Hirman E. Jackson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
regarded as precedent or cited before any
FILED
court except for the purpose of establishing Aug 24 2017, 6:16 am
the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
estoppel, or the law of the case. Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Bruce W. Graham Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Graham Law Firm P.C. Attorney General of Indiana
Lafayette, Indiana
Matthew B. MacKenzie
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Hirman E. Jackson, August 24, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
79A04-1612-CR-2936
v. Appeal from the Tippecanoe
Circuit Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Thomas H. Busch,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
79C01-1603-F1-4
Najam, Judge.
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Statement of the Case
[1] Hirman Jackson appeals his convictions1 for five counts of attempted murder,
as Level 1 felonies (Counts I-V); two counts of aggravated battery, as Level 3
felonies (Counts VI and VII); two counts of battery with a deadly weapon, as
Level 5 felonies (Counts VIII and IX); two counts of battery resulting in serious
bodily injury, as Level 5 felonies (Counts X and XI); one count of criminal
recklessness, as a Level 5 felony (Count XII); one count of pointing a firearm,
as a Level 6 felony (Count XIII); one count of unlawful possession of a firearm
by a serious violent felon, as a Level 4 felony (Count XIV); a sentencing
enhancement based on the unlawful use of a firearm in the commission of a
felony (Count XV); and a habitual offender sentencing enhancement (Count
XVI). He raises two issues for our review, which we restate as follows:
1. Whether the court committed fundamental error when it
instructed the jury on transferred intent.
2. Whether the court committed fundamental error when it
permitted the State to inform the jury as to how the evidence
demonstrated Jackson’s intent to commit the crimes alleged.
[2] We affirm.
1
This was a bifurcated trial. The jury convicted Jackson of Counts I through XIII during the first phase of
the trial. Jackson waived his right to a jury trial for the second phase, and, after a bench trial, the trial court
convicted him of Counts XIV and XVI. The court dismissed Count XV, unlawful use of a firearm, during
phase two of the trial.
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Facts and Procedural History
[3] On February 12, 2016, Shantaya Kirk, along with three other adults and one
young child, drove from Chicago, Illinois, to Lafayette, Indiana, to return $500
she had borrowed from Jackson. Kirk and the others met Jackson at his
residence. Kirk spoke with Jackson inside his apartment, but she then returned
to the car where the others waited. Jackson also went out to the vehicle and
stood next to the passenger door.
[4] After a few moments, Jackson fired a gun into the vehicle several times. Kirk
instructed the driver to drive away from Jackson. Jackson continued firing at
the vehicle until all of the bullets had been fired.2 Jackson shot Kirk once in the
shoulder and once in the forearm. Kirk sustained a broken wrist and continues
to have pain and numbness in her left shoulder. Jackson shot Steven Allen, one
of the other adult passengers in the vehicle, in the head. Allen had a seizure as
a result of the gunshot wound. A surgeon removed the bullet and part of
Allen’s skull to allow the swelling in his brain to lessen. Allen continues to
have seizures, he has problems with his left arm and leg, and he has behavioral
and emotional issues as a result of the damage to his brain. The other
occupants of the vehicles were uninjured.
2
During the trial, Jackson admitted to firing the gun multiple times; however, he argued that he had acted in
self-defense.
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[5] The State charged Jackson with five counts of attempted murder, two counts of
aggravated battery, two counts of battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of
battery resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of shooting a firearm, one
count of pointing a gun, and one count of unlawful possession, all as felonies.
The State also charged Jackson with a sentencing enhancement based on the
unlawful use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and a habitual offender
sentencing enhancement.
[6] At the close of Jackson’s ensuing jury trial, the court instructed the jury as
follows, without objection:
The crime of attempted murder is defined as follows: A person
attempts to commit a murder when, acting with the specific
intent to kill another person, he engages in conduct that
constitutes a substantial step toward killing that person.
Count I
Before you may convict the Defendant of attempted murder as
charged in Count I, the State must have proved each of the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. The Defendant
2. acting with the specific intent to kill Shantaya Kirk
3. did fire a deadly weapon at said Shantaya Kirk
4. which was conduct constituting a substantial step toward the
commission of the intended crime of killing Shantaya Kirk; and
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5. did not act in self-defense.
If the State failed to prove each of these elements beyond a
reasonable doubt, you must find the Defendant not guilty of the
crime of attempted murder, a felony, charged in Count I.
[7] Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 81. The State’s charges with respect to the other
victims of attempted murder read the same, except for the different names. The
court also gave the jury the following instruction, again without objection:
“Under the doctrine of transferred intent, the intent to harm one person may be
treated as the intent to harm a different person when, through mistake or in-
advertence, violence directed towards one person results in the injury to a
different person.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 93.
[8] The State had also provided State’s Proposed Instruction 1, which read as
follows: “Intent to kill may be inferred from the use of a deadly weapon in a
manner likely to cause death or great bodily injury, in addition to the nature of
the attack, and the circumstances surrounding the crime.” Appellant’s App.
Vol. II at 58. The trial court rejected the proposed instruction but gave the State
permission to argue the underlying point in its closing arguments. The State
then made the following statements during its closing argument, without
objection:
We know that [Jackson] shot [Kirk]. Acting with the specific
intent to kill. Again we can’t figure out exactly what a person is
thinking but we look at the totality of the circumstances. Intent
to kill may be interpreted from the use of a deadly weapon in a
manner likely to cause death or great bodily injury in addition to
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the nature of the attack and the circumstances surrounding a
crime. This is the state of case law in the state of Indiana. This
is how we can look at intent to kill in this case. It can be inferred
from the use of a deadly weapon [in] a manner likely to cause
death or great bodily harm along with the nature of the totality of
the circumstances, the circumstances surrounding it.
Tr. Vol. IV at 205-06. The jury found Jackson guilty on Counts I through XIII.
After a bench trial on the remaining charges, the trial court found Jackson
guilty on Counts XIV and XVI. The court then sentenced him to ninety-two
years in the Department of Correction.3 This appeal ensued.
Discussion and Decision
Issue One: Transferred Intent Jury Instruction
[9] Jackson asserts that the trial court committed fundamental error when it
instructed the jury on transferred intent. As the Indiana Supreme Court has
explained:
Appellate courts may, on rare occasions, resort to the
fundamental error exception to address on direct appeal an
otherwise procedurally defaulted claim. However, fundamental
error is extremely narrow and available only when the record
reveals a clearly blatant violation of basic and elementary
principles, when the harm or potential for harm cannot be
3
The court entered judgement on Counts I through V, XIV, and XVI. The court sentenced Jackson based
on Counts I, II, XIV, and XVI. The court concluded that Counts III, IV, and V merged into Counts I and II
for purposes of sentencing. The Court declined to enter judgment on the remaining guilty verdicts.
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denied, and when the violation is so prejudicial to the rights of
the defendant as to make a fair trial impossible.
Shoun v. State, 67 N.E.3d 635, 640 (Ind. 2017) (citations omitted). With respect
to jury instructions, we usually consider: “(1) whether the tendered instruction
correctly states the law; (2) whether there was evidence presented at trial to
support giving the instruction; and (3) whether the substance of the instruction
was covered by other instructions that were given.” McCowan v. State, 27
N.E.3d 760, 763-64 (Ind. 2015) (citations omitted). We consider the
instructions as a whole and do not reverse unless the whole of the instructions
misled the jury as to the law in the case. Id. at 764.
[10] It is well-established that the specific intent to kill is a necessary element of
attempted murder. A jury instruction
which purports to set forth the elements which must be proven in
order to convict of the crime of attempted murder must inform
the jury that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendant, with intent to kill the victim, engaged in conduct
which was a substantial step toward such killing.
Spradlin v. State, 569 N.E 2d 948, 950 (Ind. 1991).
[11] Here, again, the trial court instructed the jury as follows:
The crime of attempted murder is defined as follows: A person
attempts to commit a murder when, acting with the specific intent to
kill another person, he engages in conduct that constitutes a
substantial step toward killing that person.
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Count I
Before you may convict the Defendant of attempted murder as
charged in Count I, the State must have proved each of the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. The Defendant
2. acting with the specific intent to kill Shantaya Kirk
3. did fire a deadly weapon at said Shantaya Kirk
4. which was conduct constituting a substantial step toward the
commission of the intended crime of killing Shantaya Kirk; and
5. did not act in self-defense.
If the State failed to prove each of these elements beyond a
reasonable doubt, you must find the Defendant not guilty of the
crime of attempted murder, a felony, charged in Count I.
Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 81 (emphasis added). The “specific intent”
language was repeated in each of the other four counts in the jury instruction on
attempted murder.
[12] The trial court also provided the following instruction on transferred intent to
the jury: “[u]nder the doctrine of transferred intent, the intent to harm one
person may be treated as the intent to harm a different person when, through
mistake or inadvertence, violence directed towards one person results in the
injury to a different person.” Id. at 93.
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[13] The Indiana Supreme Court has permitted the doctrine of transferred intent to
be applied to attempted murder charges. In Blanche v. State, 690 N.E.2d 709,
711 (Ind. 1998), the defendant was convicted of, among other things, attempted
murder. The defendant raised several issues on appeal, including whether the
evidence was sufficient to support his convictions and whether the jury was
properly instructed on the specific intent requirement for attempted murder.
During its discussion on the sufficiency of the evidence, the Indiana Supreme
Court held that under the doctrine of transferred intent
a defendant’s intent to kill one person is transferred when, by
mistake or inadvertence, the defendant kills a third person; the
defendant may be found guilty of the murder of the person who
was killed, even though the defendant intended to kill another.
White v. State, 638 N.E.2d 785, 786 (Ind. 1994). This doctrine
also applies to the intent necessary for attempted murder. Straub
v. State, 567 N.E.2d 87, 90-1 (Ind. 1991) (establishing that state
need not introduce evidence that the defendant intended to kill
the actual victim, but only that the defendant intended to kill
someone).
Id. at 712.
[14] Here, Jackson does not challenge whether the language in the attempted
murder instruction properly instructs the jury that a defendant is required to
have specific intent to kill in order to be convicted of attempted murder.
Rather, he asserts that the trial court committed fundamental error when it also
provided the transferred intent instruction to the jury because it “blurred the
distinction between specific and general intent and rendered the entire pool of
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jury instructions confusing and prejudicial.” Appellant’s Br. at 16. To support
his assertion, Jackson relies on Beasley v. State, in which the State charged the
defendant with attempted murder, and the trial court gave the following jury
instruction:
TO CONVICT THE DEFENDANT OF ATTEMPTED
MURDER, THE STATE MUST HAVE PROVED EACH OF
THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
THE DEFENDANT LARRY E. BEASLEY
(1) KNOWINGLY OR INTENTIONALLY.
(2) ENGAGED IN CONDUCT BY KNOWINGLY
STRIKING WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, A KNIFE, THE
PERSON OF BEVERLY PRESTON, RESULTING IN
SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.
(3) WHICH CONDUCT CONSTITUTES A SUBSTANTIAL
STEP TOWARD THE KNOWING OR INTENTIONAL
KILLING OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.
IF THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE EACH OF THE
ELEMENTS BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, THE
DEFENDANT SHOULD BE FOUND NOT GUILTY.
IF THE STATE DID PROVE EACH OF THE ELEMENTS
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, THEN YOU SHOULD
FIND THE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED
MURDER, A CLASS A FELONY.
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643 N.E.2d 346, 347 (Ind. 1994). On appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court held
that the jury instruction constituted fundamental error because the jury
could convict the defendant of attempted murder if he only acted
knowingly. The court held that, “although we usually evaluate jury
instructions as a whole, where the trial court lists the elements of attempted
murder and includes an incorrect mens rea, this error cannot be cured by
another instruction.” Id. at 348.
[15] The present case is distinguishable from Beasley. The court in Beasley made it
clear that the error could not be cured by another instruction when the elements
of attempted murder included an incorrect mens rea. Here, however, the court
properly instructed the jury on the elements of attempted murder, and the
instructions make it clear to the jury that specific intent to kill is a necessary
requirement for the offense of attempted murder. This transferred intent
instruction did not introduce a new level of intent but, instead, referenced the
intent required for the underlying offense.
[16] When considered as a whole, the instructions did not mislead the jury. See
McCowan, 27 N.E.3d at 764. Accordingly, we cannot say that the trial court
committed fundamental error when it instructed the jury.
Issue Two: The State’s Closing Argument
[17] Jackson also asserts that the court erred by permitting the State to include the
language from the State’s Proposed Jury Instruction 1, which the court refused
to read to the jury, in the State’s closing argument to the jury. But as an initial
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matter we note that Jackson did not object during the State’s closing argument.
Further, he does not argue on appeal that the alleged error was fundamental
error. As such, we conclude that Jackson has not preserved this issue for
appellate review. See Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a).
[18] Jackson’s waiver notwithstanding, no error occurred on this issue. The trial
court rejected the proposed instruction but gave the State permission to argue
the point in its closing argument. The State then argued as follows:
We know that [Jackson] shot [Kirk]. Acting with the specific
intent to kill. Again we can’t figure out exactly what a person is
thinking but we look at the totality of the circumstances. Intent
to kill may be interpreted from the use of a deadly weapon in a
manner likely to cause death or great bodily injury in addition to
the nature of the attack and the circumstances surrounding a
crime. This is the state of case law in the state of Indiana. This
is how we can look at intent to kill in this case. It can be inferred
from the use of a deadly weapon a manner likely to cause death
or great bodily harm along with the nature of the totality of the
circumstances, the circumstances surrounding it.
Tr. Vol. IV at 205-06.
[19] As we have explained:
[i]t is well settled that the proper scope of final argument is
within the trial court’s sound discretion. Taylor v. State, 457
N.E.2d 594, 599 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983). On appeal, we will not
find an abuse of discretion unless the trial court’s decision is
clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances
before it. Id. In seeking reversal of a conviction, however, it is
incumbent upon the appellant to establish that the trial court’s
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abuse of discretion was “clearly prejudicial” to his rights. See id.;
Rouster v. State, 600 N.E.2d 1342, 1347 (Ind. 1992).
Nelson v. State, 792 N.E.2d 588, 591-92 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003), trans denied.
[20] In support of his argument, Jackson cites Dill v. State, where our Supreme Court
held that “instructions that unnecessarily emphasize one particular evidentiary
fact, witness, or phase of the case have long been disapproved.” 741 N.E.2d
1230, 1232 (Ind. 2001). However, again, the issue in the instant appeal is not
whether the trial court provided an improper instruction to the jury but whether
the court properly allowed the State to inform the jury of the State’s evidentiary
basis for Jackson’s intent. “[T]he mere fact that a jury may not be instructed on
a certain point of law does not lead to the conclusion that argument concerning
that point of law is also improper.” Weis v. State, 825 N.E.2d 896, 904 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2005). The State’s comments during closing argument were not improper
or misleading. Accordingly, we cannot say that the trial court erred when it
allowed the State to make those statements during its closing argument, and we
affirm Jackson’s convictions.
[21] Affirmed.
Kirsch, J., and Brown, J., concur.
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