Olinger v. State, 985S366

Decision Date19 May 1982
Docket NumberNo. 985S366,985S366
Citation494 N.E.2d 310
PartiesWilliam F. OLINGER, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. . Susan K. Carpenter, Public Defender, Hope Fey, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, for appellant. Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Theodore E. Hansen, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee. GIVAN, Chief Justice. This is an appeal from the overruling of appellant's Motion to Set Aside Habitual Offender Enhancement after one of the two underlying offenses supporting the enhancement was vacated in the court of conviction. On
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

Susan K. Carpenter, Public Defender, Hope Fey, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Theodore E. Hansen, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

GIVAN, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from the overruling of appellant's Motion to Set Aside Habitual Offender Enhancement after one of the two underlying offenses supporting the enhancement was vacated in the court of conviction. On May 19, 1982, appellant was found guilty of Burglary, a Class C felony, and found to be an habitual criminal. A sentence of thirty-seven (37) years imprisonment resulted.

In 1983 appellant successfully prosecuted a post-conviction relief petition to set aside a 1969 felony conviction in the White Circuit Court. The White Circuit Court felony conviction was one of the supporting felony convictions used in the habitual offender conviction in the Carroll Circuit Court. Following his success in the White Circuit Court, appellant filed his petition in the Carroll Circuit Court as set out above.

The trial judge in the Carroll Circuit Court denied relief on the theory that appellant never raised any objection to the 1969 White Circuit Court conviction during his original trial in the Carroll Circuit Court. The trial judge observed that appellant took the stand and admitted the conviction and that he had served twenty-one months of the sentence. He points out the White Circuit Court conviction was not void but merely voidable; therefore, since it was in full force and effect at the time of the conviction in the Carroll Circuit Court, the fact that it was subsequently set aside should not be grounds to now set aside the Carroll Circuit Court's ruling on the habitual criminal status. He further points out the grounds for setting aside the White Circuit Court conviction were as well-known to the appellant at the time of trial on the habitual offender phase as they were two years later when he subsequently moved to set aside the judgment.

This Court has previously ruled that a collateral attack on previous convictions is not available to a defendant on an habitual criminal charge. Jones v. State (1981), Ind., 425 N.E.2d 82. This Court has also ruled a defendant could not have a continuance for the purpose of attacking one of the supporting convictions on an habitual offender charge. Williams v. State (1982), Ind., 431 N.E.2d 793.

Appellant had every right to file his post-conviction relief petition with the White Circuit Court. His success in that case left the habitual...

To continue reading

Request your trial
13 cases
  • St. John v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • October 20, 1988
    ...of recent habitual offender cases helpful in determining whether this statute applies to the facts of this case. In Olinger v. State (1986), Ind., 494 N.E.2d 310, a defendant moved to set aside his habitual offender sentence enhancement after one of two underlying convictions supporting the......
  • State v. Messenger, 49A05-9312-CR-472
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • April 28, 1995
    ...enhancement under the habitual offender statute may not stand when the underlying conviction is vacated. Id. at 70 citing Olinger v. State (1986), Ind., 494 N.E.2d 310 and Coble v. State (1986), Ind., 500 N.E.2d Brown provides Messenger no refuge. That case essentially stands for the propos......
  • State v. Oney
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • August 28, 2013
    ...as a post-conviction court—to conclude that the guilty plea and judgment of conviction were voidable. See, e.g., Olinger v. State, 494 N.E.2d 310, 311 (Ind.1986) (declaring that the trial court “ha[d] no choice” but to vacate defendant's sentence enhancement which was based upon a habitual ......
  • Brown v. State, 1185S471
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • September 30, 1986
    ...a collateral attack on the prior felony convictions was not available to appellant in the habitual offender proceeding. Olinger v. State (1986), Ind., 494 N.E.2d 310; Jones v. State (1981), Ind., 425 N.E.2d 82. The proper procedure for appellant to challenge the constitutionality of the pri......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT