FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
ALFRED J. GEMRICH JEFFREY A. MODISETT
SCOTT GRAHAM Attorney General of Indiana
GEMRICH, MOSER, BOWSER &
LOHRMANN LLP ANDREW L. HEDGES
Kalamazoo, Michigan Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
JEFFERY VAILLANCOURT, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 44A03-9712-CR-406
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
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.
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.
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.See footnote
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.
R. at 2-3.
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.
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 must necessarily guess at the statute's meaning and differ as to its
application.'" 650 N.E.2d 63, 66 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) (quoting Van Sant v. State, 523
N.E.2d 229, 233 (Ind. Ct. App. 1988)). This Court has found that a statute is not
unconstitutional as vague if "individuals of ordinary intelligence would comprehend it to
adequately inform them of the conduct to be proscribed. The statute need only inform the
individual of the generally proscribed conduct; a statute need not list, with itemized
exactitude, each item of conduct prohibited." Mallory v. State, 563 N.E.2d 640, 644 (Ind.
Ct. App. 1990).
We hold that the term "extreme pain" is not one which persons of average intelligence
cannot understand. As a result, this term is not unconstitutionally vague.
convicted of one offense_burglary resulting in serious bodily injury_double jeopardy could
not apply.
Everage's house with an intent to commit the felony of battery resulting in serious bodily
injury.See footnote
6
In addition, testimony was elicited at trial that Vaillancourt hit Everage over the
head with a glass jar containing nuts and bolts; that the blow from the jar caused Everage to
fall to his knees; that Everage appeared to lose consciousness from the blow; that, as a result
of his encounter with Vaillancourt, Everage sustained multiple bruises, a damaged wrist, a
concussion, and a three-inch head wound. Everage also testified that he suffered extreme
pain as a result of being hit over the head with the glass jar. From this evidence a reasonable
jury could conclude that Vaillancourt's offense resulted in serious bodily injury to Everage.
There is sufficient evidence to support Vaillancourt's conviction.
Affirmed.
GARRARD, J., and HOFFMAN, J., concur.
[Eidson]: Right.
R. at 331-34.
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