McCowan v. State

Decision Date25 March 2015
Docket NumberNo. 64S03–1408–CR–516.,64S03–1408–CR–516.
Citation27 N.E.3d 760
PartiesDustin E. McCOWAN, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below).
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

Thomas W. Vanes, Merrillville, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Angela N. Sanchez, Andrew A. Kobe, Brian L. Reitz, Deputy Attorneys General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 64A03–1305–CR–189
MASSA

, Justice.

Among the most fundamental precepts of American criminal justice is that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Today we examine our holding in Robey v. State, 454 N.E.2d 1221 (Ind.1983)

, and state unequivocally and prospectively that it is the absolute right of every criminal defendant to receive the following jury instruction upon request: “The presumption of innocence continues in favor of the defendant throughout the trial. You should fit the evidence to the presumption that the defendant is innocent if you can reasonably do so.” In this case, however, the jury instructions adequately encompassed these principles, which was the minimum required by prior precedent, and thus the trial court's failure to use this precise language was not error.

Facts and Procedural History

Early one morning, Amanda Bach's car was found abandoned in a parking lot, prompting an extended search of the area.1 Two days later, her body was found in a wooded area adjacent to railroad tracks, approximately three hundred yards from the home of defendant Dustin McCowan. After extensive investigation, McCowan was charged with Bach's murder.

Just before voir dire at McCowan's trial, the court instructed the prospective jurors:

In a criminal case such as this, the defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges that are brought against him, and the State of Indiana has the burden of overcoming this presumption of innocence and proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and I will be discussing these concepts with you a little later in the proceedings.
Tr. at 15

.

Once the jury was empaneled, the trial court gave its preliminary instructions, including, in relevant part, the following statements:

—You should keep an open mind. You should not form or express any conclusion or judgment about the outcome of [the] case until I submit the case to you for your deliberations. App. at 260.
—You are to consider all of these instruction[s] as a whole. Id. at 263.
—The filing of a charge or the Defendant's arrest is not to be considered by you as any evidence of guilt. Id. at 266.
—Under the law of this State, a person charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent. To overcome the presumption of innocence, the State must prove the Defendant guilty of each element of the crime charged, beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 267.
—The Defendant is not required to present any evidence to prove his innocence or to prove or explain anything. Id.
—The burden is upon the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant is guilty of the crime or crimes charged. Id. at 268.
—A reasonable doubt is a fair, actual and logical doubt based upon reason and common sense. Id.
—Reasonable doubt exists when you are not firmly convinced of the Defendant's guilt, after you have weighed and considered all the evidence. Id.
—If you find there is a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime(s), you must give the Defendant the benefit of that doubt and find the Defendant not guilty of the crime under consideration. Id.

The trial court also told the jury: “You'll maintain copies of those [instructions] with you for your use throughout the trial.” Tr. at 245. During the presentation of evidence, the judge further admonished the jury a total of twenty-nine times not to form any opinions or judgments until all of the evidence had been presented and the final jury instructions had been read. Tr. at 284–85, 345–46, 425, 459, 524, 579, 695, 765–66, 846–47, 932, 974, 1048, 1133, 1252, 1293, 1464, 1524, 1593, 1658, 1783, 1823, 1869–70, 1980, 2108, 2193, 2247, 2286, 2344, 2355.

Following the presentation of evidence, McCowan tendered the following to the court as his “Proposed Final Jury Instruction # 1”:

You should attempt to fit the evidence to the presumption that the accused is innocent.
If the evidence in this case is susceptible of two constructions or interpretations, each of which appears to you to be reasonable, and one of which points to the guilt of the defendant, and the other to his innocence, it is your duty, under the law, to adopt that interpretation which will admit of the defendant's innocence, and reject that which points to his guilt.
You will notice that this rule applies only when both of the two possible opposing conclusions appear to you to be reasonable. If, on the other hand, one of the possible conclusions should appear to you to be reasonable and the other to be unreasonable, it would be your duty to adhere to the reasonable deduction and to reject the unreasonable, bearing in mind, however, that even if the reasonable deduction points to defendant's guilt, the entire proof must carry the convincing force required by law to support a verdict of guilt.

App. at 297.2 McCowan cited Robey, 454 N.E.2d at 1222

, Simpson v. State, 915 N.E.2d 511, 519–20 (Ind.Ct.App.2009), Lee v. State, 964 N.E.2d 859, 864 (Ind.Ct.App.2012) and Smith v. State, 981 N.E.2d 1262 (Ind.Ct.App.2013) as authority for the proposed instruction. App. at 297. The trial judge declined to give McCowan's proposed instruction, determining its substance was covered by other instructions. The trial court's final jury instructions were, in relevant part, identical to the preliminary jury instructions.

The jury found McCowan guilty as charged, and the court sentenced him to sixty years in prison. McCowan appealed, arguing the trial court erred in refusing his Proposed Final Jury Instruction # 1, in admitting cell phone evidence pertaining to his location at the time of the murder, and in failing to recuse itself at sentencing based on certain ex parte communications. Our Court of Appeals affirmed in all respects. McCowan v. State, 10 N.E.3d 522 (Ind.Ct.App.2014)

. We granted transfer in order to state precisely what jury instructions a criminal defendant is entitled to receive regarding the presumption of innocence.

Standard of Review

“The trial court has broad discretion as to how to instruct the jury, and we generally review that discretion only for abuse.” Kane v. State, 976 N.E.2d 1228, 1231 (Ind.2012)

. To determine whether a jury instruction was properly refused, we consider: (1) whether the tendered instruction correctly states the law; (2) whether there was evidence presented at trial to support giving the instruction; and (3) whether the substance of the instruction was covered by other instructions that were given.” Lampkins v. State, 778 N.E.2d 1248, 1253 (Ind.2002)

. In doing so, we consider the instructions ‘as a whole and in reference to each other’ and do not reverse the trial court ‘for an abuse of that discretion unless the instructions as a whole mislead the jury as to the law in the case.’ Helsley v. State, 809 N.E.2d 292, 303 (Ind.2004) (quoting Carter v. State, 766 N.E.2d 377, 382 (Ind.2002) ).

Discussion
A. The Trial Court Must Give a Jury Instruction Regarding the Presumption of Innocence Continuing Throughout Trial and Fitting Evidence to the Theory of Innocence if Requested.

The Fourteenth Amendment requires the trial court to instruct the jury in criminal cases that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Carter v. Kentucky, 450 U.S. 288, 302 n. 19, 101 S.Ct. 1112, 67 L.Ed.2d 241 (1981)

(“The Due Process Clause requires that instructions be given on the presumption of innocence and the lack of evidentiary significance of an indictment.... An instruction on the presumption of innocence has a ‘salutary effect upon lay jurors,’ and ... ‘the ordinary citizen well may draw significant additional guidance’ from such an instruction.” (quoting Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478, 484, 98 S.Ct. 1930, 56 L.Ed.2d 468 (1978) )). Failure to give a requested instruction on the presumption of innocence, however, is not in and of itself a violation of the Constitution. See

Kentucky v. Whorton, 441 U.S. 786, 788–89, 99 S.Ct. 2088, 60 L.Ed.2d 640 (1979) ; Bledsoe v. State, 274 Ind. 286, 292, 410 N.E.2d 1310, 1315 (1980). Indeed, “the purpose of a jury instruction is to inform the jury of the law applicable to the facts without misleading the jury and to enable it to comprehend the case clearly and arrive at a just, fair, and correct verdict.” Campbell v. State, 19 N.E.3d 271, 277 (Ind.2014) (internal citations omitted).

1. The history of Indiana's jury instructions regarding the presumption of innocence

Indiana has long recognized the need in criminal cases for jury instructions that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. See Long v. State, 46 Ind. 582, 587 (1874)

(finding reversible error where defendant received instruction on the State's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but not on the presumption of innocence). The historical source for the content of that instruction is Farley v. State, 127 Ind. 419, 26 N.E. 898 (1891). In Farley, the trial court refused to give the following instruction, requested by the defendant:

The defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and this presumption prevails until the close of the trial, and you should weigh the evidence in the light of this presumption, and it should be your endeavor to reconcile all the evidence with this presumption of innocence if you can.
Id. at 420, 26 N.E. at 899

. Instead, the trial court gave “general instructions to the effect that the defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id., 26 N.E. at 899. The Farley Court determined the...

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