James E. Saylor v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2018 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be Aug 31 2018, 7:12 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any CLERK
court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
R. Patrick Magrath Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Madison, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Jesse R. Drum
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
James E. Saylor, August 31, 2018
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
39A05-1712-CR-2921
v. Appeal from the Jefferson Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Jeffery Sharp,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Special Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
39C01-0607-FA-75
Riley, Judge.
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STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[1] Appellant-Plaintiff, James E. Saylor (Saylor), appeals the trial court’s
adjudication as a habitual offender upon remand and following a jury trial.
[2] We affirm.
ISSUES
[3] Saylor present two issues on appeal, which we restate as follows:
(1) Whether the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the
habitual charges when the charges were procedurally and substantially
defective; and
(2) Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Saylor’s
motion for a mistrial following voir dire.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[4] On October 4, 2007, Saylor was convicted of two Counts of child molesting,
intimidation, and vicarious sexual gratification. He subsequently pled guilty to
being a habitual offender, and was sentenced to 138 years. On direct appeal,
Saylor argued that the trial court improperly allowed the State to amend the
charging information, that the trial court erroneously admitted evidence, and
that his sentence was inappropriate. We affirmed his conviction and sentence
on September 17, 2008.
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[5] After the post-conviction court denied Saylor’s 2014 petition for post-conviction
relief, he appealed. On appeal, he argued that his trial counsel was ineffective
and that his guilty plea to the habitual offender charge was invalid because he
did not personally waive his right to a jury trial. On May 23, 2016, this court
affirmed in part, and remanded for a new trial on the habitual offender charge.
[6] On September 26, 2017, the State tried Saylor during a jury trial on the habitual
offender charge. At the close of the evidence, the jury found him to be a
habitual offender. On November 3, 2017, the trial court held a sentencing
hearing and sentenced Saylor to thirty years, consecutive to his 2007 sentence,
for an aggregate sentence of 138 years.
[7] Saylor now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Motion to Dismiss
[8] Saylor contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss and
now requests this court to dismiss the charges because his initial arrest and
subsequent criminal charges lacked sufficient probable cause. To support his
claim, he presents us with three allegations: (1) “the record contains evidence
of document tampering on the face of the probable cause affidavit(s);” (2) “the
affidavit of probable cause, even if supplemented by police reports, was
statutorily insufficient to allow for a judicial determination of probable cause;”
and (3) he did not receive a probable cause hearing and therefore “the trial court
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was without substantive basis to find probable cause to sustain the charges.”
(Appellant’s Br. pp. 14, 15).
[9] Saylor previously pursued a direct appeal and a post-conviction appeal. Thus,
“[s]ubsequent collateral charges must be based on grounds enumerated in Post-
Conviction Rule 1.” Williams v. State, 808 N.E.2d 652, 659 (Ind. 2004). “If an
issue was known and available on direct appeal, but not raised, it is
procedurally defaulted as a basis for relief in subsequent proceedings.” Id.
Here, Saylor’s claim of a procedurally defective probable cause underlying his
charges was known and available on direct appeal and should have been raised
at that point in time. His free-standing claim of error is now no longer available
for our review.
[10] Moreover, we have repeatedly held that “lack of probable cause is not grounds
for dismissing a charging information.” Flowers v. State, 738 N.E.2d 1051, 1055
(Ind. 2000) (quoting Hicks v. State, 544 N.2d 500, 505 (Ind. 1989)). As observed
by our supreme court:
The probable cause affidavit is not the means by which the
accused is charged with a crime, but is a means of satisfying the
constitutional and statutory requirements that the pre-trial
detention of the accused to face the charge be based upon a
determination, by a neutral and detached magistrate, that
probable cause exists to believe that the accused committed the
crime.
Gilliam v. State, 383 N.E.2d 297, 303 (Ind. 1978). Therefore, even if Saylor is
correct in his contention that the probable cause affidavit was deficient then his
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only remedy would have been (if argued before the trial court or on direct
appeal) a release from pre-trial detention predicated upon an illegal arrest.
Flowers, 738 N.E.2d at 1055.
II. Motion for Mistrial
[11] Next, Saylor contends that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his
motion for mistrial at the conclusion of voir dire due to possibly tainted
prospective jurors.
[12] The trial court is in the best position to assess the impact of a particular event
upon the jury. Wilson v. State, 865 N.E.2d 1024, 1027 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).
Thus, the decision of whether to grant or deny a motion for mistrial is
committed to the sound discretion of the trial court and will be reversed only
upon an abuse of that discretion. Id.
[13] During voir dire, the trial court explained to the venire:
The State has alleged that [Saylor] is a habitual offender. He was
convicted at trial of two [C]ounts of Child Molesting, a [C]lass A
felony; Vicarious Sexual Gratification, a [C]lass B felony; and
Intimidation, a [C]lass D felony. We will not get into the facts of
those convictions. Those issues were decided in a separate trial.
We are here today for the sole and limited purpose for you to
decide if [Saylor] is a habitual offender.
(Transcript, Vol. II, p. 5). Some prospective jurors on the third panel were
confused about the purpose of the new trial. One juror opined, “All they’d
have to do is just go back and see like who – what adjudicated the case or – and
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see how many convictions he has and wham, bam, he’s convicted and uh – why
even have another trial and – it seems kind of a waste.” (Tr. Vol. II, p. 20). A
second juror reflected:
Well, he – it’s been stated he’s already had some felonies so uh –
I mean if he’s already had so many then uh – why go to the
trouble of – of like – why not is it not set in stone? Why does it
have to have a judge to uh – you know, like to give him time for
it?
(Tr. Vol. II, pp. 31-32). And a third prospective juror questioned, “I thought uh
– the Judge said that he already had felonies for DUI’s and . . . and I thought
that’s what he said at the beginning.” (Tr. Vol. II, p. 32).
[14] In response, Saylor’s counsel explained
[T]he Judge, what he said, what he was telling you at the
beginning of the case, and this is really, really important is he
was telling you what the State is alleging, the State is accusing
[Saylor] of. The Judge has not made a predetermination, and
this is – this [is], frankly, really, really important. The Judge has
not made a pre-determination about whether or not [Saylor] has
prior felony convictions. What he said at the beginning, and –
and – it’s confusing, right, because you guys show up. You have
no idea what this case is about or what the situation is about, but
what he was telling you was [Saylor] is here. He has been
charged with being a habitual. The State is alleging that he was
convicted in this case and that he has at least two prior felony
convictions. That’s what the Judge said at the beginning. Does
that help you understand what he was saying?
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(Tr. Vol. II, p. 33). Saylor’s counsel convinced every panel member, except
one, who stated, “Well, couldn’t the State just whip out the paperwork and
show - . . . [i]t looks pretty cut and dry, but I’d have to I guess I’d have to see
the – whatever it is they have, but it don’t look good[.]” (Tr. Vol. II, pp. 36,
37). After a short colloquy between Saylor’s counsel and the juror, the trial
judge removed the remaining prospective jurors from the courtroom. Although
the trial court initially attempted to clarify the proceedings to the juror, the trial
court excused her for cause. When the panel of prospective jurors returned,
Saylor’s counsel asked if there were more questions—there were none.
[15] Once the jury was selected, Saylor moved for a mistrial, arguing
Your honor, we believe that the [c]ourt has inadvertently invaded
the province of the jury, but nonetheless has created a situation
where the jury has received at least an improper view of the facts
and the law and had prejudged or believes the [c]ourt has
prejudged the case, and as a result we are requesting a mistrial.
(Tr. Vol. II, p. 43-44). On appeal, Saylor claims that “the prospective jurors’
comments were gross misconduct and probably harmed Saylor’s ability to
obtain a fair trial and fundamentally compromised the appearance of juror
neutrality.” (Appellant’s Br. p. 17).
[16] In Ramirez v. State, 7 N.E.3d 933, 939 (Ind. 2017), our supreme court explained
the applicable burden of proof for a successful motion for mistrial in cases of
suspected jury taint as follows:
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Defendants seeking a mistrial for suspected jury taint are entitled
to the presumption of prejudice only after making two showings,
by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) extra-judicial contact or
communications between jurors and unauthorized persons
occurred, and (2) the contact or communications pertained to the
matter before the jury. The burden then shifts to the State to
rebut this presumption of prejudice by showing that any contact
or communications were harmless. If the State does not rebut
the presumption, the trial court must grant a new trial. On the
other hand, if a defendant fails to make the initial two-part
showing, the presumption does not apply. Instead, the trial court
must apply the probable harm standard for juror misconduct,
granting a new trial only if the misconduct is ‘gross and probably
harmed’ the defendant.
Because Saylor cannot establish that extra-judicial contact or unauthorized
communications occurred, the presumption of prejudice does not apply and we
apply the probable harm standard.
[17] Considering the case at hand in light of the probable harm standard, we
conclude that the trial court properly dismissed Saylor’s motion for mistrial.
Each juror voiced his or her confusion and concern about the proceedings and
sought clarification from either the parties or the trial court. They asked
legitimate questions to clear their misunderstanding and Saylor’s counsel
elaborated on and properly explained the legal mechanism of a habitual
offender charge. We cannot find that the jury was tainted.
CONCLUSION
[18] Based on the foregoing, we hold that the trial court properly denied Saylor’s
motion to dismiss and his motion for a mistrial.
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[19] Affirmed.
[20] Vaidik, C. J. and Kirsch, J. concur
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