Opinion
24A-CR-769
10-04-2024
Debra Sue Palmer, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff
Attorney for Appellant R. Patrick Magrath Madison, Indiana Attorneys for Appellee Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General Alexandria Sons Deputy Attorney General Madison Crawford Certified Legal Intern Indianapolis, Indiana
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.
Appeal from the Jackson Superior Court The Honorable Amy Marie Travis, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 36D01-2301-CM-68
Attorney for Appellant
R. Patrick Magrath
Madison, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee
Theodore E. Rokita
Indiana Attorney General
Alexandria Sons
Deputy Attorney General
Madison Crawford
Certified Legal Intern
Indianapolis, Indiana
MEMORANDUM DECISION
Altice, Chief Judge.
Case Summary
[¶1] Debra Sue Palmer appeals her conviction for class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. She claims the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction.
[¶2] We affirm. Facts & Procedural History
[¶3] On January 7, 2023, Palmer went to a bar in Crothersville with her son, Josh Palmer, and her sister, Elizabeth Kallembach. Brianna Palmer was also at the bar, where she had been separately dancing and hanging out with friends for a couple of hours. Josh and Brianna had been in an on-again-off-again relationship for a few years and were married at some point but were not together at the time.
[¶4] Sometime after midnight, Josh and Brianna began dancing together. Josh had his hands around Brianna's waist, and her hands were wrapped around his neck. While they were dancing, Palmer and Kallembach each approached them from opposite sides of the dance floor. As Palmer tried to pull Brianna's arms away from Josh, "[Palmer] was calling [Brianna] a B-word" and "screaming at [Brianna] to get the F off of her son[.]" Transcript at 11. Palmer's grip on Brianna's arm slipped, causing her to scratch Brianna's right hand.
[¶5] Kallembach quickly stepped in and pushed Josh to the side. The next thing Brianna recalled was being kicked in the face and hit while on the ground. Brianna did not identify her assailant during this portion of the altercation, testifying only that it all happened "extremely like quick" and that she was kicked in the face repeatedly, her hair was pulled, she was punched and slapped, and she was grabbed by the throat and scratched. Id. at 12. Brianna sustained additional injuries, which were documented with photographs taken immediately after the altercation and in the days that followed.
[¶6] At a bench trial on January 25, 2024, Palmer was convicted of Class A misdemeanor battery. On February 29, 2024, the trial court sentenced her to 180 days in jail, 178 days of which were suspended, and placed her on probation for 270 days.
Kallembach pled guilty to this same offense prior to Palmer's trial. She testified in this case that after Palmer tried to physically pull Brianna away from Josh, Kallembach and Brianna began fighting as others held Palmer back.
Discussion & Decision
[¶7] Palmer challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction. Our standard of review in this regard is well-settled:
When reviewing the sufficiency of evidence supporting a conviction, we neither reweigh the evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses. Fix v. State, 186 N.E.3d 1134, 1138 (Ind. 2022). "When there are conflicts in the evidence, the [trier of fact] must resolve them." Young v. State, 198 N.E.3d 1172, 1176 (Ind. 2022). Thus, on appeal, we consider only the probative
evidence and the reasonable inferences supporting the conviction and will affirm "unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt." Fix, 186 N.E.3d at 1138 (quoting Jackson v. State, 50 N.E.3d 767, 770 (Ind. 2016)).Sorgdrager v. State, 208 N.E.3d 646, 650 (Ind.Ct.App. 2023), trans. denied.
[¶8] To prove Palmer committed Class A misdemeanor battery as charged, the State was required to establish that Palmer knowingly or intentionally touched Brianna in a rude, insolent, or angry manner resulting in bodily injury to Brianna. See Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1(c)(1), (d)(1).
[¶9] Here, Palmer's sufficiency challenge focuses solely on whether she had the requisite intent. Palmer does not dispute that she physically tried to pull Brianna away from Josh while screaming at her and that Brianna was scratched in the process. Palmer argues, however, that she was simply trying to assist her son who was an unwilling dance partner to Brianna. Palmer claims that the State presented "no evidence that [she] intended to rudely, insolently, or angrily touch Brianna." Appellant's Brief at 9. We cannot agree.
[¶10] Even if the trial court believed that Palmer's motive in touching Brianna was to get her away from Josh, this does not foreclose a finding that she knowingly or intentionally did so in a rude, insolent, or angry manner. Indeed, by the account of all three women, Palmer yelled expletives at Brianna as she approached Brianna and grabbed her arms, trying to force her away from Josh. There was nothing accidental about this touching, and a reasonable trier of fact could easily conclude that it was done so in a rude, insolent, or angry manner. See Cooper v. State, 831 N.E.2d 1247, 1251 (Ind.Ct.App. 2005) ("Morris' testimony about what Cooper was yelling at K.S. supports the reasonable inference that when Cooper grabbed and struck K.S., she was touching him in an angry manner."), trans. denied.
[¶11] Judgment affirmed.
Vaidik, J. and Crone, J., concur