Opinion ID: 2078760
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Transcript of Hadley's Admissions

Text: During the habitual offender proceedings, the State sought to introduce a transcript of a prior hearing in which Hadley admitted two previous felonies. The court reporter who certified the transcript was called to testify. Hadley objected to her authentication of the transcript because she was not the keeper of the records. The trial court sustained Hadley's objection that the transcript was not properly authenticated and refused to admit the document. The prosecution hurriedly located the clerk of the Elkhart Circuit Court and called him as its next witness to authenticate the transcript. Defense counsel objected to the testimony because the clerk was not included on the State's witness list. The trial court overruled the objection and allowed the clerk to testify. Appellant claims the judge should have refused to allow the clerk to testify because the prosecution violated discovery rules by sponsoring a surprise witness. Appellant, through his successful advocacy, forced the prosecution to detour from its intended evidentiary route. He cannot claim error simply because the detour did not become a roadblock. Moreover, the proper remedy was a request for a continuance, which defense counsel did not seek. Miller v. State (1980), 273 Ind. 493, 405 N.E.2d 909. Appellant also claims error from admission of the transcript. He alleges the transcript was improperly certified and no foundation was laid for its admission. We need not address the merits of this issue because the transcript constituted cumulative evidence. An officer who attended the hearing testified that Hadley admitted to the prior felonies. Thus, any error from admission of the transcript was harmless.