Opinion ID: 853815
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Effect of Indiana Code Section 34-3-18-1

Text: In her motion for partial summary judgment, Doe relied in part on Indiana Code § 34-3-18-1 (1993), [1] which provides: Evidence of a final judgment, entered after a trial or upon a plea of guilty, adjudging a person guilty of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one (1) year, shall be admissible in any civil action to prove any fact essential to sustaining the judgment, and is not excluded from admission as hearsay regardless of whether the declarant is available as a witness. In Kimberlin v. DeLong, 637 N.E.2d 121 (Ind.1994), we held that this section renders a criminal conviction admissible as evidence in a civil trial, but the conviction is not necessarily conclusive proof in the civil trial of the factual issues determined by the criminal judgment. Id. at 124. We adhere to the view that the statute provides for the admission of a judgment, but does not necessarily render it conclusive.