Title: Rice v. State
Citation: 223 N.E.2d 579, 248 Ind. 200
Docket Number: 30,933
State: Indiana
Issuer: Indiana Supreme Court
Date: February 20, 1967

248 Ind. 200 (1967)
223 N.E.2d 579
RICE
v.
STATE OF INDIANA.
No. 30,933.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
Filed February 20, 1967.
Rehearing denied April 24, 1967.
*201 Lewis Davis, of Indianapolis, for appellant.
John J. Dillon, Attorney General, and Donald R. Ewers, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
MOTE, J.
The Appellant was charged by affidavit with burglary in the first degree, the significant part of which affidavit is as follows:
The crime of first degree burglary is defined by Statute and is found in the Acts of the Indiana General Assembly 1941, ch. 148, § 4, p. 447, Burns' Ind. Stat. Anno. (1956 Repl.) § 10-701 (a) as follows:
After a plea of not guilty on October 29, 1965, the trial court, without the intervention of a jury, found the Appellant to be forty-six years of age and guilty as charged by said affidavit. Appellant was represented at the trial by counsel of his own selection.
Pre-sentence investigation was ordered and made and on November 12, 1965, Appellant was sentenced to a term of not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) years in the Indiana State Prison. Appellant's trial counsel did not file a Motion for a New Trial, but on December 2, 1965, said Appellant filed his own Motion therefor, the same being dated November 24, 1965. The Motion, eliminating the formal parts, is in the words and figures following, to-wit:
*203 With the Motion for a New Trial, Appellant also filed a Petition for Extension of Time and Leave to Amend the said Motion, which said Motion, eliminating the formal parts, is in the words and figures following, to-wit:
The Motion for a New Trial was overruled and on December 17, 1965, the trial court appointed Lewis Davis as pauper attorney. On February 28, 1966 the first praecipe was filed and on June 14, 1966, after a Petition for Extension of Time *204 was filed and granted, the transcript was filed in the office of the Clerk of this Court.
The only error asserted and relied upon in this appeal is the overruling of Appellant's Motion for a New Trial. In his original brief, Appellant presents two points for our consideration, namely: (1) "the verdict is contrary to law" and "the finding of the court is not sustained by sufficient evidence," grouped together, and (2) that he was not represented by competent counsel.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to examine the evidence, together with reasonable inferences therefrom, and to consider whether it is sufficient in fact and law to establish the charge beyond a reasonable doubt and supports the finding and judgment rendered herein, bearing in mind the long established legal principle that the State is entitled to the most favorable inferences from the evidence. Greenwalt v. State (1965), 246 Ind. 608, 209 N.E.2d 254; Wojcik v. State (1965) 246 Ind. 257, 204 N.E.2d 866.
In the instant case, the evidence discloses that on August 7, 1965, John D. Cole and his wife were absent from their apartment for a short time during the night and upon their return, they found their locked door open and the screen torn off and lying on the front porch. A television set, an electric clock and a fan were missing from their apartment.
In his brief, Appellant sets forth the following resume of his testimony:
*205 Appellant was identified as being the one who carried the television set from the Cole apartment by the witness Hughley, who was, as he said, "sitting on my outside front porch" next door. The television was identified by several witnesses, including the owners, Cole and his wife.
It is amazing that so many appellants come to this Court relying on the grounds under discussion here, when it is so well settled that the Court does not weigh the evidence nor will it determine the credibility of witnesses. Ponos v. State (1962) 243 Ind. 411, 184 N.E.2d 10.
Under our system of jurisprudence, the trier of the facts has the exclusive duty and legal authority to accept or reject, in whole or in part, conflicting testimony and evidence, as well as the determination of the credibility of witnesses who produce such conflicting evidence and testimony.
Appellant has wholly failed to present a convincing argument or to cite authorities which support his contention in this respect and we hold that the finding and judgment are sustained by the evidence and that they are not contrary to law.
As to Appellant's assertion of error under Point 2, namely, that he was not represented by competent counsel, when we consider that his trial counsel was a lawyer of his own selection, he cannot be heard to complain now. Griffith v. State (1966) 247 Ind. 257, 214 N.E.2d 795.
If the alleged witness, Charles Ernie, does exist, which may be doubted because Appellant is the only one who mentioned his name, Appellant himself had the responsibility to locate him and to see that he was subpoenaed. He does not assert that he even told his trial counsel about Charles Ernie nor what his testimony would be. Other than making the statements that his trial counsel performed only perfunctorily, which is a conclusion, and that he failed to object *206 to the improper admission of evidence, likewise being a conclusion, Appellant does not present a case for our consideration. Carroway v. State (1956) 236 Ind. 45, 138 N.E.2d 299; Willoughby v. State (1961) 242 Ind. 183, 177 N.E.2d 465.
The trial judge overruled Appellant's Motion in its entirety, which said Motion included these unverified assertions, and in view of the fact that this appeal is being considered on its merit, his reason (c), that his trial counsel abandoned defendant without filing a motion for a new trial and thus preserving the record for appeal, falls by its own weight.
Furthermore, it has been held in Indiana that the duty of the trial counsel to file a motion for a new trial obtains only as such counsel feels that there are meritorious grounds for a new trial and courts have no right to assume that competent counsel would disregard such duty. State ex rel v. Daviess Circuit Court (1962) 243 Ind. 376, 185 N.E.2d 621.
Finding that no error relied upon by Appellant has been committed, the judgment is hereby affirmed.
NOTE.  Reported in 223 N.E.2d 579.