Case Title: Dillon v. State

Citation: 108 N.E.2d 881, 231 Ind. 396

Docket Number: 28,945

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 1952-12-05T00:00:00Z

Document:
231 Ind. 396 (1952)
108 N.E.2d 881
DILLON
v.
STATE OF INDIANA.
No. 28,945.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
Filed December 5, 1952.
T. Ernest Maholm, of Indianapolis, for appellant.
J. Emmett McManamon, Attorney General, William T. McClain and John Ready O'Connor, Deputy Attorneys General, for appellee.
JASPER, J.
This is an appeal from a judgment denying appellant's petition for a writ of error coram nobis.
*397 On April 1, 1947, an affidavit charging appellant with forgery was filed in the Daviess Circuit Court. He was arrested on the same day, and on April 2, 1947, was brought before the Judge of the Daviess Circuit Court by the Sheriff for the purpose of arraignment. Pursuant to Rule 1-11 of this court, the following proceedings took place:
Upon appellant's plea of guilty, he was found guilty, and judgment was entered committing him to the Indiana State Prison for not less than two nor more than fourteen years.
On March 19, 1952, appellant filed a verified application for a writ of error coram nobis which, in substance, alleged that for many days prior to his arrest he had been drinking intoxicating liquors to excess, and was in a hazy, nervous, and confused condition when brought before the court, and was under the impression that he was charged with being drunk, and that he was entering a plea of guilty to being drunk; that he had taken liquor into the county jail, and that he drank it before being taken before the trial court; that he had no advice of counsel, and was rushed into the chambers of the court; that he was advised to enter a plea of guilty; that the plea of guilty was not voluntarily made, but was made as "the result of fear, nervousness and a confused and befuddled mind caused by *400 having been drunk for many days past, and as the result of such, defendant-petitioner has been denied his constitutional rights as given to him under Articles 12, 13, of the Constitution of the state of Indiana and the 14th. Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America."
On the 16th day of May, 1952, appellee filed an answer under our Rule 1-3, denying the allegations of the petition for a writ of error coram nobis. On May 20, 1952, the court set the cause of action for hearing for June 5, 1952. Immediately prior to the hearing, appellant, through his attorney, filed a written request to have appellant returned to the trial court as a witness, which request the trial court denied. Appellant proceeded with the hearing, and introduced into evidence his verified application for a writ of error coram nobis, and then rested his case. Appellee introduced evidence which conflicted with every material allegation of appellant's petition for a writ of error coram nobis.
Appellant contends that the court committed error in refusing to order the return of appellant from prison. In Carman et al. v. State (1935), 208 Ind. 297, 308, 309, 196 N.E. 78, 83, this court said:
This court has stated that a petition for return of a prisoner in a proceeding upon a writ of error coram *401 nobis is addressed to the court's sound discretion. State ex rel. Vonderschmidt v. Gerdink (1946), 224 Ind. 42, 64 N.E.2d 579; Carman et al. v. State, supra. Appellant, in his request for return, made no showing that his return was imperative, and it was not shown to the trial court that it was necessary for him to be present. Appellant's attorney took no action in the approximate two weeks between the time this cause was set for hearing and the date of the hearing to make a request for return of appellant or to show any necessity for his return.
Appellant's verified petition for a writ of error coram nobis was introduced into evidence, and there is no showing that his constitutional rights were in any way invaded by the court in denying his return. There is no showing made that the court abused its discretion. As was further said in Carman et al. v. State, supra (p. 311 of 208 Ind., p. 84 of 196 N.E.):
The court did not commit error in denying appellant's request to be returned.
The material allegations of appellant's petition for a writ of error coram nobis were disputed, and there is conflicting evidence. Therefore this court will not weigh conflicting evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses. Lykins v. State (1952), 231 Ind. 258, 108 N.E.2d 270; Sells v. State (1952), 231 Ind. 137, 107 N.E.2d 264; Abraham v. State (1950), 228 Ind. 179, 91 N.E.2d 358.
Appellant's petition contends that he "has been denied his constitutional rights as given to him under Articles 12, 13, of the Constitution of the state of Indiana." Article 12 concerns the militia of the State of Indiana. Article 13 concerns the municipal debt. Certainly, appellant's rights under these two Articles were not invaded, nor were his rights invaded under Article 1, Sections 12 and 13, of the Constitution of Indiana.
After considering all of appellant's contentions, we find that the rights of the accused were not invaded under either the Constitution of Indiana or the Constitution of the United States.
Judgment affirmed.
NOTE.  Reported in 108 N.E.2d 881.