Stephen W. Peele v. State of Indiana

FILED

Jan 24 2020, 8:32 am

CLERK

Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Lisa M. Johnson Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

Brownsburg, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Jesse R. Drum

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Stephen W. Peele, January 24, 2020

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

19A-CR-1775

v. Appeal from the Marion Superior

Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable James K. Snyder,

Appellee-Plaintiff. Master Commissioner

Trial Court Cause No.

49G02-0205-PC-123251

Tavitas, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] Stephan Peele appeals the dismissal of his verified petition for removal from the

Indiana Sex Offender Registry (the “Registry”). We reverse and remand.

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Issue

[2] Peele raises two issues on appeal. We find one to be dispositive: whether the

trial court abused its discretion when it dismissed Peele’s verified petition for

removal from the sex offender registry for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. 1

Facts 2

[3] On a date that is unclear from the record, Peele was convicted in Shelby

County for two counts of child molesting, as Class B felonies, and three counts

of child molesting, as Class C felonies; he was subsequently sentenced on April

17, 1989, to an aggregate twelve-year term in the Department of Correction

(“DOC”). 3 On March 20, 2003, Peele pleaded guilty in Marion County to

sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class C felony; he was sentenced to eight

years in the DOC, with five years executed and three years suspended to

probation.

[4] It is unclear from the record precisely when Peele was notified that he was

required to register as a sex offender for a ten-year period. Peele’s name was

reportedly added to the Registry on June 10, 2005. In 2007, according to Peele,

1

We do not reach Peele’s claim that the registration requirement, as applied to him, violates Indiana’s

prohibition against ex post facto laws.

2

The State’s brief does not contain a Statement of Facts. Appellate Rule 46(B) permits the omission of a

Statement of Facts from an appellee’s brief “if the appellee agrees with statements in the appellant’s brief”

and so states. Key facts are missing from the record on appeal, including the date of Peele’s conviction in

Shelby County. A conforming Statement of Facts from the State, or an affirmative statement that the State

adopts Peele’s Statement of Facts, would have aided our review.

3

Peele’s date of conviction for the Shelby County offense is unknown.

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Peele was notified in a letter from the DOC, dated July 23, 2007, that he was

considered a “sex and violent offender” and required to register for the

remainder of his life. Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 38.

[5] On February 7, 2019, Peele filed, pursuant to Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-

22(c), a verified petition for removal from the Registry in the Marion Superior

Court under the cause number associated with his Marion County conviction.

At the time, Peele resided in Marion County. Peele alleged that the registration

requirement, as applied to him, violated Indiana’s prohibition on ex post facto

laws. On April 22, 2019, the DOC, by senior deputy attorney general counsel,

entered an appearance. The following day, the DOC filed a motion to dismiss

Peele’s petition for lack of jurisdiction. After a hearing on May 10, 2019, the

trial court dismissed Peele’s petition for lack of jurisdiction; its order provided:

1. One may not file a civil complaint in a criminal case. “All

prosecutions of crimes shall be brought in the name of the state of

Indiana,”’ Ind. Code § 35-34-1- 1(a), and a declaratory judgment

may not be granted against the State. State v. LaRue’s, Inc., 239

Ind. 56, 64-65, 154 N.E.2d 708, 712 (1958); Harp v. Indiana

Department Highways, 585 N.E.2d 652, 660-61 (Ind. Ct. App.

1992). See also, e.g. Ind. Crim. Rule 2.1 (governing appearance

for the state and for the defendant but with nothing about

appearance for other persons in the criminal case).

2. Relief is sought against the Indiana Department of Correction

but the DOC is not a party in this criminal case and is not

represented by the prosecutor. See Ind. Dept. of Corr. v. Haley, 928

N.E.2d 840 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (prosecutor does not represent

the DOC regarding educational credit, even in the criminal case).

Accord Payne v. State, 531 N.E.2d 216 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989)

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(prosecutor may not waive State Police prerogative to object to

expungement). The prosecutor may not bind the DOC as to the

registration requirement. Stockert v. State, 44 N.E.3d 78 (Ind.

App. 2015), trans. denied; Nichols v. State, 947 N.E.2d 1011 (Ind.

App. 2011), reh. denied.

*****

8. This court lacks jurisdiction in this case to address the

collateral consequence of whether the defendant is still required

to register as a sex or violent offender. Kirby v. State, 95 N.E.3d

518, 520-21 (Ind. 2018). It is therefore ORDERED,

ADJUDGED and DECREED by the court that the verified

petition for removal from sex offender registry is denied,

dismissed and stricken.[ 4]

Appellant’s App. Vol. II pp. 64-65. Peele filed a motion to correct error on

June 3, 2019, which was denied. Peele now appeals from the denial of his

petition for removal from the Registry.

Analysis

[6] Peele argues that the trial court erred when it dismissed his verified petition for

removal from the sex offender registry. The State appears to concede that the

trial court, in fact, had subject matter jurisdiction to consider Peele’s petition;

however, the State maintains that Peele did not bring the proper form of action

4

We presume that the trial court’s notation that Peele’s verified petition is “denied, dismissed and stricken”

is a scrivener’s error. We will approach this matter as Peele’s appeal from the trial court’s dismissal of his

verified petition.

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under a proper cause. See State’s Br. p. 7. (“‘One may not file a civil complaint

in a criminal case[.]’ It is true that the court technically had subject matter jurisdiction

to consider Peele’s petition. . . . . But it is also true that Peele’s was a civil

complaint ‘that challenges a collateral consequence rather than his conviction

or sentence.’”).

[7] The DOC filed a motion to dismiss Peele’s petition for lack of jurisdiction,

wherein the DOC relied on cases that analyzed issues pertaining to subject

matter jurisdiction. The trial court granted the DOC’s motion. A motion to

dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction “presents a threshold question

concerning the court’s power to act.” Greer v. Buss, 918 N.E.2d 607, 613 (Ind.

Ct. App. 2009). The trial court decides whether the requisite jurisdictional facts

exist based on its consideration of the complaint, the motion to dismiss, and

any affidavits or other evidence submitted. Id. Where the facts are not in

dispute, we review the trial court’s decision de novo. Id.

[8] “Attorneys and judges alike frequently characterize a claim of procedural error

as one of jurisdictional dimension.” K.S. v. State, 849 N.E.2d 538, 541 (Ind.

2006). “The fact that a trial court may have erred along the course of

adjudicating a dispute does not mean it lacked jurisdiction.” Id. “The question

of subject matter jurisdiction entails a determination of whether a court has

jurisdiction over the general class of actions to which a particular case belongs.”

Id. at 542.

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[9] Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22, which governs petitions to remove sex

offender designation and petitions to register under less restrictive conditions,

provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(c) A person to whom this section applies may petition a court to:

(1) remove the person’s designation as an offender and

order the department to remove all information regarding

the person from the public portal of the sex and violent

offender registry Internet web site established under IC 36-

2-13-5.5; or

(2) require the person to register under less restrictive

conditions.

(d) A petition under this section shall be filed in the circuit or

superior court of the county in which the offender resides. . . . .

(e) After receiving a petition under this section, the court may:

(1) summarily dismiss the petition; or

(2) give notice to:

(A) the [D]epartment [of Correction];

(B) the attorney general;

(C) the prosecuting attorney of:

(i) the county where the petition was filed;

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(ii) the county where offender was most

recently convicted of an offense listed in

section 5 of this chapter; and

(iii) the county where the offender resides;

and

(D) the sheriff of the county where the offender

resides;

and set the matter for hearing. The date set for a hearing must

not be less than sixty (60) days after the court gives notice under

this subsection.

(f) If a court sets a matter for a hearing under this section, the

prosecuting attorney of the county in which the action is pending

shall appear and respond, unless the prosecuting attorney

requests the attorney general to appear and respond and the

attorney general agrees to represent the interests of the state in

the matter. If the attorney general agrees to appear, the attorney

general shall give notice to:

(1) the prosecuting attorney; and

(2) the court.

(g) A court may grant a petition under this section if, following a

hearing, the court makes the following findings:

(1) The law requiring the petitioner to register as an

offender has changed since the date on which the

petitioner was initially required to register.

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(2) If the petitioner who was required to register as an

offender before the change in law engaged in the same

conduct after the change in law occurred, the petitioner

would:

(A) not be required to register as an offender; or

(B) be required to register as an offender, but under

less restrictive conditions.

(3) If the petitioner seeks relief under this section because a

change in law makes a previously unavailable defense

available to the petitioner, that the petitioner has proved

the defense.

The court has the discretion to deny a petition under this section, even

if the court makes the findings under this subsection.

(h) The petitioner has the burden of proof in a hearing under this

section.

(i) If the court grants a petition under this section, the court shall

notify:

(1) the victim of the offense, if applicable;

(2) the department of correction; and

(3) the local law enforcement authority of every county in

which the petitioner is currently required to register.

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(j) An offender may base a petition filed under this section on a

claim that the application or registration requirements constitute

ex post facto punishment.

(k) A petition filed under this section must:

(1) be submitted under the penalties of perjury;

(2) list each of the offender’s criminal convictions and state

for each conviction:

(A) the date of the judgment of conviction;

(B) the court that entered the judgment of

conviction;

(C) the crime that the offender pled guilty to or was

convicted of; and

(D) whether the offender was convicted of the crime

in a trial or pled guilty to the criminal charges; and

(3) list each jurisdiction in which the offender is required

to register as a sex offender or a violent offender.

(l) The attorney general may initiate an appeal from any order

granting an offender relief under this section.

Ind. Code § 11-8-8-22 (emphasis added).

[10] The plain language of Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22(d) clearly confers subject

matter jurisdiction upon the circuit or superior court in the county in which the

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offender resides to accept filing of, set a hearing on, and consider, grant, or

deny an offender’s petition for removal from the Registry. See Clampitt v. State,

932 N.E.2d 1256, 1258 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (reversing the trial court’s dismissal

of Clampitt’s motion, pursuant to Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22, to remove

sexual violent predator status and ordering the trial court to consider the merits

of the motion). A reading otherwise disregards unambiguous statutory

language, which we will not do. The State does not suggest, and the record

does not support a finding, that Peele filed his petition in the wrong court.

[11] Although the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction, the State argues: “The

procedure set out in Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22 (which is not even in Title

35, the criminal title of the Indiana Code) says that a petition must be filed in

the county in which the offender resides but does not specify that it be filed in

the criminal case that gave rise to the registration obligation being challenged”;

and “. . .[t]he obligation is to file a new declaratory judgment case and to get a

new cause number.” See Appellant’s App. Vol. II pp. 58, 60. Thus, we turn to

the question of the proper form that the filing of a petition for removal from the

Registry must take. The trial court relied on Kirby to support its dismissal of

Peele’s petition. See id. at 65.

[12] In Kirby v. State, 95 N.E.2d 518, 520-21 (Ind. 2018), our Supreme Court found

that Kirby improperly challenged a statutory restriction on Kirby’s entry onto

school grounds—a collateral consequence of Kirby’s conviction—under post-

conviction rules, which govern challenges to a conviction or to a sentence. The

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Kirby Court engaged in the following instructive discussion as to the appropriate

vehicle for challenging the collateral consequences of an offender’s conviction:

While Kirby cannot raise his ex post facto claim in post-

conviction proceedings, he may have a vehicle for his claim. The

legislature created declaratory-judgment actions for the explicit

purpose “to settle and to afford relief from uncertainty and

insecurity with respect to rights, status and other legal relations.”

Ind. Code § 34-14-1-12 (2017). Settling his uncertain legal status in

light of the statutory school-entry restriction is precisely what

Kirby wants to do. And the declaratory-judgment statutes are

“liberally construed and administered” to achieve that purpose.

Declaratory-judgment actions are also broadly available. “Any

person . . . whose rights, status, or other legal relations are

affected by a statute” can bring such an action. I.C. § 34-14-1-2.

That action will determine “any question” of a statute’s validity

and give “a declaration of rights, status, or other legal relations

thereunder.” Again, this is exactly what Kirby asks for: a

determination of whether the school-entry restriction is an invalid

ex post facto law as applied to him.

Indeed, Indiana caselaw shows that ex post facto claims like

Kirby’s are often raised through declaratory-judgment actions.

E.g., Lemmon v. Harris, 949 N.E.2d 803, 805 (Ind. 2011); Gardner

v. State, 923 N.E.2d 959, 959 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009), trans. denied.

And our Court of Appeals has held that declaratory-judgment

actions are appropriate vehicles for ex post facto claims even

when other statutory remedies are available, given the burdens

imposed by sex-offender registration requirements. Greer v. Buss,

918 N.E.2d 607, 615 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

Kirby, 95 N.E.2d 518, 520-21 (Ind. 2018) (citations omitted) (emphasis added).

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[13] Although Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22 is silent as to whether a declaratory

judgment filing must be brought in a separate, civil cause or within a criminal

cause under a qualifying court, Kirby—which our Supreme Court handed down

in April 2018—supports a finding that an offender may pursue relief in each of

these ways. In support of the premise that “Indiana caselaw shows that ex post

facto claims [ ] are often raised through declaratory judgment actions[,]” our

Supreme Court cited Lemmon, Gardner, and Greer.

[14] Lemmon and Greer were declaratory judgment actions brought by offenders

against commissioners of the DOC in civil actions. In these cases, sex offender-

appellants sought to challenge collateral consequences of their convictions and

prevailed on appeal as to, inter alia, their claims that the trial court erred in

dismissing their civil, declaratory judgment action on jurisdictional grounds.

[15] The Kirby Court also, however, signaled the availability of declaratory relief

under a criminal cause when it cited Gardner. The offender in Gardner

challenged the “prospective application of the amended registration

requirements of Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-7” under a criminal cause;

however, because Gardner challenged the registration requirements as an ex

post facto law before he was actually ordered to register, the trial court denied

relief. We affirmed the trial court’s denial of Gardner’s petition as unripe.

[16] In the same vein, in Clampitt, a panel of this Court reversed the trial court’s

finding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction “in [Clampitt’s] criminal case to

grant his motion” to remove sexual violent predator status. See Clampitt, 932

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N.E.2d at 1258. In reversing the trial court’s judgment, we ordered the trial

court to consider, on remand, the merits of Clampitt’s motion to remove sexual

violent predator status, as brought under a criminal cause, pursuant to Indiana

Code Section 11-8-8-22(e).

[17] Based on the foregoing, we find that: (1) no legal impediment exists to the trial

court’s legal authority to consider the merits of Peele’s petition for relief under

Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-22; and (2) Peele properly brought his petition for

removal from the Registry within a criminal cause in a qualifying court. The

trial court erred in dismissing Peele’s petition.

Conclusion

[18] The trial court erred in dismissing Peele’s petition for removal from the

Registry; accordingly, we reverse and remand with instructions to the trial court

to consider the merits of Peele’s petition.

[19] Reversed and remanded.

Najam, J., and Vaidik, J., concur.

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