OPINION ON REHEARING FILED
Feb 09 2018, 11:08 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Joel M. Schumm Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Ellen H. Meilaender
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
J.R., February 9, 2018
Appellant-Respondent, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1704-JV-754
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Marilyn A. Moores,
Appellee-Petitioner Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49D09-1701-JD-70
Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion on Rehearing 49A02-1704-JV-754 | February 9, 2018 Page 1 of 3
The State petitions for rehearing following our opinion in which we vacated a
juvenile delinquent’s adjudication for the offense of carrying a handgun without
a license, finding that a juvenile cannot be alleged to have committed this
offense because a juvenile is unable to obtain a handgun license. J.R. v. State, –
N.E.3d –, No. 49A02-1704-JV-754 (Ind. Ct. App. Dec. 8, 2017). We grant the
State’s petition to address the sole issue it raises: that we erred by concluding,
without the benefit of briefing, that a juvenile may not be alleged or adjudicated
delinquent for the offense of carrying a handgun without a license.
The State argues that, by its plain language, Indiana Code section 35-41-2-1(a),
which governs the offense of carrying a handgun without a license,
encompasses juveniles and other classes of people who are prohibited from
legally obtaining a handgun license. The State also argues that the statute
creates a blanket prohibition on carrying a handgun when a person does not
have a license, regardless of why the person does not have a license.
The State fundamentally misunderstands our original decision. In that
decision, we did not consider the statute governing the offense of carrying a
handgun without a license in isolation; rather, we held that the statute generally
governing the offense of carrying a handgun without a license does not apply to
juveniles in light of the statute specifically governing the adjudication of a
juvenile who commits dangerous possession of a firearm. In other words, we
considered the two statutes together and harmonized them. As our Supreme
Court has stated:
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion on Rehearing 49A02-1704-JV-754 | February 9, 2018 Page 2 of 3
. . . statutes relating to the same general subject matter are in pari
materia and should be construed together so as to produce a
harmonious statutory scheme. Accordingly, when one statute
deals with a subject in general terms and another statute,
pertaining to the same subject, deals in a more detailed and
specific manner, then the two should be harmonized if possible.
If the two statutes present an irreconcilable conflict, however,
then the more detailed statute will prevail over the less detailed
statute pertaining to the same subject matter.
Sanders v. State, 466 N.E.2d 424, 428 (Ind. 1984). In this case, there are two
statutes pertaining to the same subject, and the more detailed statute—the
statute governing a juvenile’s dangerous possession of a firearm—prevailed.
Moreover, the State contends on rehearing that every juvenile who possesses a
handgun is necessarily delinquent. See Appellee’s Pet. for Reh. p. 7-8. But that
contention cannot be reconciled with the statute regarding the dangerous
possession of a firearm by a juvenile, which, under certain circumstances,
expressly allows a juvenile to possess a firearm. See Ind. Code § 35-47-10-1
(allowing a juvenile to possess a firearm for a firearms safety course, for practice
for target shooting, and for organized competition, among other activities). We
therefore disagree with the State’s position.
While we grant the State’s petition to address its argument, we deny its request
to alter the analysis and outcome of our original opinion, which remains
unchanged.
Najam, J., and Altice, J., concur.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion on Rehearing 49A02-1704-JV-754 | February 9, 2018 Page 3 of 3