Opinion ID: 2062499
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Amendment to Robbery Statute

Text: At the time Carter committed the robberies and at the time of trial, the robbery statute required either bodily injury or serious bodily injury to constitute a class A felony. Ind. Code § 35-42-5-1 (Burns 1979 Repl). That statute was amended during the 1984 legislative session to categorize a class A felony as one involving serious bodily injury and a class B felony as one involving bodily injury. The amendment went into effect September 1, 1984, after Carter was sentenced. 1984 Ind. Acts, P.L. 186, § 1; Ind. Code § 1-1-3-3 (Burns 1982 Repl.). Carter requested at sentencing that the trial court reduce his class A felony conviction to a class B felony conviction to comport with the ameliorating effects of the amendment. The trial court refused, and Carter claims error. Because Carter was charged, tried, and sentenced before the amendment went into effect, it was not a denial of equal protection to sentence Carter according to the statute in effect at that time. Watford v. State (1979), 270 Ind. 262, 384 N.E.2d 1030.