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Sunday, October 31, 2004

Indiana Decisions - Impact of Blakely v. Washington in Indiana focus of story today

"Although 27-year-old Bruce G. Heath was released from prison in August, his appeal might change the Indiana judicial system." That is the lead to this story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, headlined "Enhanced sentences in question: Supreme Court may require changes." More quotes:

A Noble Circuit Court jury found Heath guilty of criminal recklessness for shooting a gun near a crowd in Kendallville in June 2001, which seriously injured two men.

Subsequently, a judge sentenced Heath to serve 2 1/2 years in prison – one year longer than the sentence outlined in state law for a Class D felony. The penalty range for a Class D felony in Indiana is six months to three years in prison, but in order for a judge to impose a sentence longer than 18 months – known as the presumptive sentence – the judge must establish aggravating factors.

Those factors are circumstances established by the judge that allow the imposition of a lengthier sentence.

In Heath’s case, the judge cited three of these aggravators: the crime was committed in the presence of a minor; several unarmed bystanders were placed in “extreme danger” during the commission of the crime; and the facts of the case were some of the worst he’d seen for a Class D felony, the lowest level felony in the state.

Next week, attorney Lorraine Rodts will argue before the Indiana Supreme Court, alleging that Heath’s constitutional rights were violated because a jury didn’t determine the three aggravators the judge used to impose the longer sentence.

Rodts’ argument is based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in June in which a man from Washington state appealed the state’s sentencing procedures and ultimately won. The Supreme Court ruled that the Washington man’s rights were violated because a judge, not a jury of his peers, determined the aggravating circumstances used against him to impose a lengthier sentence. * * *

The decision has not affected the sentencing procedures in Indiana, but Heath’s case could. Some area courts and prosecutors already have begun making changes as a safeguard in the event that the Indiana Supreme Court finds that the state’s sentencing procedures are unconstitutional.

In Allen County, judges have added language to guilty-plea hearings that require offenders to waive their right to have aggravators found by a jury. The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office also has added similar language to their plea agreements. * * *

Among the regional counties in northeast Indiana, most have not taken any action and are waiting to see how the [Indiana Supreme] court will rule. But Wabash, Huntington and Wells counties also have added language to their plea agreements requiring offenders to waive their rights for a jury to determine aggravators similar to procedures in Allen County. * * *

Counties across the state are handling the impending circumstances differently, said Larry Landis, executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council. Some county prosecutors are simply not seeking sentences with aggravators involved, while others, such as Marion and Allen counties, are taking precautions by filing notice of potential aggravators well before the trial – avoiding any potential appeal based on an enhanced sentence, he said.

If Indiana’s sentencing procedures are deemed unconstitutional, the effect would be substantial but not a “major derailment of the justice system,” Landis said.

Essentially, the change would make trials longer. After a jury determines an offender to be guilty, jurors would then be required to hear evidence based on the aggravators prosecutors believe apply to the case. The jurors would then have to deliberate again to determine which, if any, aggravators apply.

For more on the upcoming oral arguments in Bruce Grant Heath v. State and Adolphe Smylie v. State, see this September 27th ILB entry.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 31, 2004 09:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Decisions