FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
ROBERT W. GEDDES SCOTT C. NEWMAN
EDWARD F. HARNEY, JR. Marion County Prosecuting Attorney
Hume Smith Geddes Green & Simmons Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
LAWRENCE J. BRODEUR
ROBERT W. HAMMERLE Marion County Prosecutor's Office
JOSEPH M. CLEARY Indianapolis, Indiana
Hammerle Foster Allen & Long-Sharp
Indianapolis, Indiana
JOHN C. STARK
THOMAS A. BRODNIK
RICHARD B. KAUFMAN
Stark Doninger & Smith
Indianapolis, Indiana
DUGE BUTLER, JR.
Butler Hahn Hill & Schembs
Indianapolis, Indiana
JAMES A. WURSTER, SAMUEL R. TURPIN, )
WILLIS R. CONNER, )
)
Appellants-Defendants, )
) CONSOLIDATED
vs. ) NO. 49A02-9802-CR-126
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
Later in December of 1995, ACE sent an additional check to IMTA in the amount of
$1,250.00.
In 1996, the Marion County Grand Jury began investigating Turpin and the other
defendants. The investigation was sparked by a series of stories in The Indianapolis Star and
The Indianapolis News. It was reported in these stories that Turpin accepted more than
$50,000.00 from ACE, while effectively hiding the employment relationship. It was further
reported in these news stories that Turpin took official action that benefitted ACE during the
time he was accepting payments from ACE. At the direction of then House Speaker Paul
Mannweiler, the Legislative Ethics Committee began an investigation of Turpin. In June of
1996, Turpin resigned as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and
informed the full House that he would not seek re-election after serving out his term. In
April of 1997, Turpin's residence was searched and several boxes of records were seized by
the Indianapolis police. In May of 1997, the Marion County Grand Jury returned an eleven
count indictment naming Turpin, Wurster, Conner and a fourth individual as defendants.
Turpin was charged with bribery, perjury and five counts of filing a fraudulent report. In
Count II of the indictment, Wurster and Conner were charged with bribery; and in Count III,
Wurster was charged with unlawful lobbying. The charge of unlawful lobbying related to
the payments ACE made to IMTA, and ACE's failure to timely file required reports with the
Indiana Lobby Registration Commission. Turpin's filing a fraudulent report charges
stemmed from campaign finance reports filed by Turpin, and Turpin's perjury charge related
to an affidavit he submitted to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Hendricks County after
purchasing a truck from a neighbor.
The defendants each argued in their respective motions to dismiss that the entire indictment should be dismissed due to the alleged irregularity in which the grand jury proceedings were conducted. Specifically, the defendants take issue with the fact that significant portions of the proceedings were not of record, that the grand jurors were not permitted to ask questions directly to the witnesses and that exculpatory evidence known to the State was not presented to the grand jury.
then I would bring that witness back in and there are several transcripts that
have been turned over to defense in discovery which indicate the witness
comes back in for further interrogation and I did ask the questions.
(Turpin Record, 481-82). Our review of the transcripts referred to by the State reveal that
several of the witnesses were called back to give additional testimony. Although the
questions were ultimately asked by the prosecutor, they represented original questions from
the grand jurors.
The prosecuting attorney may be present with the grand jury for the purpose of giving
information and advice upon legal matters, and he may interrogate witnesses thereby
assisting the grand jury in developing evidence. Turpin v. State, 206 Ind. 345, 189 N.E. 403,
404 (Ind. 1934). Only in cases in which there is such flagrant imposition of the grand
jurors' will or independent judgment will the court find a violation of due process. Averhart
v. State, 470 N.E.2d 666, 680 (Ind. 1984), cert. denied. In Averhart, the appellant argued that
certain evidence presented to the grand jury was irrelevant and prejudicial, thereby leading
to a lack of impartiality on the part of the grand jury. Finding no reversible error, the
supreme court stated that:
[the appellants] do not show that the entire proceedings before the grand jury
were so pervaded with bias that there was a lack of a detached and neutral
atmosphere within the grand jury. There is neither a showing or claim that
anyone besides the prosecuting attorney participated in the proceedings, nor
that witnesses were oppressed in any manner. . . . [T]his claim is not grounds
for dismissal of an indictment. A claim of impartiality or bias of a grand jury
is neither grounds for disqualification of a jury, grounds for a finding it is
illegally constituted, nor grounds for dismissal.
Id. at 680. It is without doubt that prosecutors are vested with wide discretion in matters
of the grand jury. See e.g. State v. Fields, 527 N.E.2d 218, 221 (Ind. Ct. App. 1988). Under
the present facts, there has been no showing that the manner in which the grand jury
proceedings were carried out infringed upon the sensibility of the grand jury such that it was
unable to fulfill its inquisitorial role. See United States v. Cederquist, 641 F.2d 1347 (9th
Cir. 1981) (dismissal of an indictment is required only in flagrant cases in which the grand
jury has been overreached or deceived in some significant way).
The defendants also argue that the State was aware of significant exculpatory evidence
that was not presented to the grand jury. The defendants do not contend that there exists a
duty for prosecutors to reveal exculpatory evidence before a grand jury. Rather, they contend
that, under the facts of this particular case, it was prejudicial for the State not to present
testimony directly contradictory to the testimony of their witnesses before the grand jury.
In U.S. v. Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 112 S.Ct. 1735 (1992), the United States Supreme
Court held that a district court may not dismiss an otherwise valid indictment because the
Government failed to disclose to the grand jury substantial exculpatory evidence in its
possession. 112 S.Ct. 1735, 1741-46. In discussing the wisdom of this rule, the Court stated
that requiring the prosecutor to present exculpatory as well as inculpatory evidence would
alter the grand jury's historical role, transforming it from an accusatory body that sits to
assess whether there is adequate basis for bringing a criminal charge into an adjudicatory
body that sits to determine guilt or innocence. The Court went on to say that it has always
been thought sufficient for the grand jury to hear only the prosecutor's side, and that the
suspect has no right to present and the grand jury has no obligation to consider exculpatory
evidence. 112 S.Ct. at 1744-46. The prosecutor's choice of evidence presented to the grand
jury was a matter within his discretion, and we find no basis for dismissal of the indictment
on these grounds.
Overall, we cannot say that the conduct of the prosecutor influenced the course of
proceedings in a manner adverse to the defendants' substantial right to a detached and neutral
atmosphere. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's denial of the defendants' motion to
dismiss the indictment.
The defendants contend that the trial court erred in denying their motions to dismiss
Counts I and II of the indictment charging bribery. Specifically, the defendants argue that
the indictment fails to allege the essential elements of the offense of bribery; that the
indictment fails to sufficiently apprise them of the offense they are required to defend
against; and that the indictment fails to disclose sufficient facts so as to protect the
defendants from future prosecutions arising from the same facts. We agree.
Turpin was charged in Count I of the indictment as follows:
From June, 1993 through May, 1996, in Marion County, Indiana, Samuel R.
Turpin, being a public servant, that is: an elected member of the House of
Representatives, did accept property, that is: money, from American
Consulting Engineers, Inc., by and through its agents, James A. Wurster and
Willis R. Conner, with the intent that such money would control the
performance of acts related to Samuel R. Turpin's employment or function as
a public servant, that is: with the intent that Samuel R. Turpin would act to
support or promote legislative measures and decisions that would result in
economic gain to American Consulting Engineers, Inc.
(Turpin Record, 40).
Wurster and Conner were charged in Count II of the indictment as follows:
not authorized to accept the property. The defendants contend that the indictment fails to
allege facts sufficient to support elements (3) and (4).
Because the indictment is silent as to the particular act for which Wurster and Conner
allegedly bribed Turpin, the indictment cannot stand. The State concedes that it has no
evidence of Turpin committing a specific prohibited act to benefit ACE. In fact, the essence
of the State's entire case against the defendants is based on the so-called "generalized bribe"
theory. That is, that the payment of money to a public official with the intent to generally
influence said official constitutes a bribe under Indiana law. Indiana's bribery statute
prohibits public servants from accepting property for the forbidden purpose; however, it
specifically exempts property the public servant is authorized by law to accept. Ind. Code
§ 35-44-1-1 (a)(1). Turpin was authorized by statute to accept compensation for part-time
employment. We hasten to add that there is likely some action in every legislative session
that could be characterized as assisting one of our state legislator's part-time employer or
spouse's employer. In our state's system of part-time citizen legislators, we must accept and
anticipate that these public servants will hold employment outside of the legislature. We
must also accept and anticipate that some degree of conflict is inherent in the system.
The defendants rely on a series of cases beginning with McCormick v. U.S., 500 U.S.
257 (1991). In McCormick, the Supreme Court held that an explicit quid pro quo is a
required element to sustain a conviction of extortion under the federal extortion statute. 500
U.S. at 274. McCormick was a West Virginia state legislator who essentially accepted
campaign contributions from foreign doctors in exchange for sponsoring favorable licensure
legislation. The McCormick Court based its decision on a realistic understanding of the
management and financing of political campaigns. In reaching its decision, the McCormick
court quoted the following passage from the Department of Justice Manual:
[C]ampaign contributions will not be authorized as the subject of a Hobbs Act
prosecution unless they can be proven to have been given in return for the
performance of or abstaining from an official act; otherwise any campaign
contribution might constitute a violation.
500 U.S. 273 (emphasis provided).
In U.S. v. Allen, 10 F.3d 405 (7th Cir. 1993), the issue arose whether Indiana would
follow McCormick. Allen was a civilian internal affairs investigator for the Lake County
Sheriff's Department who accepted money and gifts from a gambling operation sting set up
by the F.B.I. He was subsequently charged with a RICO violation. Each time Allen accepted
money, it was done ostensibly in exchange for tickets to political fundraisers or in support
of some political function. Allen maintained that the money and gifts he received were
legitimate campaign contributions, and that he never promised to provide protection to the
gambling operation.
At trial, he proposed a jury instruction that would have informed the jury that
campaign contributions cannot be considered bribes unless they were accepted "in return for
an explicit promise or undertaking to perform or not to perform an official act." 10 F.3d at
410. The district court refused to give the instruction, holding that unlike the Hobbs Act, the
Indiana bribery statute does not require an explicit quid pro quo. Instead, the district court
said, "'in Indiana, it is the soliciting or the receiving of money by an official to influence him
with respect to his official duties that is the gravamen of the offense of bribery.'" 10 F.3d at
410 (quoting U.S. v. Allen, No. HCR 91-93, at 17-18 (N.D.Ind. 1992)). Allen argued that the
district court's distinction was meaningless, because the concerns that led the Supreme Court
to adopt the quid pro quo requirement in McCormick existed with regard to the Indiana
bribery statute as well. Although it did not need to reach the ultimate issue as to whether the
District Court erred by refusing Allen's instruction, the Seventh Circuit lent some approval
to Allen's argument:
This argument is not without force. McCormick recognized several realities
of the American political system. Money fuels the American political
machine. Campaigns are expensive, and candidates must constantly solicit
funds. People vote for candidates and contribute to the candidates' campaigns
because of those candidates' views, performance, and promises. It would be
naive to suppose that contributors do not expect some benefit -- support for
favorable legislation, for example -- for their contributions. To hold that a
politician committed extortion merely by acting for some constituents' benefit
shortly before or after receiving campaign contributions from those
constituents "'would open to prosecution . . . conduct that . . . in a very real
sense is unavoidable so long as election campaigns are financed by private
contributions or expenditures, as they have been from the beginning of the
nation.'"
10 F.3d 410-411 (quoting McCormick, 500 U.S. at 272).
The State argues that the McCormick line of cases is distinguishable primarily because
they are uniquely campaign contribution cases. The State submits that this case involves a
sham employment relationship that amounted to an outright bribe. The State relies on several
non-campaign contribution cases in which the various circuit courts held that a specific quid
pro quo was not an essential element of the state's bribery statute. See United States v.
Jackson, 72 F.3d 1370 (9th Cir. 1995) (California bribery statute does not require explicit
quid pro quo to pass First Amendment muster); United States v. R.J. L'Hoste & Company,
Inc., 609 F.2d 796 (5th Cir. 1980) (Inquiry under Louisiana statute is whether the gift or
money was given, not as a quid pro quo for specific action, but with the intent to influence
the official conduct of the public servant). However, the bribery statutes in California and
Louisiana contemplate merely the intent to influence official conduct; whereas the Indiana
statute contemplates "intent to control the performance of an act related to the employment
. . . of the public servant." Ind. Code § 35-44-1-1(a)(1) (emphasis added).See footnote
3
The constitutions of Indiana and the United States both require that an accused be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. Williams v. State, 677
N.E.2d 1077, 1080 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). The accused in a criminal case has the right to
require that the allegations contained in the charging instrument state the crimes charged with
sufficient certainty to enable him to anticipate the evidence adduced against him at trial,
thereby enabling him to marshal evidence in his defense. Moran v. State, 477 N.E.2d 100,
103 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985). The offense charged must also be described with sufficient
particularity to permit a defense of double jeopardy in the event of a subsequent prosecution.
Taylor v. State, 677 N.E.2d 56, 67 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997), trans. denied. The indictment must
state the crime charged in direct and unmistakable terms. Moran, 477 N.E.2d at 103 (citing
Garcia v. State, 433 N.E.2d 1207, 1209 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982). Any reasonable doubt as to
the offense charged must be resolved in favor of the accused. Garcia, 433 N.E.2d at 1209.
prosecutions under the same or similar facts.
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's denial
of the defendants' motion to dismiss Counts I and II of the indictment.
The State alleges that in December of 1995, Wurster agreed to raise $50,000.00, including $11,250.00 from ACE, to help hire former Democratic House Speaker Michael Phillips as a lobbyist. The money raised by Wurster was to be matched by the IMTA. The lobbying campaign was allegedly aimed at passage of a bill that would have diverted gasoline taxes to highway funding, which would potentially mean millions for ACE. It is further alleged that Wurster concealed this relationship with Phillips in an effort to protect Turpin and his relationship with ACE.
Indiana law imposes a duty upon Indiana lobbyists to file an annual registration
statement and a semi-annual activity report with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.
Ind. Code § 2-7-2-1 essentially imposes a mandatory filing requirement for Indiana lobbyists.
Specifically, Lobbyists are required to file a registration statement under oath and pay a filing
fee of $100 to the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.
Ind. Code § 2-7-2-2 (a) provides in pertinent part that "[e]ach registration statement
shall be filed not later than January 15 or within fifteen (15) days after the registrant becomes
a lobbyist, whichever is later." Ind. Code § 2-7-2-2 (b) imposes a late registration fee of $10
per day for each day after the deadline until the statement is filed, and Ind. Code § 2-7-2 (c)
limits the late registration fee to a maximum penalty of $100.
Ind. Code § 2-7-3-1 imposes a mandatory duty upon Indiana lobbyists to file under
oath a semiannual activity report with the commission. A separate activity report must be
filed for each person from whom the lobbyist receives payment for lobbying.
include an officer or director of a corporation. Had the legislature wished to expose such
individuals to criminal liability, it would have explicitly included them in the definition. We
therefore reverse the trial court's denial of Wurster's motion to dismiss Count III of the
indictment.
Turpin argued in his motion to dismiss Counts VI through X that the statute
proscribing filing a fraudulent report is unconstitutionally vague, and Counts VI through X
are fatally duplicitous. Counts VI through X of the indictment charge Turpin, acting as
treasurer of a candidate's committee, with filing fraudulent Report of Receipts and
Expenditures of a Political Committee with the Indiana Election Commission. (Turpin
Record, 42-44). Ind. Code § 3-14-1-13 provides that "[a] person who knowingly files a
report required by IC 3-9 that is fraudulent commits a Class D felony." Ind. Code § 3-9-3-4
provides in pertinent part that campaign contributions may be used only to defray expenses
reasonably related to the campaign, political activity, or activity related to service in an
elected office. Turpin contends that this language is unconstitutionally vague.
When a statute is challenged on constitutional grounds, we begin with the presumption
of constitutionality and place the burden on the challenging party to show otherwise. Bemis
v. State, 652 N.E.2d 89, 92 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995). Under basic principles of due process, a
statute is void for vagueness if its prohibitions are not clearly defined. Johnson v. State, 648
N.E.2d 666, 670 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995). A statute is not unconstitutionally vague if
individuals of ordinary intelligence would comprehend it to adequately inform them of the
conduct to be proscribed. The statute need only inform the individual of the generally
proscribed conduct; a statute need not list, with itemized exactitude, each item of conduct
proscribed. Guidry v. State, 650 N.E.2d 63, 67 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) (quoting State v.
Downey, 476 N.E.2d 121, 122 (Ind. 1985), reh'g denied). Furthermore, a statute is void for
vagueness only if it is vague as applied to the precise circumstances of the case. Mallory v.
State, 563 N.E.2d 640, 644 (Ind. Ct. App. 1990), trans. denied.
The statute in question is not void for vagueness. Ind. Code § 3-9-3-4 proscribes
expenditures of campaign contributions on expenses that are not reasonably related to the
campaign. Ind. Code § 3-14-1-13 proscribes the knowing fraudulent filing of a report
required under § 3-9. First, we note that the State is charging Turpin with knowingly filing
a fraudulent report, not with spending campaign contributions on personal expenses. An
intentional course of conduct is required in order for Ind. Code § 3-14-1-13 to be violated,
and we cannot say that people of ordinary intelligence would be unable to distinguish
between the proscribed and permissible conduct. We therefore affirm the trial court's denial
of Turpin's motion to dismiss Counts VI through X.
Turpin also contends that Counts VI through X are fatally duplicitous. It is alleged
in Count VI of the indictment that on October 29, 1994, Turpin failed to report a $4,580.00
expenditure to Manual White. It is further alleged in Count VI that Turpin knowingly
reported an expenditure of the Sam Turpin Committee in the sum of $580.00 for a reception,
when in fact, such reception never took place. Count VII of the indictment alleges that on
January 17, 1995, Turpin reported expenditures by the Sam Turpin Committee to Citibank
Visa and the Columbia Club. These expenditures were reported as valid expenditures of a
candidate's committee. However, they were alleged to be in whole or in part personal
expenses. It is alleged in Count VIII that on January 17, 1996, Turpin reported various
expenditures by the Committee to various entities including, but not limited to, Kroger, Atlas
Supermarket, the Toddy Shoppe, Citibank Visa, the Columbia Club, and Brownsburg World
Travel, as valid expenditures of a candidates committee, when in fact such expenditures were
in whole or in part personal expenses. Count IX of the indictment alleges that on April 26,
1996, Turpin reported a committee expense to Citibank Visa, when such expense was in fact
personal. Finally, Count X of the indictment alleges that on January 14, 1997, Turpin failed
to report and disclose contributions to the Turpin Committee from April 12, 1996 through
December 31, 1996 in the amount of $1,000.00. It is further alleged in Counts VI through
X that Turpin knowingly overstated the amount of cash on hand available to the Sam Turpin
Committee at the end of the respective reporting period.
In Cliver v. State, 666 N.E.2d 59, 67 (Ind. 1996), reh'g denied, the supreme court held
that the State may allege multiple acts in one count of an offense. While each of the above
counts of the indictment charge multiple acts that constitute the fraudulent conduct required
to violate Ind. Code § 3-14-1-13, there is no prohibition against such charging technique. As
the supreme court stated in Cliver, [t]he State merely presented the jury with alternative
ways to find the defendant guilty as to one element. Id. at 67. There being no cause for
dismissal of Counts VI through X of the indictment, we affirm the trial court's denial of
Turpin's motion to dismiss.
pursuant to Ind.Trial Rule 50. However, any variance between the pleading and the proof
with regard to the venue statement is not likely to be deemed a material variance.
A variance is an essential difference between the pleading and the proof, and not all
variances are fatal. Mitchem v. State, 685 N.E.2d 671, 677 (Ind. 1997). A variance requires
reversal of a conviction only in cases where the defendant was misled in the preparation of
his defense and the risk of double jeopardy is present. McCullough, 672 N.E.2d at 448. In
McCallister v. State, 217 Ind. 65, 26 N.E.2d 391 (Ind. 1940), the supreme court held that the
variance between the venue statement in the information for buying stolen goods and the
proof was not a material variance. Specifically, the court stated as follows:
It is inconceivable that it would have made any difference to the defense, or
the opportunity to prepare it, whether the property was stolen in Vigo County
or in some other county, and the appellant does not suggest or point out that
he was in any way prejudiced by the variance. Under such circumstances the
variance must be considered immaterial.
26 N.E.2d at 394. Our supreme court has also held that a charging instrument must state the
place of the offense with specific particularity to show that the offense was committed within
the jurisdiction of the court where the charge is to be filed. Benham v. State, 637 N.E.2d
133, 137 (Ind. 1994). The 1869 case of Carlisle v. State, 32 Ind. 55, is also instructive on
this issue. In deciding the materiality of an alleged variance in that case, the court stated as
follows:
The objection to the evidence in this case was not well taken; that the variance
between the allegation in the indictment, as to the place where the offense was
committed, and the proof on the trial, was not material, both places being
within the jurisdiction of the court.
The word bribe signifies anything of value or advantage, present or prospective, or any
promise or undertaking to give any, asked, given, or accepted, with a corrupt intent to
influence, unlawfully, the person to whom it is given, in his or her action, vote, or opinion,
in any public or official capacity.
The Louisiana bribery statute defines bribery as the giving or offering to give, directly or
indirectly, anything of apparent present or prospective value . . . with the intent to influence
his conduct . . . La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 14:118(1).
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