Court Opinion

ID: 9715766
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:13:48.240638+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:37.923145
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion
Arterburn, C. J.
This court has previously approved a rule that in determining which appeals in criminal cases shall go to the Court of Appeals and which remain with the Supreme Court [A.R. 4(A)(7)] if the sentence is for an indeterminate period of ten [10] years to a greater maximum, such sentences will be considered not greater than .ten [10] years and therefore the appeal goes to the Court of Appeals. When this rule was adopted, I agreed to such an interpretation of the constitutional provision that such indeterminate sentences are not greater than ten [10] years on the basis of a statute which states, in substance, that good time credit to all persons sentenced for an indeterminate sentence shall be “computed on the minimum term of such sentence only” and *450not upon what the maximum may be. Therefore, it follows that for an indeterminate sentence, which is ten [10] years to twenty [20] years or ten [10] to twenty-five [25] years or any greater figure, the convict will nevertheless serve the same time, (six years, eight months) which will be less than ten [10] years, because of good time credit, under the statute. Therefore, the result of this statute, which is part of the law of Indiana, as well as the statute fixing indeterminate terms and penalties for crime means that any indeterminate sentence of ten [10] years is really for a lesser period than ten [10] years, after good time credit is deducted, as provided. The maximum of the indeterminate sentence has no influence or effect whatsoever upon the time served, so long as a prisoner behaves well. We have no right to assume that a prisoner will not behave well. If he misbehaves there is a penalty for that, which we do not have before us, at the time of the appeal. For the reasons stated, I do not agree with the interpretation and conclusion in the majority opinion, that a sentence of ten [10] years to twenty-five [25] years is a sentence of greater than ten [10] years, because of the language of Burns 13-116 and 13-119a. These statutes in plain language provide, (for example) that a prisoner shall have his time reduced to six years, eight months, if the sentence is a determinate one for ten [10] years or an indeterminate one for ten [10] to twenty [20] years or ten [10] to thirty [30] years. The statute is without any conditions other than good behavior.
Note. — Reported in 275 N. E. 2d 797.