MEMORANDUM DECISION
Mar 20 2015, 7:24 am
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this
Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as
precedent or cited before any court except for the
purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata,
collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.
APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Jerry Wilson Gregory F. Zoeller
Pendleton, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
George P. Sherman
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jerry Wilson, March 20, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A05-1409-CR-455
v. Appeal from the Delaware Circuit
Court; The Honorable Linda Ralu
Wolf, Judge;
State of Indiana, 18C03-1205-FA-7
Appellee-Plaintiff.
May, Judge.
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[1] Jerry Wilson appeals the denial of his motion for modification of sentence or
for alternative placement. Wilson has not demonstrated an abuse of discretion.
[2] We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[3] In 1996, Wilson was sentenced to fifty years in prison for committing Class A
felony burglary. In July 2011, Wilson filed a “Verified Motion for Modification
of Sentence, or in the Alternative, Motion for Alternative Placement,” (App. at
3), and the trial court directed the State to respond. After it did so, the trial
court denied Wilson’s motion. In its order the trial court explicitly said it was
denying Wilson’s motion “due to the very serious nature of the offense for
which he is serving an executed sentence of fifty (50) years.”1 (App. at 1.)
Discussion and Decision
[4] Ind. Code § 35-38-1-17(c) provides that if more than a year has elapsed since the
convicted person began serving his sentence, “the court may reduce or suspend
the sentence and impose a sentence that the court was authorized to impose at
the time of sentencing. The court must incorporate its reasons in the record.”
A decision to reduce or suspend a sentence is discretionary, Catt v. State, 749
N.E.2d 633, 643 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001), trans. denied, and the fact that the process
1
Wilson asserts in his brief he “has an excellent conduct history (Apdx.E)” and the trial court “did not
mention anything about conducting an evaluation on Wilson to determine if his conduct is good or bad.”
(Appellant’s Br. at 2.) The part of the Appendix to which Wilson directs us says nothing about his “conduct
history.”
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of rehabilitation may have started does not compel a reduction or other
modification in sentence. Id.
[5] Before July 1, 2014, Ind. Code § 35-38-1-17(b) provided “the court may reduce
or suspend the sentence, subject to the approval of the prosecuting attorney.”
(Emphasis added.) Under the version of the statute that was effective July 1,
2014, the prosecutor’s approval is no longer required.
[6] Wilson asserts the trial court’s decision “is in direct violation of the legislature’s
revision of the modification I.C. 35-38-1-17 statute for July 1, 2014.”
(Appellant’s Br. at 3.) His argument appears to be based on the premise the
trial court did not properly exercise its discretion because “the court shows no
compliance to the new revision by (waiting) [sic] on the approval of the
prosecuting attorney.” (Id. at 4.)
[7] Wilson’s concern is understandable. The State’s answer to Wilson’s petition
was filed on August 19, 2014, some fifty days after the statutory revision had
become law, yet the prosecutor said in that answer “the prosecutor must
consent to any modification of said sentence. The State does not consent to
such a modification.” (App. C.) But at that time, the requirement that the
prosecutor consent was no longer the law.
[8] Despite the prosecutor’s misstatement of the law, we cannot find reversible
error, as we must presume the trial court disregarded the misstatement. We
presume the trial court knows the law, Emerson v. State, 695 N.E.2d 912, 919
(Ind. 1998), and Wilson has not provided us with evidence rebutting that
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presumption. Nor did the trial court indicate it was declining to modify the
sentence because the prosecutor purported to withhold consent. In fact, it
explicitly noted it was aware of the statutory revision: “Court is aware of the
revision in I.C. 35-38-1-17. As a practice this Court always provides for input
from each party before rendering a ruling on a pending motion.” (App. at 1.)
As Wilson did not show the trial court believed the prosecutor’s purported
withholding of consent to be determinative, we need not reverse. See Hedrick v.
State, 229 Ind. 381, 390, 98 N.E.2d 906, 910 (1951) (court will not reverse for
errors that in no way prejudiced the substantial rights of the appellant).
[9] Affirmed.
Barnes, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
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