Court Opinion

ID: 9703527
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:59:40.532718+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:49.978950
License: Public Domain

FRIEDLANDER, Judge,
dissenting.
I agree with the majority that there was no error in conducting a hearing for the purpose of asking the jury to determine the existence of aggravating circumstances, for sentencing purposes. I do not agree with the resolution of the second issue, however, in which the majority concludes that true findings of juvenile delinquency are not "criminal history" for purposes of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004).
As the majority notes, this court has previously held that juvenile adjudications constitute "prior convictions" under Blakely, and thus do not implicate the Blakely reqtiirement that aggravators other than criminal history and those admitted by the defendant must be found by the factfinder. See Ryle v. State, 819 N.E.2d 119 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), trams. granted. As the majority also notes, our Supreme Court granted transfer in Ryle, and that decision is therefore vacated and held for naught. See Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A); Wontorski v. Williamsburg Mobile Homes, Inc., 794 N.E.2d 433 (Ind.2003). We cannot know the outcome of the Supreme Court's deliberations on that question until it issues an opinion in Ryle. I note, however, that it is not a foregone conclusion that the holding will be reversed. In any event, until that decision is made, we must decide the issue without the benefit of Ryle as precedent.
The majority strikes off in an entirely new direction, adopting the rationale of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in State v. Chatman, 2005 WL 901138 (Tenn.Crim.App.2005) That court concluded that juvenile adjudications are not criminal history for Blakely purposes, and therefore must be found by the factfinder. Having read and considered both Ryle and State v. Chatman, I find the analysis in Ryle more persuasive. There is no need *467to reinvent the wheel here. Although I cannot cite as precedent, I refer the reader to the Ryle decision for an explanation of the rationale that leads me to conclude that Pinkston's juvenile adjudications constitute "criminal history" for Blakely purposes, and therefore were not improper aggravators in this case. I would affirm the trial court in all respects.