Austin v. State, No. 1173S225
| Docket Nº | No. 1173S225 |
| Citation | 319 N.E.2d 130, 262 Ind. 529 |
| Case Date | November 27, 1974 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
Page 130
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
Page 131
Robert Howard Brown, Terre Haute, for appellant.
Theo. L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Henry O. Sitler, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
PRENTICE, Justice.
Defendant (Appellant) was charged with the crimes of Sodomy, Rape and Kidnapping, all arising out of the abduction and abuses of the prosecuting witness by the defendant on November 8, 1972. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to imprisonment upon such charges respectively for terms of two (2) to fourteen (14) years, two (2) to twenty-one (21) years and life. His appeal presents four issues:
I. The admissibility of evidence of prior sexual offenses of the defendant.
[262 Ind. 530] II. The admissibility of testimony that the defendant had approached another woman shortly prior to the abduction of the prosecuting witness.
III. The admissibility of extra-judicial statements of the defendant made to a police officer during his incarceration and admitting a prior sexual assault.
IV. The denial of the defendant's motion for mistrial following a reference to a polygraph test by one of the State's witnesses.
The prosecuting witness was a college student. She lived on campus. In the early night hours, she left her dormitory to go to another building on campus. While crossing a public street, she was approached by the defendant who said he wanted to talk to her. He forced her into his automobile and drove to a secluded spot and there forced her to submit to sexual intercourse, fellatio and cunnilingus. The sufficiency of the evidence is not in issue.
ISSUE I. A State's witness, another woman student at the college, testified that in the early morning hours of the same day as the abduction of the prosecuting witness, the defendant forced her into his automobile, drove to a secluded area and forced her to submit to sexual intercourse and oral sex. Defendant objected to this testimony and moved to have it stricken, which objection and motion were overruled.
Page 132
The general rule in Indiana for the admission of evidence of separate, independent and distinct crimes in establishing the guilt of a defendant is that such evidence is inadmissible except where relevant to show: (1) intent, (2) motive, (3) purpose, (4) identification, (5) common scheme or plan. Watts v. State (1950), 229 Ind. 80, 95 N.E.2d 570, and cases there cited.
It has been held, however, that the above rule does not apply where the chief element of the offense is illicit intercourse between the sexes, and that such evidence of prior and subsequent acts is admissible subject to exclusion[262 Ind. 531] in the discretion of the trial court for remoteness. State v. Robbins (1943), 221 Ind. 125, 46 N.E.2d 691.
The Robbins' decision was not followed in Meeks v. State (1968),249 Ind. 659, 234 N.E.2d 629 and Judge Lewis writing for a unanimous Court and relying principally upon Lovely v. United States (1948), Cir.Ct. of Appeals 4th Cir., 169 F.2d 386, determined that an individual on trial for a sexual offense should be afforded the same evidentiary safeguards against irrelevant prejudicial testimony as an individual on trial for any other felony. This Court subsequently declined to follow the Meeks decision in...
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Mitchell v. State, No. 57746
...v. Massey, 667 F.2d 1357 (11th Cir.1982); People v. DiGiacomo 71 Ill.App.3d 56, 27 Ill.Dec. 232, 388 N.E.2d 1281 (1979); Austin v. State, 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, cert. den. 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680, not following Meeks v. State, 249 Ind. 659, 234 N.E.2d 629 (1968);......
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People v. Burgin, No. 77-1886
...consent." (Lovely, 169 F.2d 386, 390.) We do not find any or all of these cases convincing. Defendant did not cite Austin v. State (1974), 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, Cert. denied, 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680. The Supreme Court of Indiana there considered Lovely and Meeks......
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Merry v. State, No. 2--774A184
...in arriving at the truth should prevail and the similar actions should be admitted. Our Supreme Court, in Austin v. State (1974), Ind., 319 N.E.2d 130, a prosecution for sodomy, rape and kidnapping, declined to follow the Meeks decision, distinguishing it as having been inolved only with th......
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Derouen v. State, No. 2007-KA-01005-SCT.
...v. Massey, 667 F.2d 1357 (11th Cir.1982); People v. Di Giacomo 71 Ill.App.3d 56, 27 Ill.Dec. 232, 388 N.E.2d 1281 (1979); Austin v. State, 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, cert. den. 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680, not following Meeks v. State, 249 Ind. 659, 234 N.E.2d 629 (1968)......
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Mitchell v. State, No. 57746
...v. Massey, 667 F.2d 1357 (11th Cir.1982); People v. DiGiacomo 71 Ill.App.3d 56, 27 Ill.Dec. 232, 388 N.E.2d 1281 (1979); Austin v. State, 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, cert. den. 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680, not following Meeks v. State, 249 Ind. 659, 234 N.E.2d 629 (1968);......
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People v. Burgin, No. 77-1886
...consent." (Lovely, 169 F.2d 386, 390.) We do not find any or all of these cases convincing. Defendant did not cite Austin v. State (1974), 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, Cert. denied, 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680. The Supreme Court of Indiana there considered Lovely and Meeks......
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Merry v. State, No. 2--774A184
...in arriving at the truth should prevail and the similar actions should be admitted. Our Supreme Court, in Austin v. State (1974), Ind., 319 N.E.2d 130, a prosecution for sodomy, rape and kidnapping, declined to follow the Meeks decision, distinguishing it as having been inolved only with th......
-
Derouen v. State, No. 2007-KA-01005-SCT.
...v. Massey, 667 F.2d 1357 (11th Cir.1982); People v. Di Giacomo 71 Ill.App.3d 56, 27 Ill.Dec. 232, 388 N.E.2d 1281 (1979); Austin v. State, 262 Ind. 529, 319 N.E.2d 130, cert. den. 421 U.S. 1012, 95 S.Ct. 2417, 44 L.Ed.2d 680, not following Meeks v. State, 249 Ind. 659, 234 N.E.2d 629 (1968)......