Morris v. State
| Decision Date | 21 November 2018 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-1738 |
| Citation | 114 N.E.3d 531 |
| Parties | Jason M. MORRIS, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Attorney for Appellant: Donald R. Shuler, Barkes, Kolbus, Rife & Shuler, LLP, Goshen, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee: Curtis T. Hill, Jr., Attorney General of Indiana, Justin F. Roebel, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana
[1] After Jason Morris was convicted and sentenced in city court, he sought a trial de novo in superior court. Following a bench trial, the trial court found Morris guilty of public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor, and sentenced him to one year executed. This case presents three issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Morris' conviction; (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a harsher sentence than the city court; and (3) whether Morris' sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character. Concluding the evidence is sufficient to support Morris' conviction, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Morris, and Morris' sentence is not inappropriate, we affirm.
[2] In April 2016, Morris picked up fourteen-year-old M.Mc. for an arranged sleep over with his stepdaughter, M.M. Morris was accompanied by a friend, Leann, and his younger daughter. Before returning to his house, Morris dropped his younger daughter off at a class and then drove to Goshen General Hospital so Leann could drop something off. Morris parked near the main entrance of the hospital and Morris and M.Mc. remained in his truck while Leann went inside. M.Mc. asked Morris for a cigarette and he asked M.Mc. what she was "going to do for it[?]" Transcript, Volume II at 41. Morris began discussing a 2015 pool party that Morris, his wife, M.Mc., and M.M. attended where Morris' wife had "pantsed him[,]" and M.Mc. caught a glimpse of Morris' penis. Id. at 40. Morris asked M.Mc. if she "liked seeing [his penis]" and asked her if she would mind seeing it again. Id. at 41. After M.Mc. declined, Morris unzipped his pants and exposed his penis. Id. Although M.Mc. was sitting in the back seat of the truck, she testified that she saw Morris' genitals when he exposed himself to her. M.Mc. looked away, stated she needed to use the restroom, and the two went inside the hospital. After M.Mc. used the restroom, Leann was ready and the three left.
[3] M.Mc. then went to Morris' home for the sleepover with M.M., revealed the incident to M.M., and attempted to contact her mother. The next day, Morris' wife confronted M.Mc. and accused her of stealing cigarettes. Ultimately, M.Mc. went home early, but prior to leaving, someone in Morris' family "threatened to kill [her] family if [she] said anything." Id. at 46. Because M.Mc. was "distraught, shaking, upset, and crying" when she returned, her mother took her to see her therapist and M.Mc. disclosed the incident, which the therapist then reported to child protective services. Brief of Appellee at 7; see also Tr., Vol. II at 67, 77
[4] In December 2016, the State charged Morris with public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor. Morris was first tried in in Goshen City Court on May 25, 2017, and was found guilty of public indecency and sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence with reporting probation. Morris subsequently sought a trial de novo by filing a notice of appeal and the case was transferred to the Elkhart Superior Court. Following a bench trial on June 4, 2018, during which M.Mc. testified, the trial court found Morris guilty and sentenced him to one year executed in the county jail. Morris now appeals.
[5] Morris challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. Specifically, he contends his conviction was based solely on M.Mc.'s testimony, which he alleges was "not substantively corroborated by other evidence in the record" and her "mere allegations[,]" absent corroborating evidence, do not satisfy the burden of proof. Appellant's Brief at 10.
[6] Our standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence claims is well settled. D.J. v. State , 88 N.E.3d 236, 241 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). Upon review, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses. Purvis v. State , 87 N.E.3d 1119, 1124 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). We consider only the evidence most favorable to the verdict and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom. Id. We will affirm a defendant's conviction if "there is substantial evidence of probative value supporting each element of the crime from which a reasonable trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." Stewart v. State , 866 N.E.2d 858, 862 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).
[7] To convict Morris, the State was required prove each element of public indecency beyond a reasonable doubt. Ind. Code § 35-41-4-1(a). "A person who knowingly or intentionally, in a public place ... appears in a state of nudity with the intent to arouse the sexual desires of the person or another person ... commits public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor." Ind. Code § 35-45-4-1(a)(3).
[8] After the bench trial, the trial court found:
Considering all of the evidence, the credible testimony of [M.Mc.] and her mother, and the inconsistent and contradictory explanations provided by [Morris], the Court finds, beyond a reasonable doubt, that [Morris] committed the crime of Public Indecency. The Court finds that the parking lot of the Goshen Hospital is a ‘public place’ under Indiana Code § 35-45-4-1. The Court observed many different individuals in the parking lot, going in and out of the hospital, and driving around near [Morris'] red truck. The Court also finds that in exposing his penis, [Morris] had the intent to arouse the sexual desires of himself or of [M.Mc.].
Appellant's Appendix, Volume 2 at 106.
[9] Morris argues M.Mc.'s testimony, without corroborating evidence, is not sufficient to support his conviction and that reliance solely upon M.Mc.'s testimony is problematic under the incredible dubiosity rule. The incredible dubiosity rule allows this court to "impinge upon a [fact finder's] responsibility to judge the credibility of the witnesses only when confronted with ‘inherently improbable’ testimony." Moore v. State , 27 N.E.3d 749, 754 (Ind. 2015). The rule is applied in limited circumstances, namely where there is "1) a sole testifying witness; 2) testimony that is inherently contradictory, equivocal, or the result of coercion; and 3) a complete absence of circumstantial evidence." Id. at 756. Application of the incredible dubiosity rule is "rare and the standard to be applied is whether the testimony is so incredibly dubious or inherently improbable that no reasonable person could believe it." Love v. State , 761 N.E.2d 806, 810 (Ind. 2002).
[10] In applying these factors, we conclude the incredible dubiosity rule is inapplicable to the present case as there were multiple testifying witnesses and M.Mc.'s testimony was not inconsistent within itself. See Smith v. State , 34 N.E.3d 1211, 1221 (Ind. 2015) (). After hearing the evidence, the trial court explained in its order that it found M.Mc.'s testimony credible:
[Morris] wants the Court to believe that [M.Mc.] made up a story that [Morris] exposed his penis to her; told the false story to her therapist at the Bowen Center; told the same false story to a detective during a formal interview; lied under oath to the Judge of the Goshen City Court during the first bench trial; then lied again, under oath, to this Court. Such a conclusion is not reasonable.
Appellant's App., Vol. 2 at 105.
[11] Moreover, M.Mc.'s testimony cannot be considered "inherently improbable" because evidence presented at trial corroborated her testimony. First, M.Mc.'s mother testified that M.Mc. was "distraught," shaking, and crying when she picked M.Mc. up and drove her to the Bowen Center to see her therapist where M.Mc. disclosed the incident to her mother and her therapist. Tr., Vol. II at 77. Second, the detective assigned to the case conducted a formal interview with M.Mc. and testified that M.Mc. told him that Morris exposed himself to her in the parking lot of Goshen Hospital. Lastly, the State introduced a Goshen Hospital surveillance video from the date of the incident showing Morris and M.Mc. walking into the hospital together, substantiating M.Mc.'s testimony.
[12] Even absent any corroborating evidence of M.Mc.'s testimony, however, it is well settled that the uncorroborated testimony of a single witness can be sufficient to sustain a conviction on appeal, Bailey v. State , 979 N.E.2d 133, 135 (Ind. 2012), and Morris concedes this in his brief. See Appellant's Br. at 11-12. Therefore, M.Mc.'s testimony alone is sufficient to sustain Morris' conviction.
[13] Additionally, Morris contends that it is our role "to assess the caliber and quality of the relevant evidence[.]" Id. at 12. In its order, the trial court stated it had "consider[ed] each witness' ability and opportunity to observe; the behavior of each witness while testifying; any interest, bias, or prejudice each witness may have; any relationship each witness had with others involved in the case; and the reasonableness of each witness' testimony considering the other evidence" in making its findings, ultimately finding M.Mc.'s testimony credible. Appellant's App., Vol. 2 at 105. Morris' argument is an improper invitation for this court to reweigh the evidence, which we cannot accept. See Purvis , 87 N.E.3d at 1124.
[14] The record reveals "substantial evidence of probative value" supporting each element of public indecency from which a reasonable trier of fact...
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