally required degree of intoxication, "the jury should acquit the accused." We find no error in the refusal of Defendant's tendered instruction No. 2.
Defendant next assigns error to the trial court's refusal to give his tendered final instruction No. 3:
He argues, based on Hooker v. State, (1979) Ind. App., 387 N.E.2d 1354, 1359, that the italicized sentence is necessary to give the jury a complete statement of the law.
The statute provided[1] that voluntary intoxication is a defense only to the extent that it "negates specific intent," and the instruction given, C-12 was correct, complete and clear, hence adequate to inform one of common understanding of the minimum degree of impairment that entitles one to be relieved of criminal responsibility under such defense. The italicized portion of the tendered instruction is not only unnecessary and grammatically incorrect but its inclusion could only have lead to confusion. The inclusion of the term "total intoxication" could be of no aid without being, itself, defined.
Defendant next assigns error to the trial court's refusal to give his tendered final instruction which would have advised that Criminal Trespass, Ind. Code § 35-43-2-2(a)(4) (Burns 1979) was a lesser included offense of the offense charged. The briefs in this case were submitted before our decision in Jones v. State, (1982) Ind., 438 N.E.2d 972, in which we recognized that, depending upon the allegations in the charging instrument, Criminal Trespass may be a lesser included offense of Burglary. We there stated:
*574 The information provided (in pertinent part):
Contrary to Defendant's assertion, this information did not charge a Criminal Trespass under Ind. Code § 35-43-2-2(a)(4). There is no allegation in the information that the breaking and entry into Crimmins' warehouse was done without his consent, which would have been an allegation necessary to a charge of criminal trespass. The State intended to charge only Burglary. Hack v. State, (1982) Ind. App., 437 N.E.2d 486, 489-90 (trans. denied); see Goodpaster v. State, (1980) Ind., 402 N.E.2d 1239, 1243. That such strategic decision was made is amply supported by the unrefuted evidence offered by the State in its case in chief.
Two police officers responded to a burglar alarm at a beverage warehouse. They stopped Defendant as he was exiting the front door, carrying a case of beer under his left arm. He responded to one officer's command to drop the beer, and was arrested, after which, the officer gave Defendant Miranda advisements and Defendant stated, "Well, you (expletive deleted) got me so take me to jail." The officer testified that Defendant appeared to understand what was happening. Additional evidence disclosed that, although the witnesses agree that Defendant was intoxicated to some degree, he had pried open the warehouse door with a tire iron. The door had been secured with two locks, and photographs depicted the damage done to the door. Once inside, Defendant had navigated down a hallway and through a second door into the area where the goods were stored. Only one pile of beer cases had been disturbed and that was the pile of the same brand that Defendant had held under his arm. These events occurred at about 9:00 p.m. We have related this evidence to illustrate why the State made the tactical choice to charge the offense in such manner as to foreclose the availability of Criminal Trespass, as a lesser included offense. It was clear, not merely problematic, that a burglary had been committed, and the State had the option of pleading its case in a manner that would permit or preclude a conviction for the lesser offense. There was, therefore, no error in refusing the requested instruction.
Defendant lastly assigns error to the trial court's refusal of the following instructions:
The trial court did give Defendant's tendered instruction as follows:
The instruction given was a correct statement of the law, whereas the refused instructions would have conveyed to the jury the belief that it had a power of nullification, which clearly it does not possess under the law. Erickson v. State, (1982) Ind., 438 N.E.2d 269, 272-73 (citing Denson v. State, (1975) 263 Ind. 315, 320, 330 N.E.2d 734, 737); Taylor v. State, (1981) Ind., 420 N.E.2d 1231, 1232-34. The tendered instructions were not correct statements of the law, and the trial court did not err in refusing them.
We find no reversible error. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
GIVAN, C.J., and HUNTER and PIVARNIK, JJ., concur.
DeBRULER, J., concurs in result.
[1]  Although Ind. Code § 35-41-3-5(b) (Burns Supp. 1982) was in effect at the time the offense was committed, it appears that the parties and the court were proceeding under the earlier statute, Ind. Code § 35-41-3-5(b) (Burns 1979).