Young v. State

• Decision Date: 21 July 1977
• Docket Number: No. 476S119,476S119
• Citation: 266 Ind. 557,364 N.E.2d 1180
• Parties: Benny YOUNG, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below).
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 1180

364 N.E.2d 1180

266 Ind. 557

Benny YOUNG, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below).

No. 476S119.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

July 21, 1977.

Terry C. Gray, Gary, for appellant

Theo. L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., David T. O'Malia, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

PRENTICE, Justice.

Defendant (Appellant) was convicted in a trial by jury and over a plea of insanity, of murder in the first degree (Ind.Code 35-13-4-1). The issues presented do not necessitate a recital of the evidence disclosing the commission of the crime and are as follows:

(1) Did the trial court commit reversible error in denying the defendant's in-trial motion for a continuance?

(2) Was the evidence sufficient to sustain a finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant was sane at the time he shot and killed the victim?

ISSUE I

Following the filing of his insanity plea, the defendant, a pauper, petitioned the court for approval of the employment, at State's expense, of a psychiatrist of his selection to aid in his defense. The petition was granted, and the defendant was thereafter examined and interviewed by his chosen doctor and subsequently subjected to electronic testing at the suggestion of such doctor. The chosen doctor appeared at the trial but left, without consent of counsel, prior to being called to testify. When his absence was discovered, counsel moved for a continuance. A ruling upon this motion was deferred while conferences, telephone calls and a consideration of alternatives took place.

When contacted by telephone, the absent witness, who was out of state and not subject to process, advised that he could not return that day and would not return at all, unless he was to receive an additional fee for the second appearance. Additionally, owing to an intervening holiday weekend, the grant of a continuance would have occasioned a recess of at least four days in the trial. The report which the witness had given to defense counsel was available. It was, for the most part, unsupportive of a claim of insanity, although it did contain the following concluding statements:

"Summarily, Benny clearly is able at this time to comprehend the nature of the charges against him to cooperate with counsel and to participate in his defense. As to the question of competency at the time of the alleged offense, the evidence presented on clinical evaluation does not enable an unqualified answer. The hallucinatory experiences alleged at various periods in his life point to liability of psychophysiology. It is reasonable to suggest that defendant, if the accounts related are true, was not able to distinguish right from wrong.

"The presence of the long history of hallucinations and use of psychoactive chemicals producing same, suggests the use of electroencephalographic tracings and brain scan examinations to aid in evaluation of the presence of organic brain damage. At the time of this examination there is nothing to suggest that psychological deterioration has or is occurring as a result of incarceration."

At the court's suggestion, the prosecutor and defense counsel stipulated the contents of the letter as the testimony the doctor would give, if present, and the letter was placed into evidence. This procedure, although agreed to by defense counsel, was over his protest that such procedure did not give the defense the opportunity of having the doctor fully explain his findings and did not give the jury the opportunity to observe his demeanor and assess his credibility.

Entitlement to continuances is governed by Trial Rule 53.4 ¹, applicable to criminal proceedings through Criminal Rule 21 ². Although there was no attempt made by the defendant to follow the procedural requirements of Trial Rule 53.4, i. e. the showing of good cause by affidavit or evidence, we shall, nevertheless, review the circumstances to determine if "good cause" for the requested continuance was shown. We are, at once, confronted with the absence of any showing to the trial judge that a continuance would bring forth evidence supportive of the defense. The doctor's report, at best, recognized only a "suggestion" of insanity and the desirability of an electroencephalogram and brain scan to determine the presence of organic brain damage. The validity of the suggestion was conditioned upon the truth of the defendant's answers given in interview, and the report made no assessment of such credibility. As for the electronic examinations, they had been made subsequent to the report, but there was no showing or claim that they reflected any abnormality. Insanity was the heart of the defense; and we are unable to conceive that counsel was not privy to both the conditions disclosed by the examinations that followed the written report and the ultimate conclusions of the doctor as to the defendant's mental health. Yet, the only offer to prove what the absent witness' testimony would disclose was counsel's statement, as follows:

"BY MR. GRAY:

" What was said. I believe that number one I now make an offer prove.

"It is my belief based upon the conversation I had with him on his the testimony if presented that my client could not conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. I am not clear whether he was going say he had a mental defect or mental disease. I am not exactly clear on that, but I do believe that he would give some credibility to the fact that he had some drugs and that it would have shown some inability on his part to obey the law.

"I would say to the Court that based upon the opinion as given by the Court Doctor and their...