Timothy Ottis Hale v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), 87A04-1706-CR-1501

Background

On May 5, 2016, Timothy Hale drove a truck that left the roadway, struck a culvert and utility pole, flipped, and killed his passenger James Hopper.
Officers and bystanders observed partially empty alcohol bottles in the truck; Hale’s speech was slurred and he admitted drinking. He consented to a blood draw showing BAC .295.
Trooper Greer performed crash reconstruction and downloaded vehicle event data; no other vehicle caused the crash.
The State charged Hale with Level 4 felony causing death with an ACE (alcohol concentration equivalent) of .15 or more and Level 5 felony causing death while intoxicated; lesser-included convictions were vacated by the trial court.
A jury convicted Hale of both counts; the trial court sentenced him to concurrent terms (six years for Level 4, three years for Level 5).
On appeal Hale claimed ineffective assistance of trial counsel for multiple trial choices; the court affirmed on ineffectiveness but raised double jeopardy sua sponte and vacated the lesser sentence (Level 5).

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance of counsel (overall)	State: counsel’s performance was reasonable; evidence of guilt overwhelming	Hale: multiple trial errors (juror, expert, motions, evidence, closing) deprived him of effective counsel	No ineffective assistance: counsel’s choices were reasonable or futile; no prejudice shown
Juror who knew victim	State: juror’s past acquaintance was attenuated and harmless	Hale: counsel should have sought removal of Juror #2596	Held: reasonable for counsel not to seek removal; no ineffectiveness
Trooper Greer’s qualifications/expert testimony	State: Greer was offered as a skilled (lay) witness; objections to expert qualification would fail	Hale: counsel should have objected to Greer as an expert	Held: counsel was not ineffective; objections to reports were made and overruled appropriately
Motion for directed verdict re: prior conviction element	State: charging, instructions, and verdict showed §9-30-5-5(c)(1) (ACE .15+) was charged, not the prior-conviction subsection	Hale: counsel should have renewed directed verdict because State failed to prove prior conviction	Held: futile given record; no ineffectiveness
Admission of specific-acts testimony and use of general prison testimony	State: trial court properly excluded specific-act character evidence; general prison testimony would be inadmissible/futile	Hale: counsel erred in how she pursued and abandoned certain witnesses/evidence	Held: counsel reasonably litigated these issues; not ineffective
Double jeopardy (duplicative convictions)	State: convictions permissible	Hale: convictions for both ACE .15+ causing death and causing death while intoxicated are duplicative	Held: sua sponte double jeopardy violation under the actual-evidence test; vacated the less severe conviction (Level 5) and remanded for amended judgment and sentencing order

Key Cases Cited

Davidson v. State, 763 N.E.2d 441 (Ind. 2002) (Strickland prejudice standard for ineffective assistance)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong ineffective-assistance test)
Grinstead v. State, 845 N.E.2d 1027 (Ind. 2006) (definition of reasonable probability for prejudice)
Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999) (actual-evidence and statutory-elements tests for double jeopardy)
Satterfield v. State, 33 N.E.3d 344 (Ind. 2015) (skilled-witness testimony distinction)
Wharton v. State, 42 N.E.3d 539 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (double jeopardy when convictions rest on same conduct)
West v. State, 22 N.E.3d 872 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (double jeopardy where OUI and high-BAC convictions overlapped)
Moala v. State, 969 N.E.2d 1061 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (vacating the conviction with lesser penal consequences under double jeopardy)
Jewell v. State, 887 N.E.2d 939 (Ind. 2008) (procedural bar to raising ineffectiveness on post-conviction when raised on direct appeal)