Vaillancourt v. State, 44A03-9712-CR-406
| Decision Date | 22 May 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 44A03-9712-CR-406,44A03-9712-CR-406 |
| Citation | 695 N.E.2d 606 |
| Parties | -Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. Court of Appeals of Indiana |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Jeffery Vaillancourt was convicted after a jury trial of burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class A felony. 1 He appeals his conviction, raising the following issues for review:
I. Whether the trial court erred when it denied Vaillancourt's motion for discharge.
II. Whether the trial court erred when it denied Vaillancourt's motion to dismiss the charging information.
III. Whether the term "extreme pain," found in Ind.Code § 35-41-1-25, is unconstitutionally vague.
IV. Whether Vaillancourt's right to be protected from double jeopardy was violated when he was convicted.
V. Whether the trial court erroneously admitted testimony at trial.
VI. Whether sufficient evidence supports Vaillancourt's conviction.
Affirmed.
On May 4, 1995, Brandon Eidson and Vaillancourt traveled by car to the house of Gary Everage. Upon arrival, Vaillancourt handed Eidson a can of mace. Eidson got out of the car, walked up to the front door of the house and rang Everage's doorbell. Everage inquired what Eidson wanted, and Eidson replied that Vaillancourt wished to speak with him. When Everage opened the door, Eidson sprayed mace in Everage's face. Eidson then laid hold of Everage, and the two men struggled inside the house. Eidson, realizing that Everage had a gun, shouted to Vaillancourt "Come and help me." R. at 278. Vaillancourt entered the house and picked up a glass jar filled with nuts and bolts. He hit Everage over the head with the jar, and Everage appeared to lose consciousness. When Everage regained his senses, he exited his house through the back door, escaping to a marshy area near his backyard. Eidson and Vaillancourt then left the house and fled on foot from the crime scene.
On May 8, 1995, Vaillancourt was charged with and arrested for burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class A felony. He was convicted of this charge after a jury trial.
Vaillancourt's motion for discharge.
On May 22, 1997, Vaillancourt moved for discharge pursuant to Ind.Crim. Rule 4(C) claiming that the state had failed to bring him to trial within one year of his arrest. Vaillancourt argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for discharge.
Crim.R. 4(C) provides in part:
No person shall be held on recognizance or otherwise to answer a criminal charge for a period in aggregate embracing more than one year from the date the criminal charge against such defendant is filed, or from the date of his arrest on such charge, whichever is later; except where a continuance was had on his motion, or the delay was caused by his act, or where there was not sufficient time to try him during such period because of congestion of the court calendar....
If a defendant seeks or acquiesces in any continuance, or if the delay is caused by his own motion or action, the one-year statute is extended accordingly. Wheeler v. State, 662 N.E.2d 192, 193 (Ind.Ct.App.1996).
In the instant case, the record reflects that 743 days elapsed between the arrest and the trial. The relevant procedural history is:
1. May 8, 1995--Vaillancourt charged and arrested.
2. August 28, 1995--Trial court scheduled Vaillancourt's trial for May 21, 1996, citing congestion of the court calendar. 3
3. May 15, 1996--Vaillancourt requested a continuance. His request was granted, and trial was rescheduled for September 24, 1996.
4. August 19, 1996--Vaillancourt requested a continuance. His request was granted, and trial was rescheduled for January 15, 1997.
5. January 15, 1997--Vaillancourt advised the trial court that a plea agreement had been reached and that a trial was not necessary. A change of plea hearing was scheduled for March 3, 1997.
6. March 3, 1997--The change of plea hearing was rescheduled for March 17, 1997.
7. March 17, 1997--Vaillancourt requested that his change of plea hearing be rescheduled. His request was granted, and his hearing was rescheduled for April 7, 1997.
8. April 7, 1997--The trial court rescheduled the change of plea hearing for April 28, 1997, noting that "delay is chargable [sic] to [Vaillancourt.]"
9. April 28, 1997--The trial court, "[b]y agreement of the parties," rescheduled the change of plea hearing for May 5, 1997.
10. May 5, 1997--Vaillancourt chose not to plead guilty, and the trial court scheduled his trial for May 22, 1997.
11. May 22, 1997--Trial began.
Vaillancourt argues that two periods of delay, totaling 389 days, are not chargeable to him. Specifically, he points to the period from the arrest on May 8, 1995 to the motion for continuance on May 15, 1996--a period of 372 days; and from May 5, 1997, when he chose not to plead guilty and the trial date was rescheduled, to May 22, 1997, when the trial actually took place--a period of 17 days.
The state concedes that the time which elapsed from Vaillancourt's arrest on May 8, 1995 to August 28, 1995, when the initial trial date was scheduled, a period of 112 days, is chargeable against Crim.R. 4(C)'s one-year period. In addition, the state concedes that the time which elapsed from March 3, 1997--for rescheduling of a plea hearing--to March 17, 1997, a 14-day period, is chargeable against the one-year period. The state therefore concedes that 126 days of delay are chargeable against the one-year period.
The crucial time period in issue is from August 28, 1995 to May 15, 1996. On August 28, 1995, the trial court scheduled Vaillancourt's trial for May 21, 1996--more than a year from the arrest--citing congestion of the court's calendar. Rule 4(B)(1) not only sets deadlines by which trials must be held to ensure a defendant a speedy trial, it also grants trial courts the authority to exceed deadlines in the event of court congestion. Austin v. State, 682 N.E.2d 1287, 1288 (Ind.1997). As was explained in Clark v. State, 659 N.E.2d 548, 551 (Ind.1995), congestion is a legitimate basis for postponing a trial beyond the standard contained in Rule 4.
"Upon appellate review, a trial court's finding of congestion will be presumed valid and need not be contemporaneously explained or documented by the trial court." Id. at 552. A defendant may contest that finding, however, by filing a Motion for Discharge and demonstrating the finding of congestion was factually or legally inaccurate at the time the trial court made its decision to postpone trial. Id. "Such proof would be prima facie adequate for discharge, absent further trial court findings explaining the congestion and justifying the continuance." Id. The trial court's explanations are to be accorded reasonable deference, and only by showing that the trial court was clearly erroneous can a defendant establish his entitlement to relief. Id.
In the present case, Vaillancourt did file a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Crim.R. 4(C), but did not cite any factual basis or evidence for his contention the delay was not due to the congestion of the court calendar. R. at 65. As noted in Bridwell v. State, 659 N.E.2d 552, 554 (Ind.1995), "a defendant must present evidence, either at the time of the motion for discharge or upon a motion to correct error, demonstrating that the finding of 'congestion' is clearly erroneous." Vaillancourt has not made that requisite showing. As a result, although a period of over two years separates Vaillancourt's arrest and trial, only 126 days of this period are chargeable against the one-year period within which Vaillancourt was required to be brought to trial under Crim.R. 4(C). The trial court therefore did not err when it denied Vaillancourt's motion for discharge.
Vaillancourt's motion to dismiss the charging information.
After he was convicted, Vaillancourt filed a motion alleging that the charging information was defective and requesting, among other things, dismissal of the charging information. Vaillancourt claims that the trial court erred when it denied his motion.
The proper time for raising the insufficiency of the charging information is prior to arraignment. Marshall v. State, 602 N.E.2d 144, 147 (Ind.Ct.App.1992), held that As a result, we hold that this issue of error is waived.
, is unconstitutionally vague.
Vaillancourt was convicted of burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class A felony. Ind.Code § 35-43-2-1. Serious bodily injury "means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes serious permanent disfigurement, unconsciousness, extreme pain, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ." Ind.Code § 35-41-1-25. Vaillancourt argues that his conviction must be vacated, claiming that the term "extreme pain" is unconstitutionally vague.
Vaillancourt's argument fails for two reasons. First, this claim is waived because it was not properly raised in the trial court. See Regan v. State, 590 N.E.2d 640, 645-46 (Ind.Ct.App.1992) (). Second, the argument that "extreme pain" is unconstitutionally vague fails on its own merit. Guidry v. State found that a statute would be unconstitutional under the vagueness doctrine "if the accused 'establishes that the statute forbids conduct in terms so vague that persons of ordinary intelligence...
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