# Dontez West and Kyree Guajardo v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

> Indiana Court of Appeals · November 27, 2019

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4459807

## Case

- **Court:** Indiana Court of Appeals
- **Decided:** November 27, 2019
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4459807

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- declining to adopt the stricter standard adopted by the Oregon Supreme Court in Kennedy
- declining to adopt Oregon’s stricter test in determining whether prosecutorial misconduct barred retrial following reversal of defendant’s conviction on appeal

## Opinion text

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Nov 27 2019, 8:39 am
court except for the purpose of establishing
the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
David W. Stone IV Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Anderson, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
George P. Sherman
Supervising Deputy Attorney
General
Andrew Kobe
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Dontez West and November 27, 2019
Kyree Guajardo, Court of Appeals Case No.
Appellants-Defendants, 19A-CR-414
Interlocutory Appeal from the
v. Madison Circuit Court
The Honorable David A. Happe,
State of Indiana, Judge
Appellee-Plaintiff. Trial Court Cause Nos.
48C04-1804-F2-1127
48C04-1805-F2-1267
48C04-1709-F4-2230
48C04-1805-F2-1268

Mathias, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 1 of 18
[1] Dontez West (“West”) and Kyree Guajardo (“Guajardo”) (collectively “the

Defendants”) bring this interlocutory appeal from the Madison Circuit Court’s

denial of their motions to dismiss the criminal charges against them after their

first trial ended in a mistrial. On appeal, the Defendants claim that a retrial

would constitute double jeopardy and that the trial court therefore erred in

denying their motions to dismiss. Concluding that a retrial does not subject the

Defendants to double jeopardy, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History
[2] On August 29, 2017, a “known source,” later revealed to be Eric Troutman

(“Troutman”), informed officers of the Anderson Police Department (“APD”)

that he had seen Tiras Johnson (“Johnson”) in possession of a “half brick” of

cocaine, multiple firearms, and a safe believed to contain a large amount of

cash at Johnson’s home on Beverly Court in Anderson, Indiana. Appellants’

Confidential App. Vol. 3, p. 148. A subsequent search of Johnson’s home

revealed multiple handguns, a large amount of cash, a safe containing a white,

powdery residue that appeared to be cocaine, marijuana, approximately

thirteen ounces of methamphetamine and approximately twenty-four ounces of

cocaine.

[3] Subsequent investigation led to the State charging Johnson, Troutman, and the

defendants West and Guajardo with various drug-related offenses. With regard

to West, the State ultimately charged him with two counts of Level 3 felony

dealing in cocaine, two counts of Level 6 felony dealing in marijuana, and one

count each of Level 2 felony conspiracy to commit dealing in cocaine, Level 3
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 2 of 18
felony possession of cocaine, Level 5 felony corrupt business influence, and

Level 6 felony money laundering. The State charged Guajardo with Level 2

felony conspiracy to commit dealing in cocaine, Level 5 felony corrupt business

influence, and Level 6 felony money laundering.

[4] On October 23, 2018, Troutman entered into a plea agreement with the State

that provided in part that he would, as a condition of his sentence, “testify fully

and truthfully in all pretrial hearings, depositions and at trial, if called as a

witness” in the State’s cases against West, Guajardo, and Johnson. Appellants’

App. Vol. III, p. 146.

[5] On November 16, 2018, counsel for West and Guajardo deposed Troutman.

During his deposition, Troutman stated that he knew that he could obtain

cocaine from West and that he sold cocaine he had bought from West for a

profit in order to fund his drug habit. With regard to Johnson, West’s counsel

questioned Troutman as follows:

Q. Okay. And then with Tiras [Johnson], what’s your
involvement with Tiras as far as this case goes?

A. I mean I’ve known him for a long time. I really . . . I’ve
never bought anything off of him.

Q. Okay. Earlier today I took Detective Gaskill’s deposition,
and we’ll talk more about this in a minute, but before you
plead[ed] guilty, or after you plead[ed] guilty, sometime
around then, you sat down with Mr. Miller, your attorney,
and Keith Gaskill, is that correct?

A. Yes.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 3 of 18
Q. And gave a statement?

A. Yes.

Q. Detective Gaskill said that you said during that that you
had bought pills [from] Tiras.

A. Yes.

Q. When did that happen?

A. Probably like a year and a half ago.

Q. Okay. And beyond buying pills that one time, more than
one time?

A. You said that buying —

Q. Was that . . . Was it pills that you bought from Tiras?

A. Yes. I never bought cocaine or anything off of him.

Q. Did you buy pills from Tiras more than one time?

A. No, just that one time.

Q. Okay. So as far as cocaine, as it pertains to cocaine, did
you and Tiras have any interaction at all?

A. No.

Appellants’ App. Vol. 4, pp. 66–67 (emphases added).

[6] During the discovery process, the State never revealed to the defense that

Troutman was the “known source” who informed police that Johnson was in

possession of cocaine.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 4 of 18
[7] At the joint trial of Guajardo and West, Troutman testified as a witness for the

State after being granted use immunity. Troutman was a hesitant witness but

testified that he bought cocaine from West in order to resell it to others.

[8] Also at trial, APD Sergeant Chad Boynton (“Sgt. Boynton”) testified for the

State. When asked to describe the circumstances that led to the search of

Johnson’s home, Sgt. Boynton responded:

I had received a call from Officer Marty Dulworth, K-9 Officer
and Community Police Officer with our department, um, with
the Anderson Police Department I should say. He had received
information from Eric Troutman regarding what had been
described as a half brick, a term that I know to refer to as a half
kilo, of cocaine at [Johnson’s] residence, as well as firearms
and a large amount of cash currency. . . . Upon receiving that
information I made an attempt to verify some of the information
that was put forth, um, which included that Tiras Johnson was
on in-home detention or community correction sanctions at that -
at that address.

Tr. Vol. 6, p. 22 (emphasis added). After Sgt. Boynton’s testimony, the trial

court recessed for the day.

[9] Before the trial resumed the following morning, West’s counsel requested a

mistrial, arguing that, prior to Sgt. Boynton’s testimony, he and Guajardo’s

counsel had been unaware that Troutman was the source who informed the

police of cocaine at Johnson’s home. The defense claimed that the State had

not disclosed this information during discovery. West’s counsel argued that,

had he known that Troutman was the known source, he would not have

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 5 of 18
attempted to attack Troutman’s credibility, as his theory of the defense was that

West dealt in marijuana, not cocaine, and that Johnson was the cocaine dealer.

The prosecuting attorney did not deny that Troutman’s identity as the source

had not been revealed but claimed that he mistakenly believed he had disclosed

this information to the defense.

[10] The trial court then asked counsel for all parties what the remedy should be for

the State’s failure to disclose Troutman’s identity as the known source. The

defense argued for a mistrial. The prosecuting attorney argued against a

mistrial, suggesting that a continuance and further deposition of Troutman

would be an adequate remedy. The trial court took the matter under advisement

and, after a recess, granted the defense’s request for a mistrial, stating:

Mistrials are extreme remedies, they’re not to be used lightly, and
there is a significant waste of resources when a mistrial is
declared. And there are harms to the defense that occur, as well,
when a mistrial is declared. The defendants will remain in
custody until a retrial can be scheduled when a mistrial [i]s
granted. In this case, however, the court is persuaded, especially
with respect to defendant West, that the non-disclosed
information would have had a significant impact on defense
strategy that could have had a possible persuasive [e]ffect on the
jurors in the case. So with great reluctance the court does find at
this point that mistrial is the only remedy which is adequate to
address the problem. So I am granting a mistrial in both
[Defendants’] cases, they’ll be rescheduled for trial.

Tr. Vol. 6, p. 85.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 6 of 18
[11] On January 3 and 7, 2019, West and Guajardo, respectively, filed motions to

dismiss, arguing that their retrial was barred by double jeopardy. The trial court

held a hearing on the motions on January 11, 2019, at which it heard

arguments from both parties. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court

denied the motions to dismiss, ruling in relevant part:

To restate the obvious, there was significant error that was made
in the discovery process. I think that it’s a simple call to
characterize that as at least negligent in that there was a duty to
provide the information. That duty was breached and it resulted
in har[m] to the defense. So the elements of, um, negligence there
are simple. The issue that the Court’s asked to decide today
however is a higher threshold which is that of intent. Because
we’re not here talking about a discovery violation or remedies for
a discovery violation, but looking at the possible extreme remedy
of raising a double jeopardy bar because the State has
intentionally incited a mistrial. That’s the element of the claim.
Much of the defense argument was spent kind of going back over
the circumstances and facts of the discovery violation. And, um,
the Court notes that no matter how egregious the violation that
doesn’t get it to a level of double jeopardy bar being raised. It
must be more than even the intentional wrongful withholding of
evidence. It has to be the intentional incitement of a mistrial. If
I look at the facts and interpret them most favorably to the
defense and assume for the sake of argument here today that the
State intentionally withheld Brady material for tactical
advantage, um, what does that mean here? Well, it doesn’t
answer the question if I assume that. I still have to determine
whether or not the State intended to incite a mistrial. Not
whether they did something wrong, not whether they intended
to hide evidence for tactical advantage, but whether they tried
to cause a mistrial. I’m not aware of any Indiana case on this

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 7 of 18
Oregon versus Kennedy[1] issue that, uh, doesn’t require that the
State have an intent to create a mistrial. You have to look at what
the overall progress of the case had been up to that point. How
was the State doing at that point. Would there have been a
substantial benefit to the State in scrapping that trial and starting
fresh with a new record. And the Court has to find at this point
that I don’t find there would’ve been a material benefit to the
State. The State would’ve been left with more inconsistent
statements from witnesses who at points struggled for consistency
as it was. There were witnesses who were reluctant to testify and
it’s doubtful that they would’ve gotten more willing to testify at a
retrial. And, um, of pretty strong significance is the fact that the
door had been opened to Mr. Guajardo’s cocaine history, and it’s
unlikely that that would happen again at a retrial. And that’s a
fact which certainly weighed heavily in the State’s favor. The
fact that the State caused the mistrial isn’t enough to raise double
jeopardy. . . . And I don’t find here that the remedy of double
jeopardy bar being raised and the cases being dismissed is
appropriate. I recognize that there is not Indiana authority quite
on point with this fact pattern but, to the extent that I can extract
a rule from the existing Indiana cases, the Court would find the
standard has not been met here. No matter how egregious the
violation, I don’t find that there was a demonstrated intent on
the part of the State to cause a mistrial. At best, their
(indiscernible) there was an intent to hide evidence for a tactical
advantage that should’ve been disclosed, and this isn’t the
remedy for that. So, the Court is going to deny the defendants’
motions to dismiss.

Tr. Vol. 6, pp. 123–25 (emphases added).

1
This is a reference to Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667 (1982), discussed infra.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 8 of 18
[12] On January 18, 2019, the Defendants requested that the trial court certify its

order denying their motion to dismiss for interlocutory appeal. The court

granted this request five days later. On March 22, 2019, this court accepted

jurisdiction over West’s appeal. We did the same for Guajardo’s appeal one

week later. We subsequently consolidated both cases, and this appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision
[13] The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in denying the

Defendants’ motions to dismiss the criminal charges against them. The

Defendants argue that the prohibitions against double jeopardy in the Fifth

Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 14 of the

Indiana Constitution bar their retrial. As we explained in a case addressing a

similar question:

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
“protects a criminal defendant from repeated prosecutions for the
same offense.” Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667, 671, 102 S. Ct.
2083, 2087 (1982). The Double Jeopardy Clause further grants a
defendant the right “to have his trial completed by a particular
tribunal.” Id. at 671–72, 102 S. Ct. at 2087. In general, when a
defendant elects to terminate the proceedings against him or her,
double jeopardy does not bar retrial. See id. at 672–73, 102 S.Ct.
at 2088. However, there is a narrow exception to this rule:
“The Double Jeopardy Clause does protect a defendant against
governmental actions intended to provoke mistrial requests
and thereby to subject defendants to the substantial burdens
imposed by multiple prosecutions.” Id. at 674, 102 S. Ct. at
2088 (citation omitted). “[I]f a defendant moves for or consents
to a mistrial, the defendant forfeits the right to raise a double
jeopardy claim in subsequent proceedings unless the motion for

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 9 of 18
mistrial was necessitated by governmental conduct ‘intended
to goad the defendant into moving for a mistrial.’” Willoughby
[v. State], 660 N.E.2d [570, 576 (Ind. 1996)] (quoting Kennedy,
456 U.S. at 676, 102 S. Ct. at 2089).

Etter v. State, 56 N.E.3d 53, 55–56 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (emphases added), trans.

denied.

[14] This constitutional test has been codified at Indiana Code section 35-41-4-3,

which provides:

(a) A prosecution is barred if there was a former prosecution of
the defendant based on the same facts and for commission of the
same offense and if:

***

(2) the former prosecution was terminated after the jury was
impaneled and sworn or, in a trial by the court without a jury,
after the first witness was sworn, unless (i) the defendant
consented to the termination or waived, by motion to dismiss
or otherwise, his right to object to the termination, (ii) it was
physically impossible to proceed with the trial in conformity
with law, (iii) there was a legal defect in the proceedings that
would make any judgment entered upon a verdict reversible
as a matter of law, (iv) prejudicial conduct, in or outside the
courtroom, made it impossible to proceed with the trial
without injustice to either the defendant or the state, (v) the
jury was unable to agree on a verdict, or (vi) false statements
of a juror on voir dire prevented a fair trial.

(b) If the prosecuting authority brought about any of the
circumstances in subdivisions (a)(2)(i) through (a)(2)(vi) of this
section, with intent to cause termination of the trial, another
prosecution is barred.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 10 of 18
(Emphasis added).

[15] When evaluating whether the prosecutor intended to cause the termination of

the trial, our supreme court has held that “[t]he subjective intent of the

prosecutor is the dispositive issue.” Butler v. State, 724 N.E.2d 600, 603 (Ind.

2000) (citing Wilson v. State, 697 N.E.2d 466, 472 (Ind. 1998)). Although a trial

court’s determination of prosecutorial intent is not conclusive for purposes of

our review, we do regard its determination as “very persuasive.” Id. at 603–04

(quoting Wilson, 697 N.E.2d at 473).2 That is, the issue of the prosecutor’s

intent “is a factual determination that we review under a clearly erroneous

standard.” Id. at 604. Because the clearly erroneous standard is a review for the

sufficiency of the evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor determine the

credibility of witnesses. State v. Greene, 16 N.E.3d 416, 418 (Ind. 2014). Instead,

we consider only the evidence that supports the judgment and the reasonable

inferences to be drawn from that evidence. Id.

[16] The trial court here specifically found that, by failing to disclose Troutman’s

role as a police source, the prosecuting attorney did not intend to cause a

mistrial. Considering only the evidence supporting the trial court’s factual

determination, we must agree. The record reveals that, for whatever reason, the

State did not disclose to the defense that Troutman was the known source of the

information that led to the search of Johnson’s home. When the defense

2
The Supreme Court in Kennedy treated the state trial court’s determination as dispositive. Kennedy, 456 U.S.
at 679). However, our supreme court in Wilson held that although the trial court’s determination of intent was
not conclusive, it was “very persuasive.” 697 N.E.2d at 473; accord Butler, 724 N.E.2d at 604.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 11 of 18
deposed Troutman, he claimed to have bought cocaine from West and to have

purchased pills from Johnson. He denied, however, having purchased cocaine

from Johnson. When defense counsel asked Troutman, “as it pertains to

cocaine, did you and [Johnson] have any interaction at all?” Johnson replied,

“No.” Appellants’ App. Vol. 4, p. 67. The Defendants now claim that this

answer was false, thereby constituting perjury, and that the prosecution

committed misconduct by not correcting this response during the deposition or

at any time prior to trial. We are unable to agree.

[17] Troutman was asked if he had any “interaction” with Johnson pertaining to

cocaine. The fact that Troutman told the police that he saw a “brick” of cocaine

at Johnson’s house does not mean that he had an “interaction” with Johnson

vis-à-vis the cocaine. Troutman could very well have bought pills from Johnson

and have seen cocaine at Johnson’s home without ever having purchased

cocaine or otherwise “interacted” with Johnson regarding the cocaine. Thus,

the Defendants’ claims that the prosecutor violated various duties and ethical

obligations to correct perjured testimony fall flat, as Troutman’s deposition

testimony was not necessarily false.

[18] Furthermore, the lead prosecuting attorney admitted to the trial court that the

State had failed to disclose Troutman’s role to the defense but stated that he

believed he had done so and that his failure to do so was inadvertent. Pointing

to the complexity of the case and the large amount of information disclosed

during the discovery process, the prosecuting attorney claimed that this

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 12 of 18
oversight was unintentional. The trial court was well within its discretion to

credit the prosecuting attorney’s account.

[19] But more importantly, as noted by the trial court, there is no indication that the

prosecution withheld this evidence, or belatedly disclosed it to the defense, with

the subjective intent of causing a mistrial. To the contrary, the State argued

strongly against the remedy of a mistrial. And, as noted by the trial court when

denying the Defendants’ motions to dismiss, the trial was not going poorly for

the State, and Guajardo had even opened the door to damaging evidence of his

prior history with cocaine. Thus, there was sufficient evidence supporting the

trial court’s determination that the prosecution did not intend to cause a

mistrial.

[20] The Defendants correctly note that, in prior cases where our courts have

affirmed a trial court’s denial of a motion to dismiss following a mistrial, the

cause of the mistrial was due to the behavior of a witness for the prosecution,

not the behavior of the prosecuting attorneys themselves. See, e.g., Wilson, 697

N.E.2d at 472–73 (affirming trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to

dismiss following a mistrial caused by State’s witness referring to defendant’s

request for an attorney where the witness’s problematic testimony was not

directly responsive to the prosecutor’s questions and where prosecutor’s

questions did not appear to be deliberately calculated to create the need for a

mistrial); Willoughby, 660 N.E.2d at 575–76 (holding that trial court did not err

in permitting retrial of defendant after mistrial caused by a police officer

improperly referring to a polygraph examination where there was no evidence

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 13 of 18
that the prosecutor intended to cause the mistrial or that the officer knew his

comments would likely cause a mistrial); Harbert v. State, 51 N.E.3d 267, 274–

75 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (affirming trial court’s denial of defendant’s request to

dismiss following a mistrial caused by the State’s witness referring to prior

arrest of co-defendant where there was no evidence that the prosecutor intended

to cause a mistrial or that the witness knew the comments would cause a

mistrial), trans. denied.

[21] The Defendants attempt to distinguish the present case based on who caused

the need for the mistrial. They argue that the fault should be placed on the State

because the need for the mistrial was caused by the prosecuting attorney’s

failure to disclose Troutman’s identity as the known source that led to the

search of Johnson’s home, not simply a State’s witness. But this is not the

relevant test. That is, the question is not which party is at fault for causing the

mistrial, the question is whether the State acted with the subjective intent to

cause a mistrial. Here, there is no evidence to support such a finding, much less

evidence that would suggest that the trial court’s contrary finding was clearly

erroneous.

[22] We were confronted with a similar situation in Green v. State, 875 N.E.2d 473

(Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. denied. In that case, a police detective discovered

during the course of the defendant’s trial that she had relevant telephone

records in her possession. Id. at 476. These records, however, were not properly

certified, nor were they provided to the defense during discovery. Id. When the

prosecuting attorney was made aware of this situation, he gave a copy of the

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 14 of 18
phone records to the defense counsel and agreed that the records could not be

admitted at trial. Id. The trial court, unaware of the nature of the phone records,

permitted a juror to ask the detective a question regarding the phone records. Id.

When the trial court was later made aware of the circumstances surrounding

the phone records, it declared a mistrial. Id. Prior to the retrial, the defendant

moved to dismiss, arguing that his retrial was barred by double jeopardy. Id.

The trial court denied the motion, and the second trial resulted in the

defendant’s conviction. Id.

[23] On appeal, Green contended that the trial court erred by denying his motion to

dismiss. We rejected this contention, noting that although the trial court found

that the mistrial was “the responsibility of the State,” this was not inconsistent

with the finding that the prosecution did not intend to cause a mistrial. Id. at

477. We also noted that the prosecutor did not intentionally withhold the phone

records. Id. Further, at the hearing on the motion to dismiss, the prosecuting

attorney stated that the first trial had been going well for the State and that he

did not want a mistrial. Id. Given these facts, we held that the trial court’s

decision to deny the motion to dismiss was not clearly erroneous. Id.

[24] Although the facts of the present case are not wholly analogous to those in

Green, in both cases, the State’s inadvertent mistake caused the mistrial. And in

both cases, the trial court found that the prosecutors did not intend to cause a

mistrial. Indeed, here, as in Green, the prosecutor believed the State’s case to be

going well and did not desire a mistrial. As in Green, we are in no position to

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 15 of 18
second-guess the trial court’s decision on the question of the prosecutor’s

subjective intent.

[25] Both the Defendants and the State spend much of their briefs on the issue of

whether, under the Indiana Constitution, we should adopt a stricter standard

for when double jeopardy bars a retrial following a mistrial that was the result

of the actions of the prosecution. Noting that our supreme court has adopted a

stricter test for determining whether two or more convictions constitute double

jeopardy under the Indiana Constitution, see Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32

(Ind. 1999), the Defendants argue that we should adopt a correspondingly

stricter test for determining whether retrial is permissible following a mistrial

caused by the State.

[26] In support of their argument, the Defendants note that several commenters

have criticized the more lenient federal standard announced by the United

States Supreme Court in Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667 (1982). See Appellants’

Br. at 23.3 The Defendants also note that several other state courts have given

defendants more protections following mistrials caused by the prosecution

based upon the double jeopardy clauses found in their state constitutions.4

3
In their Appellants’ Brief, the Defendants quote a substantial portion of what they claim to be the opinion
of this court in Harbert. As noted by the State, however, the language quoted by the Defendants is not from
this court’s opinion. Instead, it appears this quote was taken from a brief filed in the Washington Supreme
Court in a case involving a similar issue. The Defendants do not deny this claim in their reply brief. We
caution counsel for the Defendants to be more careful when attributing quotations to this court.
4
See Thomas v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court in & for Cty. of Clark, 402 P.3d 619, 626 (Nev. 2017); People v. Batts, 68
P.3d 357, 380–81 (Cal. 2003); State v. Rogan, 984 P.2d 1231, 1249 (Haw. 1999); State v. Breit, 930 P.2d 792,
803 (N.M. 1996); Commonwealth. v. Smith, 615 A.2d 321, 325 (Pa. 1992); State v. White, 354 S.E.2d 324, 329
(N.C. Ct. App. 1987); Pool v. Superior Court In & For Pima Cty., 677 P.2d 261, 271–72 (Ariz. 1984); State v.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-414 | November 27, 2019 Page 16 of 18
[27] This court has been asked to adopt a stricter test before, and we have declined

to do so. See Harbert, 51 N.E.3d at 275 (declining to adopt the stricter standard

adopted by the Oregon Supreme Court in Kennedy); Etter, 56 N.E.3d at 56 n.1

(declining to adopt a stricter standard based on the Indiana Constitution and

noting that our courts have not undertaken a separate analysis under our state

constitution when addressing the issue of double jeopardy following a retrial

caused by the State’s conduct); Calvert v. State, 14 N.E.3d 818, 823 (Ind. Ct.

App. 2014) (declining to adopt Oregon’s stricter test in determining whether

prosecutorial misconduct barred retrial following reversal of defendant’s

conviction on appeal); see also Willoughby, 660 at 575–76; Green, 875 N.E.2d at

476–77 (both addressing defendant’s claims that the double jeopardy clause of

the Indiana Constitution barred retrial following a mistrial using the Oregon v.

Kennedy standard). We once again decline to depart from our current test.5

Conclusion
[28] The trial court did not clearly err in determining that the prosecuting attorney

did not subjectively intend to cause a mistrial or intend to goad the Defendants

into requesting a mistrial. The Defendants’ retrial therefore does not constitute

Kennedy, 666 P.2d 1316, 1326 (Ore. 1983) (all interpreting their respective state constitutional prohibitions
against double jeopardy to provide more protection for defendants following a mistrial caused by the
prosecution). The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also adopted a stricter rule in Bauder v. State, 921 S.W.2d
696, 699 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996), but this decision was later overruled in Ex parte Lewis, 219 S.W.3d 335, 371
(Tex. Crim. App. 2007), in which the court abandoned the stricter rule and adopted the federal rule
announced in Oregon v. Kennedy.
5
If such an important change in Indiana constitutional law is to be made, we believe it should be made by
the Indiana Supreme Court.

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double jeopardy. Accordingly, we affirm the order of the trial court denying the

Defendants’ motions to dismiss.

[29] Affirmed.

Robb, J., and Pyle, J., concur.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4459807. Public record. Not legal advice.
