Court Opinion

ID: 9713771
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:21:59.211338+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:20.443396
License: Public Domain

GIVAN, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority in this case. In support of its decision to reverse this case for lack of evidence, the majority cites the case of Cobbs v. State (1988), Ind., 528 N.E.2d 62. However, the factual situation in Cobbs is entirely different from that in the case at bar. In Cobbs, there was no question but that he had killed two men. His story was that the two men were attempting to rob him not realizing that he was armed, and he was successful in shooting both of them to thwart the robbery.
The State was unable to present any evidence whatever to the contrary. There we stated:
"Because of the lack of evidence in this case to contradict appellant's statement of self-defense, and because there is a total lack of evidence to support any theory of the shooting other than appellant's explanation, this Court is compelled to reverse this conviction." Id. at 64.
We have an entirely different situation in the case at bar. At appellant's trial, Tracey Lee, one of the perpetrators of the robbery, testified pursuant to a plea agreement that appellant in fact was involved in the robbery. However, when the motion to correct error was filed, appellant appended thereto the affidavit of Lee which stated that he did not tell the truth at the trial and that appellant in fact was not involved in the robbery. The trial judge conducted a hearing on the motion to correct error and specifically addressed the subject of Lee's recanting affidavit. The trial judge found: 1). the affidavit was merely impeaching in character, 2). it was not worthy of eredit, and 3). it would probably not produce a different result in a retrial of the case. Thus, in the case at bar, we have a conflict of the evidence presented to the trial court. As stated in the majority opinion, a convietion may be based entirely upon the testimony of a codefendant. It was incumbent upon the trial judge upon the filing of Lee's recanting affidavit to weigh the evidence and to make a determination as to which factual situation was worthy of belief.
In situations of this sort, the trial court is in a far better position to make such a factual determination than are the members of this Court. It is improper for this Court to attempt to reweigh evidence submitted at the trial court level. Alfaro v. State (1985), Ind., 478 N.E.2d 670.
I would observe that the allegation that appellant was a habitual offender was not sustained and should be reversed. I would sustain appellant's conviction for murder in the perpetration of a felony but would remand the case to the trial court for the setting aside of the habitual offender enhancement and a resentencing of appellant accordingly.