Jackson v. State

• Citation: 992 N.E.2d 926
• Decision Date: 15 August 2013
• Docket Number: No. 49A04–1211–CR–553.,49A04–1211–CR–553.
• Parties: Adrian JACKSON, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

992 N.E.2d 926

Adrian JACKSON, Appellant–Defendant,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 49A04–1211–CR–553.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Aug. 15, 2013.

Darren Bedwell, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Ellen H. Meilaender, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

In this case, a criminal defendant asserted his constitutional right to self-representation but unfortunately discovered that proceeding pro se is riddled with pitfalls. Following a jury trial, the appellant-defendant, Adrian Jackson, was found guilty of Counts I and II, class B felony Criminal Confinement,¹ Counts III, IV, and V, class B felony Robbery,² and Counts VI and VII, class C felony Battery.³ Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Jackson to an aggregate term of thirty years.

Jackson appeals, requesting a new trial with new counsel. Jackson claims that the trial court failed to inquire into his appointed counsel's alleged conflict of interest when Jackson advised the court that he wished to proceed pro se and that the trial court should have appointed him alternative counsel. Jackson also claims that the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel because he did not make a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of this right.

Concluding that the trial court had no duty to inquire into Jackson's conflict of interest allegations or to appoint Jackson alternative counsel when he decided to proceed pro se and that Jackson made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

On March 7, 2012, around 4:30 p.m., Officer Ryan Irwin of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) responded to the dispatch of a robbery in progress at the Oriental Market (Market), a grocery store on Lafayette Road owned by Bay Le Zhu (Zhu) and her husband. Officer Irwin arrived within one minute and found that the employees, two of whom had obvious injuries, and Zhu's six-year-old son Brian were locked inside the Market. Officer Irwin also found a twelve gauge shotgun lying on the ground next to the Market.

It was later established that Zhu, Brian, Zhu's nephew Yixiu Chen (Yixiu), and family friends Kia Wong (Wong) and his wife, Cai Nong Chen (Cai), were all at the Market when Jackson and two other men, each armed and wearing dark clothing, gloves, and masks, entered the Market through a back door and locked the door behind them. The men confined everyone in the kitchen, striking several of the victims with their guns and binding their hands and legs with duct tape. After the men demanded money, Zhu gave them $1200 that she had in her pocket and was escorted out of the kitchen to the cash register, where the men took additional money. When Van Duong, a regular customer, came by, he noticed that the door was locked even though the lights were on and the “open” sign was displayed. Suspicious, Duong peered through the Market window and observed masked men but none of the store employees. When he looked again, he saw Zhu taking money from the register, and she gave him a sign to call for help.

Jackson and the other men escaped in Wong's car, taking with them Wong's cell phone, Yixiu's cell phone and a bunch of keys, including his house and the Market keys, Zhu's purse and keys, the $1200 that Zhu had on her, and the money from the cash register. Duong got a good look at Jackson and provided the license plate number of the getaway vehicle to the 911 dispatcher. He also reported that the vehicle had traveled south on Lafayette Road. Officers located the vehicle after a citizen reported seeing someone flee from it.

At around 5:00 p.m., Jackson and his co-defendant Kenneth McBride ⁴ were apprehended. They were found crouched down between a wood deck area and a garage, wearing dark clothing and shoes matching those worn by the robbers. Around and under the deck where Jackson and McBride were apprehended, the officers recovered several pieces of dark clothing, including a stocking cap mask, three dark gloves, a distinctive jacket worn by one of the men during the robbery with a Bic lighter in it that matched McBride's DNA, multiple cell phones, a set of keys, and a small purse, all of which were items taken from the victims during the robbery. Additionally, a piece of foreign currency and a rifle with Jackson's DNA were recovered. Police officers also found $1106 on Jackson and $622 on McBride.

Jackson and McBride were arrested and taken to the police station, and Zhu, Cai, Wong, and Duong were brought over for a show-up identification. All but Wong identified either one or both men as the robbers with seventy to one hundred percent certainty. Duong positively identified both men, stating that Jackson was the driver and that McBride was the front seat passenger in the getaway vehicle.

On March 9, 2012, the State charged Jackson with Counts I and II, class B felony criminal confinement, Counts III, IV, and V, class B felony robbery, and Counts VI, VII, and VIII, class C felony battery. On March 13, 2012, the trial court held an initial hearing and found that Jackson was not indigent. However, during a pretrial conference hearing on April 19, 2012, the trial court found Jackson indigent and appointed him a public defender. On May 10, 2012, the trial court appointed attorney Josh Moudy to defend Jackson.

On August 9, 2012, Jackson informed the trial court that he wanted to proceed pro se. At a hearing on August 16, 2012, the trial court questioned Jackson about his knowledge of the requirements for pro se litigants and advised Jackson of the responsibilities he would have to assume by representing himself along with the disadvantages and dangers he may face. The trial court also verified that Jackson had the educational background and mental capacity to defend himself and that no one had made promises or threats to coerce him into waiving his right to counsel. After the trial court had read the advisement of rights to Jackson, he still insisted on representing himself and signed a written advisement form stating that he had thoroughly reviewed all the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation and had full knowledge of them. Although the trial court granted Jackson's request to proceed pro se, it also appointed Jackson with “standby counsel” who could answer any of his questions about trial procedure during the trial but could not actively represent him at the trial.

A jury trial was held from September 17–19, 2012. On September 19, 2012, the State dismissed Count VIII due to evidentiary issues, and the jury found Jackson guilty on Counts I through VII. During Jackson's sentencing hearing on October 5, 2012, the trial court merged Count I into Count II, Count VI into Count III, and Count VII into Count IV. The trial court then sentenced Jackson to six years of incarceration on Count II and to eight years each on Counts III, IV, and V, with each sentence to run consecutively, for a total aggregate sentence of thirty years. Jackson now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Jackson alleges that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated because he did not make a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel when the trial court granted his request to proceed pro se. He points out that when he expressed his concerns about the appointed counsel working for the State, the trial court did not inquire into his allegation of this being a conflict of interest and did not appoint him with alternative counsel, thus leaving him with no choice other than to proceed pro se. Essentially, Jackson suggests that we find invalid his waiver of right to counsel not because the trial court failed to advise him properly on self-representation, but because the trial court failed to inquire into his allegation of a conflict of interest, for which he presented no evidence, or appoint him new counsel.

Jackson's claim cannot be analyzed as one issue as he suggests. Rather, we separate Jackson's arguments into two issues and discuss them separately, as one argument does not logically lead to the other.

I. Conflict of Interest

We review a trial court's decision to appoint counsel to an indigent defendant only for an abuse of discretion. Smith v. State, 474 N.E.2d 973, 978–79 (Ind.1985). “The right to counsel in a criminal proceeding does not mean that the defendant has an absolute right to be represented by counsel of his own choosing.” Id. at 979. A trial court may, in the exercise of its sound discretion, deny a defendant's request for a new court-appointed attorney. Luck v. State, 466 N.E.2d 450, 451 (Ind.1984). Our Supreme Court, in State v. Irvin, noted that the services of an attorney appointed by the trial court may not be forced upon an indigent defendant but if the defendant refuses to be represented by the appointed counsel, then the defendant must find some method to employ his own counsel or proceed pro se. 259 Ind. 610, 615–16, 291 N.E.2d 70, 74 (1973).

The Sixth Amendment generally does not impose a duty on the trial court to inquire into a defendant's conflict of interest claim. Johnson v. State, 948 N.E.2d 331, 335–36 (Ind.2011). Instead, the presumption is that the appointed defense counsel is competent. Irvin, 259 Ind. 610, 614, 291 N.E.2d 70, 73. This presumption can be overcome only if it is shown that the attorney's actions or inactions made the proceedings a mockery and constituted a shock to the conscience of the court. Id.

In the instant case, the trial court appointed defense counsel to represent Jackson as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. However, prior to his trial, Jackson expressed to the trial court his concerns about his appointed counsel working for the State and asked to proceed pro se. He did not ask the court to appoint him substitute counsel. Other than his bald accusations, Jackson presented no...