Bowers v. State
| Citation | 500 N.E.2d 203 |
| Decision Date | 25 November 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 42S01-8611-CR-1007,42S01-8611-CR-1007 |
| Parties | Jimmy Craig BOWERS, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
David A. Deem, Hart, Bell, Deem, Ewing & Stuckey, Vincennes, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Michael Gene Worden, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
We grant transfer on Defendant-Appellant Jimmy Craig Bowers' interlocutory appeal to decide whether the State of Indiana may refuse to honor an agreement to abate criminal proceedings against a suspect after the suspect has fully performed his obligation under the agreement.
In the early morning hours of July 3, 1984, police arrested the defendant in Vincennes, Indiana, in connection with an alleged burglary. On that same day, the defendant and the Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Knox County entered into an oral agreement whereby the prosecutor would "dismiss" charges related to defendant's arrest if defendant would provide information sufficient to obtain a search warrant for the residence of one Davy Williams. Defendant supplied the requested information and it proved fruitful in obtaining and executing the search warrant which in turn resulted in Williams' arrest for possession of marijuana that same day.
Contrary to the terms of the agreement, the State filed an information against defendant for burglary, a class B felony, on July 5, 1984. Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss based on his agreement with the prosecutor. Following a full hearing, the trial court denied the motion and defendant filed this interlocutory appeal challenging that ruling. In Bowers v. State (1986), Ind.App., 489 N.E.2d 526, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court.
While this type of dispute is not necessarily resolved by abstract application of contract law, the principles of contract formation, breach, and remedies can provide helpful guidance. See, e.g., Government of Virgin Islands v. Scotland (3d Cir.1980), 614 F.2d 360; Cooper v. United States (4th Cir.1979), 594 F.2d 12; People v. Calloway (1981), 29 Cal.3d 666, 175 Cal.Rptr. 596, 631 P.2d 30; People v. Kaanehe (1977), 19 Cal.3d 1, 136 Cal.Rptr. 409, 559 P.2d 1028; Shields v. State (1977), Del. 374 A.2d 816, 819, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 893, 98 S.Ct. 271, 54 L.Ed.2d 188. The agreement in the case at bar can be likened to a unilateral contract in that consideration was not given for the prosecutor's promise until the defendant disclosed the requested information. The inability to restore the consideration following the prosecutor's breach would preclude the award of traditional contract remedies and could warrant the equitable relief of specific performance.
In resolving the question of whether the agreement in this case warrants equitable enforcement, we are mindful of the paramount need to preserve the integrity and credibility of the criminal justice system while safeguarding a tool valuable to the administration of justice: pre-trial disposition of criminal charges by negotiation between the State and the accused. Although not looked upon favorably at common law, the development of this component of the criminal justice system has facilitated the essential conservation of limited judicial and prosecutorial resources. It should therefore be encouraged, provided that it is properly administered. See, Santabello v. New York (1971), 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427.
The deputy prosecutor here promised to "dismiss" charges against the defendant in exchange for specific information. Since charges were not even filed at the time of the agreement, we must assume the prosecutor was offering to forego filing charges against the defendant in exchange for the information.
It is well-settled that the decision whether or not to prosecute lies within the prosecutor's discretion so long as the prosecutor has probable cause to believe that the accused has committed the offense. Bordernkircher v. Hayes (1978), 434 U.S. 357, 98 S.Ct. 663, 54 L.Ed.2d 604; Neely v. State (1983), 457 N.E.2d 532. Moreover, our legislature has vested the prosecutor with the discretion to dismiss pending felony...
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