Mears v. State
| Decision Date | 17 November 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 1182S448,1182S448 |
| Citation | 455 N.E.2d 603 |
| Parties | James Lloyd MEARS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Patrick E. Chavis, III, Indianapolis, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Louis E. Ransdell, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Defendant-Appellant James Lloyd Mears was found guilty by a jury in the Marion Superior Court of class B felony robbery and class B felony criminal confinement. The trial court subsequently sentenced Appellant to twelve years imprisonment. Appellant now directly appeals and raises the following three issues:
1. denial of Appellant's motion for the jury to view the crime scene;
2. denial of Appellant's motion to suppress the victim's photographic and in-court identifications of Appellant; and
3. sufficiency of the evidence.
At approximately 3:20 p.m. on January 28, 1982, an armed robbery occurred at the Gold Star Cleaners located at 30th and Delaware Streets in Indianapolis. Valerie Hall, daughter of the establishment's owner, was on duty at the cleaners at that time. She was sitting in the rear of the store with a friend and her friend's two-year-old daughter. Through the store's rear window Valerie watched Appellant approach. She recognized him as a man she had seen pass by the store numerous times before. Valerie also remembered Appellant as the individual who had visited the store during the day before to inquire about prices. Appellant entered the store with another man. He again questioned Valerie about prices and she confirmed what she previously had said. Appellant then turned and talked with his partner. The partner pulled out a gun and handed it to Appellant who held it on Valerie while she gave the two men the contents of the cash register. They asked about any safes or purses and Valerie gave them the one dollar bill she had in her purse. Valerie and her friend were then ordered to lie on the floor and the two men went to the front of the store where they threw some things around before leaving. The two men were in the store for approximately ten minutes.
After the State rested, Appellant moved for a jury view of the crime scene. The trial court overruled the motion as being "spurious and of no use to the substantial doing of justice here." Appellant concedes that the trial court has the discretion to decide whether or not to permit a jury view. It is clearly established that Appellant has no substantive right to have the jury view the crime scene as such is not essential to a fair trial. Gross v. State, (1977) 267 Ind. 405, 370 N.E.2d 885. Appellant's only claim is that the view would have shown that it was difficult to see pedestrians from the store and that the store's inside lighting was poor. Appellant claimed that this was significant inasmuch as Valerie indicated that she recognized Appellant as someone who had gone by the store on previous occasions. Detective Cross testified that the store's lighting was extremely good. Furthermore, Valerie observed Appellant during the robbery for approximately ten minutes and was able to identify him from photographic displays and in court. A view is not intended as evidence; it is intended simply to aid the trier of fact in understanding the evidence. The trial court does not abuse its discretion by denying a view if the jury would not be materially assisted. There is no abuse of discretion shown here.
Appellant contends that Valerie's identification testimony should not have been permitted because her initial photographic identification was improperly suggestive. Appellant's only complaint is that the photographs Valerie identified in the "rogues gallery" at the police station included written descriptions of the persons in each photo. These descriptions gave such facts as weight, height and age. Valerie's testimony, however, was that she paid no attention to the...
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Vincent v. State
...of a relevant scene by the jury is not essential to a fair trial. Johnson v. State (1985), Ind., 472 N.E.2d 892, 909; Mears v. State (1983), Ind., 455 N.E.2d 603, 604. The fact that the State consented to the viewing does not alter the fact that the decision was wholly discretionary with th......
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