Court Opinion

ID: 9744078
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:52:57.359919+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:46.413341
License: Public Domain

PIVARNIK, Justice,
dissenting and concurring.
I must dissent from the majority in regard to Issue II and concur in result only in Issue III.
It appears to me that in Issue II, the majority is suggesting we substitute our judgment for that of the trial judge in imposing a sentence upon the Appellant. This is not our role and takes a position that I believe we have studiously avoided. It has not been our role, nor do I believe it is contemplated in the law, to make a determination on what we think a sentence ought to be for each and every defendant coming through our criminal system. Only if we find a sentence to be manifestly unreasonable in light of all the factors relevant to it, do we interfere. The majority states: "We believe that the present offense and offender do not fall within the crimes and criminals for which such severity of punishment is intended." We must note, however, that the Legislature has provided for such penalties upon the conviction of burglary, class A felony. The trial court here clearly supported his conclusions based on the facts of Appellant's past record and the character that was therein revealed. It is umrealistic to find mitigation in that Appellant and his accomplice 'were seeking to avoid apprehension rather than as a direct result of force or threat of force in the commission of the burglary. The encounter, with resultant injuries to these victims, happened in the victims' home and as a direct result of Appellant and his accomplice being in the home to commit a burglary. It is not in the least unusual or unexpected that injury and death come to citizens in their homes in this manner. This is the very reason the Legislature has provided for a more severe penalty when one burglarizes a place of human habitation rather than a building where no one lives. The Legislature further provides for enhancement of the penalty in the burglary of a residence when the resident receives injury. This provides for a finding of class A felony, which provides for the sentence used by the trial judge here. Here, both husband and wife were injured by Appellant and his accomplice. Based on the facts of this crime and the aggravating circumstances detailed by the trial judge, I would not find his action so manifestly unreasonable that it should be set aside. Neither would I think my judgment is better than his in changing the enhancement to five years instead of twenty years.
I concur in result only with the majority in Issue III. Justice Dickson takes the position that this Court has held that the statement of the trial judge as to finding aggravating and mitigating circumstances must be in writing in a death penalty case, but need not be in writing in all other cases. The cases cited do not support that position. It continually has been the position of this Court that such a statement must be in writing in each and every case.
The only case that appears to support the majority's position is that of Rowley v. State (1979), 271 Ind. 584, 587, 394 N.E.2d 928, 931, written in 1979, very shortly after our new criminal code imposing this type of review. There, Justice Hunter, speaking *1112for the Court, did indicate that the statement the judge gave supporting his aggravating the penalty came from the record of the sentencing hearing, and that would be sufficient.
In 1981, we were faced with a death penalty case in Judy v. State, (1981), 275 Ind. 145, 416 N.E.2d 95, in which we found that the statement of reasons to be given by the trial court, pursuant to statutory enactment of the Legislature, meant that that statement must be in writing as a part of the sentencing order. Id. 275 Ind. at 167, 416 N.E.2d at 108. We did not say it applied only in death penalty cases, but expressly said it applies in all cases. Gardner v. State (1979), 270 Ind. 627, 633, 388 N.E.2d 518, 517, was also written in 1979. It held the trial court must state its reasons for aggravating a sentence, but did not say whether or not they needed to be in writing in the sentencing order, Again, this was prior to 1981. All cases cited by Judge Dickson following the Judy case have so held. Page v. State, (1980), 274 Ind. 264, 269, 410 N.E.2d 1304, 1308, was written just before Judy but still stated:
"The sentencing record before us contains no statement concerning aggravating cireumstances to support the imposition of the enhanced sentence as required by the statute. The cause is remanded therefore with instructions that the trial court enter his findings, if any, supporting the enhanced sentence, or in the alternative reduce defendant's sentence to the basic term of ten years."
Page was the beginning of our discernment that the intention of the Legislature was that the statement of reasons referred to in the statutory language meant the statements would be articulated by the trial judge in his sentencing order. In Judy, of course, we found that in order to conform to the standards of the United Stated Supreme Court in imposing the death penalty, we must have a review process found adequate in Gregg v. Georgia, (1976), 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859; Proffitt v. Florida, (1976), 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913; and Furman v. Georgia (1972), 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346. We found therein that our rules provided for a statement of reasons by the trial judge in writing in all cases. In Frappier v. State (1983), Ind., 448 N.E.2d 1188, 1189, we stated: "Indiana Code § 85-4.1-4-8 requires the trial court to make a record of the sentencing hearing and to make 'a statement of the court's reasons for selecting the sentence it imposes." A trial court is required to make a specific and individualized statement of reasons, the purpose of which is to facilitate appellate review. Citing Page, 274 Ind. at 269, 410 N.E.2d at 1308. A mere recitation of the statutory standards is insufficient. If the statement supporting enhancement of the standard sentence is insufficient, the case will be remanded for a more specific statement or the imposition of the standard review. Frappier then goes on to say that the court had properly met these standards. Apparently, the majority is concerned because the case did not say, "in writing." This Court already had said "in writing" in several cases, and now used the language, "make a specific and individualized statement of reasons" citing previous cases. Frappier, Ind., 448 N.E.2d at 1189. The same is true in Pine v. State (1980), 274 Ind. 78, 84, 408 N.E.2d 1271, 1275. This was before Judy but still said that the sentencing statement must be made by the trial judge. It did not say whether or not it was in writing there, but as I stated, this was preJudy; the rule had not been established. See also Abecrombie v. State (1981), 275 Ind. 407, 414, 417 N.E.2d 316, 320. In Abercrombie, we found the court did not state its reasons for aggravating the sentence, and remanded with instructions for the court to grant a new sentencing hearing and "enter sufficient findings to support the sentence imposed." This Court continually has held, since 1981, that the statement of reasons by the trial court must be in writing. The cases cited by the majerity discuss what the statement must contain. There is no inference that the statement need not be in writing by virtue of the fact that some cases did not expressly say "in writing." *1113In fact, our intention was illustrated by our reference to previous holdings that required the statement to be in writing. We have remanded many, many, cases, ordering the trial judge to make his statement of reasons in the sentencing order when the record showed that he did not do so, but had made his statement in open court during sentencing and the only evidence in the record was a transcript of that sentencing hearing. I would say this may have been done dozens of times by all members of the Court. In addition, we specifically discussed this problem in our district hearings throughout the State a couple of years ago, in which we instructed all trial judges at the meetings that the statement of reasons must be in writing in all cases. The fact that Howard v. State (1984), Ind., 459 N.E.2d 29, 32-33, appeared to affirm the judgment of the trial court even though the trial judge did not express his reasons in writing, is not good authority for the proposition that the rule does not require it. Howard is a departure from our usual handling, and more seems to say that it was harmless error in that case than it says that we are abandoning the rule.
If we read all of the cases from Judy on with the exception of Howard, the common thread to all of them is that the trial court must give a statement of reasons and that this must be a particularized statement by the trial judge. Some of the cases say "in writing" and some do not use those two words. The meaning of all of them has always been that it must be in writing. I find it untenable that, at this point, we are going to summarily say that it needs to be in writing in death penalty cases, but does not need to be so in any other. First, I see no reason for now changing the rule as it is well established by trial courts throughout the State, and makes a good and proper record, not only for our review, but for a permanent record in the order books of the courts for future appeals and post-convietion petitions. With the tendency toward high penalties that we have in many, cases, it is important that this record be there. Furthermore, if the majority feels this rule needs to be changed, there ought to be some good explanation for it this far down the road. After holding in all of these cases that the judge must make a particular finding and requiring it to be in writing, plus the many, many times we have remanded, ordering the trial judge to do just this, I think the trial field would be hard put to guess "where we're coming from" to just summarily find that this requirement is not necessary and to find that the rule we have interpreted means something different depending on the case to which it is applied.
I have as yet seen no good reason why we should change this well established rule.
GIVAN, C.J., concurs.