Paula K. Crum, Thomas D. Gonzalez, Kaleel M. Ellis, II, Mary H. Ellis v. City of Terre Haute (7/22/04 IndCtApp) [Real Estate; Statutory Construction]
Court finds that subsequent transfee via quitclaim deed is liable for prior demolition costs under Indiana Unsafe Building Law.
Ricki Christmas v. State of Indiana (7/22/04 IndCtApp) [Criminal Law & Procedure]
Mathias, Judge
Ricki Christmas (“Christmas”) was convicted of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement in Johnson Superior Court and sentenced to serve 365 days in the Department of Correction. He was also ordered to serve that sentence consecutive to a sentence he received for a Class A misdemeanor trespassing conviction. Christmas appeals and argues that the trial court erred when it sentenced him to consecutive sentences without finding at least one aggravating circumstance. Concluding that the trial court was required to impose consecutive sentences pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-50-1-2(d), we affirm. * * *Randal Balding v. State of Indiana (7/22/04 IndCtApp) [Criminal Law & Procedure]
BARNES, J., and CRONE, J., concur.
Randal Balding appeals the trial court’s decision to grant the State’s motion compelling Balding to submit a DNA sample to be included in the Indiana DNA Database. We affirm.Posted by Marcia Oddi at July 22, 2004 02:48 PMIssue. Balding raises one issue for our review, which we restate as whether the trial court properly granted the State’s motion to compel Balding to submit a DNA sample to be included in the Indiana DNA Database. * * *
In the instant case, Balding was convicted of the underlying offense of sexual battery in 2002. The Indiana DNA Database was established in 1996, and sexual battery was included as one of the crimes for which a convicted offender was required to submit a sample. Thus, at the time of his conviction, Indiana Code section 10-13-6-10 required Balding to submit a DNA sample. The State’s delay in requesting a sample until after the probation revocation did not make the requirement to submit a sample a new term of Balding’s sentence. * * *
Constitutionality of the Indiana DNA Database under the Fourth Amendment. Neither party asserts that an individualized suspicion of wrongdoing existed in this case. Therefore, the compulsory collection of DNA samples for inclusion in the Indiana DNA Database survives a Fourth Amendment challenge only if such searches serve a special need beyond the normal need for law enforcement and crime detection. We hold that they do. * * *
Balancing of Competing Interests. Having determined that the compulsory collection of DNA samples from convicted offenders for inclusion in the Indiana DNA Database falls within the “special needs” exception to the Fourth Amendment, we must now balance the private and public interests advanced by the parties to determine whether the search was reasonable. We will examine the following considerations: (1) the nature of the privacy interest upon which the search intruded; (2) the character of the intrusion into Balding’s privacy; and (3) the nature and immediacy of the governmental interest at issue and the efficacy of the Indiana DNA Database for meeting that interest. * * *
Because Balding possessed a reduced expectation of privacy and the character of intrusion in this case was minimal, and because the State’s interest was substantial in creating a DNA database, we hold the compulsory taking of Balding’s DNA sample with a buccal swab was a reasonable search under the Fourth Amendment.
Conclusion. The compulsory collection of DNA samples from convicted offenders to be included in the Indiana DNA Database does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s decision granting the State’s motion. Affirmed.
SHARPNACK, J. and DARDEN, J. concur.
--------
Footnote: Balding does not raise a claim under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Therefore, we leave for another day the issue of whether the compulsory collection of DNA samples from convicted offenders is constitutional under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.