Charles J. Norton v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2020 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
Nov 13 2020, 9:19 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Cara Schaefer Wieneke Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Wieneke Law Office, LLC Attorney General of Indiana
Brooklyn, Indiana
Myriam Serrano
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Charles J. Norton, November 13, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
20A-CR-857
v. Appeal from the Vigo Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable John T. Roach,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
84D01-1712-F6-4235
May, Judge.
[1] Charles J. Norton appeals the revocation of his direct placement in community
corrections work release. Norton appeals the admission of drug screen results,
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which he claims were unreliable, and argues the State presented insufficient
evidence to revoke his placement without those results. Because his arguments
fail, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] On December 27, 2017, the State charged Norton with two counts of Level 6
felony intimidation. 1 Norton pled guilty to one count of intimidation on June
6, 2019. Following a sentencing hearing, the court entered the conviction as
Class A misdemeanor intimidation, 2 dismissed the second intimidation charge,
and imposed a one-year sentence “executed as a direct commitment to Vigo
County Community Corrections In Home Detention.” (Appellant’s App. Vol.
II at 70.) On February 12, 2020, Norton requested to be placed in work release
rather than in home detention, and the trial court approved the modification of
his placement.
[3] On March 2, 2020, the State petitioned to revoke Norton’s direct placement and
place Norton in either jail or the Department of Correction (“DOC”). The
petition alleged the following violations:
a. That on January 30th, 2020- Mr. Norton received a report of
conduct for violation of rule 202 (B), Possession/Use of
Controlled Substance. Mr. Norton provided VCCC with a drug
1
Ind. Code § 35-45-2-1.
2
Ind. Code § 35-45-2-1; Ind. Code § 35-50-2-7(b).
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screen positive for Amphetamines (8700 ng/ml) and
Methamphetamines (4000 ng/ml). He received recommended
earned credit time deprivation of 7 days (suspended).
b. That on February 3rd, 2020- Mr. Norton received a report of
conduct for violation of rule 203 (B), Refusal to Submit to
Testing. Mr. Norton did not report to VCCC for a required drug
screen. He received imposition of suspended sanction of 7 days
earned credit time loss.
c. That on February 7th, 2020- Mr. Norton received a report of
conduct for violation of rule 202 (B), Possession/Use of
Controlled Substance. Mr. Norton provided VCCC with a drug
screen positive for Amphetamine (3835 ng/ml) and
Methamphetamine (2000ng/ml). He received recommended
earned credit time deprivation of 14 days (suspended).
d. That on March 2nd, 2020-Mr. Norton’s fees are in arrears in
the amount of $295.00, which is a violation of rule #1, Fees.
e. That on March 2nd, 2020- Mr. Norton was arrested from the
Work Release Facility due to him having possession of two
Alprazolam 1mg pills that [were] found hidden in his inhaler
during a search before entering the facility.
(Id. at 76-77.)
[4] The trial court held a hearing on the State’s petition on March 13, 2020. Abby
Shidler, Community Corrections case manager for Norton, testified that all of
the State’s allegations were true. Norton failed to appear for a required drug
screen on February 3, 2020. (Tr. Vol. II at 7-8.) Norton tested positive for
methamphetamines and amphetamines on January 30 and February 7, 2020.
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(See Ex. 2 & Ex. 3.) As of the hearing, Norton was $295.00 in arrears on
Community Corrections fees, which violated the Community Corrections rules.
(Tr. Vol. II at 8.) Finally, Norton was arrested on March 2, 2020, at the
Community Corrections Work Release facility because he had two blue oval
pills, later identified as Alprazolam, a controlled substance, hidden inside his
inhaler. (See Tr. Vol. II at 8-9 & Ex. 1.) At the end of the hearing, the trial
court found “the evidence establishes a violation.” (Tr. Vol. II at 16.) The
court revoked Norton’s direct placement and ordered Norton to serve the
remainder of his sentence in the Vigo County Jail.
Discussion and Decision
1. Admission of Evidence
[5] Norton challenges the admission of drug test results. We review a trial court’s
admission of evidence for an abuse of discretion. Votra v. State, 121 N.E.3d
1108, 1113 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019). An abuse of discretion occurs when the
court’s decision is “clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and
circumstances” that were before the court. Id. In probation revocation
proceedings, the rules of evidence, except for those involving privileges, do not
apply. Ind. Evid. R. 101(d)(2). Thus, “courts may admit evidence during
probation revocation hearings that would not be permitted in a full-blown
criminal trial.” Reyes v. State, 868 N.E.2d 438, 440 (Ind. 2007).
[6] In particular, Norton asserts:
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[T]he trial court admitted the drug screen results into evidence
based on Shidler’s testimony that the community corrections
program had used Norcem Sentry in the past for drug analysis
and that their results had been reliable. The problem, however, is
that the drug analyses in this case were not conducted by Norcem
Sentry but by Cordant Forensic Solutions. There was no
evidence presented at all about Cordant, the lab’s reliability, etc.
Shidler did not conduct the drug analyses in this case and
provided no personal knowledge about the reliability of the
results.
(Br. of Appellant at 10 (internal citations omitted).) This objection to the
admission of the results, however, was not raised at the revocation hearing and,
as such, it is waived for appeal. See Konopasek v. State, 946 N.E.2d 23, 27 (Ind.
2011) (“a defendant may not argue one ground for an objection to the
admission of evidence at trial and then raise new grounds on appeal”).
[7] Waiver notwithstanding, the State responded to this novel argument on appeal
by providing citation to a news release indicating that Norchem Laboratory,
which “specializes in the criminal justice industry with a unique substance
abuse case management program known as Norchem SentryTM,” had become
part of the Cordant Solutions network. https://perma.cc/59E8-SWFH. As
such, Norton has not demonstrated the trial court committed error when it
admitted the test results. See, e.g., Matter of K.R., --- N.E.3d ---, 2020 WL
6065769 (Ind., Oct. 15, 2020) (holding drug test reports sufficiently reliable for
admission under the business records exception to the hearsay rule).
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2. Sufficiency of Evidence
[8] Norton next alleges the State presented insufficient evidence to support
revocation of his direct placement in community corrections. The standard by
which we review revocation of community corrections placements is the same
as the standard for probation revocations. Bennett v. State, 119 N.E.3d 1057,
1058 (Ind. 2019). “Probation hearings are civil in nature, and the State must
prove an alleged probation violation by a preponderance of the evidence.”
Votra, 121 N.E.3d at 1113. We review a trial court’s finding of a violation of
the conditions of placement for an abuse of discretion. Bennett, 119 N.E.3d at
1058. When reviewing sufficiency of evidence to support the finding of a
probation violation, we look to the evidence most favorable to the judgment,
and we neither reweigh the evidence nor reassess the credibility of the
witnesses. Votra, 121 N.E.3d at 1113.
[9] On February 3, 2020, Norton failed to submit a required sample for drug
testing, and on January 30, 2020, and February 7, 2020, Norton tested positive
for methamphetamines and amphetamines. Furthermore, Norton was found
by Community Corrections staff to be in possession of a controlled substance
for which he had no prescription when he entered the work release facility on
March 2, 2020. 3 This evidence was sufficient to support the trial court’s
3
Norton challenges the sufficiency of the probable cause affidavit to demonstrate he violated his placement
because the second page of Exhibit 1 was not signed by a judicial officer indicating probable cause for arrest
had been found. However, “a probable cause affidavit prepared and signed by an officer under oath bears
substantial indicia of reliability.” Votra, 121 N.E.3d at 1115. The signature of a judicial officer finding
probable cause was not necessary because the judge in the probation revocation hearing could determine
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revocation of Norton’s direct placement. See, e.g., Votra, 121 N.E.3d at 1116
(affirming revocation of probation where testimony supported probable cause
affidavit).
Conclusion
[10] Norton has not demonstrated the trial court abused its discretion in admitting
the results of Norton’s drug tests, and the State’s evidence was sufficient to
support the trial court’s revocation of Norton’s direct placement in Community
Corrections. Accordingly, we affirm.
[11] Affirmed.
Riley, J., and Altice, J., concur.
whether the officer’s affidavit demonstrated probable cause. Shidler confirmed the incident happened at the
work release facility as Norton was being processed back into the facility. This evidence was sufficient to find
probable cause to believe Norton illegally possessed a controlled substance.
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