Littleton v. State

• Decision Date: 06 October 2011
• Docket Number: No. 49A04–1101–CR–25.,49A04–1101–CR–25.
• Citation: 272 Ed. Law Rep. 639,954 N.E.2d 1070
• Parties: Catherine A. LITTLETON, Appellant–Defendant,v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

954 N.E.2d 1070

272 Ed. Law Rep. 639

Catherine A. LITTLETON, Appellant–Defendant,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 49A04–1101–CR–25.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Oct. 6, 2011.

John F. Kautzman, Andrew R. Duncan, Ruckelshaus, Kautzman, Blackwell Bemis & Hasbrook, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Ian McLean, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Case Summary

Catherine A. Littleton (“Littleton”) was charged with one count each of Criminal Confinement, as a Class C felony, Neglect of a Dependent, as a Class D felony, and Battery, as a Class B misdemeanor. In this discretionary interlocutory appeal, Littleton challenges the trial court's denial of her motion to dismiss the charging information on two grounds. Littleton contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it declined to dismiss the charges against her because her acts were privileged by her qualified immunity as a teacher in loco parentis. She also argues that, in light of the trial court's holding that her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was violated under Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493, 87 S.Ct. 616, 17 L.Ed.2d 562 (1967), dismissal of the charges was required under the rule announced in Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 92 S.Ct. 1653, 32 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972).

The State contends that we do not have jurisdiction to consider Littleton's qualified immunity argument, that in any event the trial court properly declined to dismiss the charges against her, but that the trial court nonetheless abused its discretion when it concluded that Littleton's Fifth Amendment rights were violated.

Finding that we have jurisdiction to consider the question of qualified immunity, and finding that issue dispositive, we reverse the decision of the trial court and remand for dismissal of the charges.

Facts and Procedural History

On February 18, 2010, the time of the events at issue, Littleton was working as a sixth-grade special education teacher at Perry Meridian Middle School (“Perry Meridian”). Littleton was assisted by and supervised several classroom aides, including Jeffery Stokes (“Stokes”). Among the students in Littleton's class and present in her room that day was C.J., a twelve year-old who had been diagnosed with autism ¹ and other developmental disorders. C.J. was partially fed through a “G-tube” in his abdomen and had limited verbal abilities, so that he communicated largely through sign language, pointing, and grunting.

C.J. was known to display behaviors that posed the potential for harm to himself or others, including kicking or hitting himself, other students and staff, and classroom furnishings. Though Littleton and other school staff had developed an Individual Education Program (“IEP”) for C.J., there was no formal Functional Behavior Assessment (“behavior plan”) in place to deal with C.J.'s outbursts. In the absence of a behavior plan, Littleton and her classroom aides had developed a protocol for addressing these outbursts. This protocol called for a series of escalating measures beginning with attempting to redirect C.J.'s attention to other activities, playing music, dancing, hugging, and taking C.J. into a hallway outside the classroom to calm down.

At some point in 2009 or 2010, Littleton and her aides added to this protocol the use of a “Rifton chair.” (Tr. 17.) A Rifton chair is designed for children with orthopedic disorders, was present in Littleton's classroom, and may have been assigned to C.J. at some prior point in his education. The Rifton chair is made of wood, has arms and a curved back and seat, and may be used with an orthopedic belt around a child's waist to prevent the child from falling from the chair. The chair may also be used to contain a student in a particular location.

Littleton and her aides developed an approach using the Rifton chair to address C.J.'s outbursts when no other calming measure proved effective. On occasions where C.J. was particularly difficult to calm down, Littleton or one of her aides would seat C.J. in the Rifton chair, use an orthopedic belt around his legs and waist to keep him in the chair, and sit in front of him to restrain his legs. This occurred two or three times at various points between late 2009 and February 2010, and Littleton, Stokes, and Nola Albers (“Albers”), another of Littleton's aides, had been involved in these measures to varying degrees. None of these individuals, or any other witnesses who provided testimony to the trial court, had training in proper use of the Rifton chair for restraint or in restraining techniques generally, and there were no provisions in C.J.'s IEP or in Perry Meridian rules generally proscribing or otherwise regulating such measures.

On February 18, 2010, C.J. began to display self-harming behaviors, striking himself with his hands. Littleton and Stokes attempted to use the various planned measures to calm C.J., progressing through the established protocol, but none worked. Littleton was involved in conference calls and was preparing IEPs for various students, and Stokes showed Littleton orthopedic belts. Littleton, nodding her head at Stokes, indicated agreement that use of the Rifton chair would be appropriate.

Stokes then seated C.J. in the Rifton chair. When this failed to calm C.J., Stokes placed socks on C.J.'s hands to prevent him from harming himself and taped his hands together. C.J. still did not calm down. Using the orthopedic belts, Stokes strapped C.J.'s left and right legs to the corresponding legs of the Rifton chair, and eventually restrained C.J. into the Rifton chair with another belt around his waist. Stokes then tipped the chair back so that its back lay flat on the floor while C.J.'s feet were in the air. Stokes testified that C.J. laughed during this process.

Albers had been out of the room for some portion of this incident taking Littleton's students to post-lunch activities. Upon returning to the classroom, Albers saw C.J. and asked Littleton why C.J. was tipped back in the Rifton chair in a corner of the room. Littleton then approached C.J., who smiled up at her. Littleton then instructed Albers to release C.J. from the chair. Upon release, C.J. was “perfectly content,” and the rest of the school day proceeded without further incident. (Tr. 136.) The evidence presented to the trial court indicates that the entire incident occurred over the course of a few minutes, though the exact length of time is unclear. The evidence also varies on whether and to what extent Littleton was aware or approved of Stokes's measures, for what period of time Littleton was present in the room and should have known of C.J.'s situation while he was restrained, the extent of Albers's knowledge of the practice of restraining C.J., and whether and when Albers was in the room for this incident.²

On February 19, 2010, Albers informed David Rohl (“Rohl”), Perry Meridian's principal, that she was concerned with the events surrounding C.J.'s alleged restraint the prior day. After speaking with Albers, Rohl called Littleton to his office and asked her about the prior day's events; Rohl did not inform Littleton of her constitutional rights before asking her questions. Littleton related her version of events to Rohl. Rohl relayed a report to his superiors at the Perry Township School Corporation and to Marion County Child Protective Services (“CPS”). Littleton was subsequently placed on administrative leave without pay.

On April 26, 2010, the State filed charges against Littleton and Stokes. On June 23, 2010, Littleton filed her Motions to Dismiss and to Suppress Evidence, seeking dismissal of the charges against her or, in the alternative, suppression of evidence obtained as a result of her statements to Rohl. The Motion to Dismiss argued that Littleton was entitled to qualified immunity for her actions on February 18, 2010, and both motions argued that Rohl's February 19, 2010, discussion with Littleton constituted a violation of her privilege against self-incrimination under the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493, 87 S.Ct. 616, 17 L.Ed.2d 562 (1967).³ A hearing was conducted on these motions on July 21, 2010, during which both Littleton and the State presented testimony and other evidence (“the Garrity hearing”). On August 25, 2010, the trial court entered its findings and conclusion (“the Garrity order”). In the Garrity order, the court concluded that Littleton's Fifth Amendment rights against coerced self-incrimination had been violated and granted Littleton's motion to suppress evidence obtained from use of her statements to Rohl. The trial court declined to dismiss the charges against Littleton on the basis of her claim of qualified immunity and her claim that Garrity afforded sufficiently broad immunity as to prevent further prosecution.

During the Garrity hearing, Littleton requested that the trial court schedule a second hearing on the extent to which Garrity afforded her immunity from further prosecution, pointing to the need to determine the extent to which the State had independent evidence upon which to pursue charges against her under Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 92 S.Ct. 1653, 32 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972).⁴ That hearing was conducted on October 22, 2010 (“the Kastigar hearing”). During the Kastigar hearing, the State examined, and Littleton cross-examined, Detective Julie Dutrieux (“Detective Dutrieux”) of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, who was assigned to investigate the case. Also during this hearing, the State requested that the trial court incorporate into its deliberations the evidence presented at the Garrity hearing. The trial court granted this request.

On November 30, 2010, the trial court entered its findings and conclusion (“the Kastigar order”), which reaffirmed its prior finding that Littleton's rights against...