ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Brian H. Williams Jeffrey A. Modisett
Martinsville, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
James A. Garrard
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
MICHAEL A. GIBSON )
Defendant-Appellant, )
)
v. )
55S05-9807-CR-00386
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
Plaintiff-Appellee. )
________________________________________________
APPEAL FROM MORGAN SUPERIOR COURT
The Honorable Jane S. Craney, Judge
Cause No. 55D03-9603-CF-00066
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counts of conspiracy to commit murder,See footnote
2
and burglary.See footnote
3
Of the eight issues presented on
appeal, the Court of Appeals found one issue dispositive, reversed on that issue, and
addressed four other issues likely to be contested upon retrial. Gibson v. State, 694
N.E.2d 748 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). We granted transfer to address the issue that the Court
of Appeals found compelled reversal. We summarily affirm the other issues resolved by
the Court of Appeals, address the remaining issues presented by the defendant on appeal,
and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
We now address the following claims of trial court error: (1) responding to a jury
request for exhibits, during deliberations, without consulting the parties; (2) refusing to
admonish the jury following a sustained objection; (3) convicting of attempted murder
and burglary, in violation of double jeopardy; and (4) imposing an improper and
unreasonable sentence.See footnote
4
Twenty-Two through Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four through Forty-One? Record at 1581.
Before consulting the parties, the trial court sent to the jury all of the exhibits admitted
during the trial. The defendant claimed that sending the evidence to the jury without
consulting the parties violated Indiana Code section 34-1-21-6, and the Court of Appeals
reversed on that basis. Gibson v. State, 694 N.E.2d 748, 753 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998). We
disagree.
In Bouye v. State, 699 N.E.2d 620 (Ind. 1998), this Court, confronted with
conflicting interpretations of the statute by various panels of the Court of Appeals,
approved the line of cases that held that the statute's protections are only triggered upon
an express showing of disagreement among the jurors. Id. at 627. A mere request to
review evidence does not implicitly show disagreement. Id. In the present case, the note
constitutes a request to view the evidence, but does not express a disagreement between
the members of the jury. Nothing in the record indicates that the jury was in
disagreement about the evidence. We find no error under the statute.See footnote
5
Double Jeopardy Clause. See, e.g., Bryant v. State, 660 N.E.2d 290, 300 n.21 (Ind.
1995), cert. denied, Indiana v. Bryant, ___ U.S. ___, 117 S.Ct. 293, 136 L.Ed.2d 213
(1996).
To review a claim that a defendant was punished twice for the same offense in
violation of the federal Double Jeopardy Clause, we look to the statutory elements of the
two offenses to determine whether each contains an element that the other does not.
Games v. State, 684 N.E.2d 466, 475 (Ind. 1997). Attempted murder requires a
substantial step toward a killing, which burglary does not, and burglary requires a
breaking and entering, which attempted murder does not. Compare Ind. Code § 35-42-1-
1 (1993), and Ind. Code § 35-41-5-1 (1993), with Ind. Code § 35-43-2-1 (1993).
Therefore, the defendant's convictions for attempted murder and burglary do not violate
the Double Jeopardy Clause.
residence and attacked some of the sleeping occupants. Two of the victims were stabbed,
but survived. The defendant's character is reflected in his juvenile and adult criminal
history, which includes: prior convictions for resisting law enforcement, burglary, theft,
and battery; four episodes of juvenile delinquency; and two separate pending criminal
battery charges. Considering the nature of the offense and the character of the offender,
we decline to find the sentence manifestly unreasonable.
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