Opinion ID: 2082594
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Public Bathroom Stall As Public Place

Text: The defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment on the evidence at the conclusion of the State's case. He asserts that because his conduct occurred in a private stall with the door secured, he was not in a public place as required for the offense of public indecency. [1] The State responds that the bathroom stall, even with its door shut and secured, was a public place because its partitions were not of sufficient height to prevent viewing by others, and that, even if deemed a private place, the defendant's actions transformed the stall into a public place when the defendant leaned over the partition into the adjoining stall where the officer stood. Because the defendant presented evidence on his own behalf following the trial court's denial of his motion for judgment on the evidence at the close of the State's case in chief, we will not review such ruling but rather will treat the issue as one of general insufficiency of evidence. Kuchel v. State (1991), Ind., 570 N.E.2d 910, 915; Moss v. State (1976), 168 Ind. App. 605, 612-13, 344 N.E.2d 859, 863. See also Harris v. State (1981), Ind. App., 416 N.E.2d 902, 905. In reviewing for sufficiency of evidence, we consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict, disregarding credibility and weight, and will affirm the conviction if a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Loyd v. State (1982), 272 Ind. 404, 407, 398 N.E.2d 1260, 1264, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 881, 101 S.Ct. 231, 66 L.Ed.2d 105. The offense of public indecency requires the commission of proscribed conduct in a public place. Ind. Code § 35-45-4-1(a). We agree with the discussion and conclusion of our Court of Appeals that a restroom stall, enclosed by partitions of sufficient height so that users' conduct or condition is not visible to the casual public eye, is not a public place. Chubb, 627 N.E.2d at 844. This is also consistent with the rule that criminal statutes must be narrowly construed. See, e.g., Utley v. State (1972), 258 Ind. 443, 446, 281 N.E.2d 888, 890; Coleman v. State (1990), 253 Ind. 627, 631, 256 N.E.2d 389, 391. The defendant's genital nudity in the closed stall did not constitute public indecency. To hold otherwise would effectively render the ordinary use of a public restroom a crime. However, the charging information, although asserting only one count and charging but a single offense, described more than a single act. [2] It alleged not only genital nudity but also the fondling of another person's genitals. Officer Sanders testified that such act occurred while the defendant was reaching across the stall partition. Such conduct exceeded the bounds of the private area and thereby constituted criminal conduct in a public place. Thompson v. State (1985), Ind. App., 482 N.E.2d 1372, 1376. [3] Commenting generally upon the relative height of the defendant and the partition, the Court of Appeals opined that the charged conduct did not occur in the manner described by the officer, Chubb, 627 N.E.2d at 844, and concluded that the determinative evidence was so improbable as to be without probative value. Id. We disagree. The record contains a photographic exhibit which demonstrates that the top of the restroom stall partition reached a height only slightly above the defendant's armpits when he was standing flat-footed. Record at 303. Based on this exhibit, the jury could reasonably have found that, with effort, the defendant could have committed the act described by Officer Sanders. We find that the officer's testimony was not inherently improbable and that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction.