Case Title: Lawrence v. State

Citation: 235 N.E.2d 198, 250 Ind. 161

Docket Number: 31,089

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 1968-04-04T00:00:00Z

Document:
250 Ind. 161 (1968)
235 N.E.2d 198
LAWRENCE
v.
STATE OF INDIANA.
No. 31,089.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
Filed April 4, 1968.
Alex M. Clark, Clark & Clark, and Richard C. Johnson, of Indianapolis, for appellant.
John J. Dillon, Attorney General, and Douglas B. McFadden, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
LEWIS, C.J.
The appellant was charged by affidavit in two (2) counts with the offense of Theft under the provisions of Burns' Indiana Statutes, Anno., (1966 Suppl.), §§ 10-3030(1) (a) and 10-3030(2) (a), and the offense of Conspiring to Commit a Felony under Burns' Indiana Statutes, Anno., (1956 Repl.), § 10-1101.
*162 The jury returned a verdict of guilty of the crime charged in Count I of the affidavit which, omitting the formal parts thereof, reads as follows:
The verdict returned by the jury, omitting the caption and signatures, reads as follows:
It is to be noted that Count I of the affidavit charges the appellant of "unlawfully, knowingly and feloniously obtain[ing] by deception, control over property"; whereas, the verdict of the jury and the judgment on the verdict finds the defendant guilty of "obtaining and exerting unauthorized control over property."
*163 A cursory reading of Burns' Indiana Statutes, Anno., (1967 Cum. Pocket Suppl.), § 10-3030, causes us to conclude that Count I of the affidavit was drafted under § 10-3030 (b) which reads as follows:
"A person commits theft when he (1) knowingly:
The verdict of the jury and the judgment of the Court on such verdict obviously does not pursue the affidavit and § 10-3030(b); but, rather, pursues § 10-3030(a) which reads:
There is an irreconcilable inconsistency between the charge lodged, the verdict rendered, and the judgment on the verdict. The verdict is, therefore, contrary to law and this judgment is reversed with instructions to grant appellant's motion for a new trial.
Arterburn, Hunter, Jackson and Mote, JJ., concur.
NOTE.  Reported in 235 N.E.2d 198.