Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

A trial court was correct in not allowing evidence in a rape trial that DNA of an unknown male was collected from the victim two days after the incident, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.

Jordan Pribie was accused of raping C.G., the ex-girlfriend of his roommate, Josh Curl. Curl invited C.G. to his home, where the two drank alcohol with other people. They became extremely intoxicated and C.G. threw up on herself. Pribie told C.G. he would give her a clean shirt if she would have sex with him. She declined, but later he woke her up and had sex with her over her protests. He did not ejaculate. She had consensual sex with Curl several hours later.

C.G. did not report the rape or have an exam done until two days later. The test did not disclose any DNA consistent with Pribie’s but did reveal sperm from an unknown male.

At his trial, Pribie wanted to introduce the rape kit evidence, but the state objected. The trial court ruled that this evidence was barred under Ind. Evidence Rule 412 as “evidence offered to prove that a victim or witness engaged in other sexual behavior.” The jury did hear that a rape kit was performed and it did not reveal Pribie’s DNA. He was convicted of Class B felony rape and sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Correction with two years suspended to probation.

Pribie raised five arguments as to why the evidence should have been admitted, including that Rule 412 does not apply or that the evidence falls under certain exceptions, but the Court of Appeals rejected all of his claims. They also did not find that the state opened the door to the evidence in its direct examination of C.G. or a biologist.

Pribie also claimed juror misconduct required overturning his conviction. One alleged instance of misconduct involved an ex parte conversation between a juror and the bailiff. The juror told the bailiff she knew people on both sides of the case; the bailiff asked her if the recognized people were close friends, to which she said no. She also said it would not prejudice her decision.

While the bailiff should have told the judge about this conversation and allowed the judge to question the juror, the bailiff’s actions were harmless error because the bailiff asked the same questions as the judge would have.  Following the correct procedure would not have yielded a different result for Pribie, Judge John Baker wrote.

The case is Jordan Pribie v. State of Indiana, 12A02-1412-CR-836.

Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence welcomed more than 300 K-5 students to the Statehouse for their annual tree lighting event.

“The Governor and I enjoyed welcoming Hoosier children to the Statehouse today,” First Lady Karen Pence said. “The experiences and memories we create year after year during this annual holiday tradition are ones which the Governor and I have come to cherish.  We were thrilled to once again this year spend  time with the students in attendance by helping them decorate an ornament to take home with them – a memento the children and their families will be able to enjoy for years to come.”

Each grade level was designated a different ornament—specially designed by the First Lady—to make during the program. After the decorating was complete, a student representative from each school in attendance helped light the trees in the Statehouse Rotunda.

Trees were donated by the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association and the wreath hanging above them was hand-crafted and donated by the Friends of the Indiana State Archives.

Students included in today’s program were from Maplewood Elementary School, Burge-Terrace Home Educators,  Zion Lutheran School,  Saint Philip Neri Catholic School, Greenwood Christian Academy, Stinesville Elementary and Rural Community Academy.

Also during today’s festivities, Governor Pence read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to students and the Kingsway Christian School sang holiday favorites.

Governor Pence reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” to students gathered at the Indiana Statehouse for the annual tree lighting event.

Choir students from Kingsway Christian School in Avon, IN joined Governor Pence at the Indiana Statehouse to perform at the annual tree lighting event.

Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence help students craft ornaments at the annual tree lighting event at the Indiana Statehouse.

Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence join Mr. and Mrs. Claus to light Christmas trees in the Statehouse rotunda during the annual tree lighting event.

The monthly revenue report for November, along with commentary from State Budget Director Brian Bailey, has been posted on the State Budget Agency webpage. The report and commentary can be found here: http://www.in.gov/sba/2659.htm. Charts visualizing revenue data are located on the Management and Performance Hub under the State Tax Revenue section:http://www.in.gov/mph/staterevenue.html.

 

Results

• General Fund collections for November totaled $1,054.5 million, which is $21.3 million (2.1%) more than the monthly estimate and $29.8 million (2.9%) above November 2014 revenue.
• Sales tax collections totaled $592.8 million for November, which is $6.9 million (1.1%) below the monthly estimate but $9.9 million (1.7%) above revenue in November 2014.
• Individual income tax collections totaled $404.9 million for November, which is $29.8 million (7.9%) above the monthly estimate and $18.4 million (4.8%) above revenue in November 2014.
• Corporate tax collections were negative $1.6 million for November, which is $2.6 million (259.7%) below the monthly estimate and $5.7 million (139.9%) below revenue in November 2014.
• Riverboat wagering collections totaled $21.3 million for November, which is $0.4 million (1.7%) above the monthly estimate and $1.9 million (9.6%) above revenue in November 2014.
• Racino wagering collections were $7.1 million for November, which is $0.3 million (4.5%) above the monthly estimate and $1.2 million (20.5%) above revenue in November 2014.

Commentary

Year-to-date General Fund collections totaled $5,625.0 million, which is $40.1 million (0.7%) lower than estimated, but $17.9 million (0.3%) above collections for the same period last fiscal year.

Sales tax collections through five months of fiscal year 2016 were $102.5 million (3.3%) below estimate and $13.5 million (0.4%) below collections through five months of fiscal year 2015.

Individual income tax collections through five months of fiscal year 2016 have grown by $65.1 million (3.3%) over the same period a year ago and were $103.2 million (5.3%) above the year-to-date estimate.