Court of Appeals of IndianaHearing oral argument at

Munster High School Munster, IN

Thursday, April 4 @ 12:30 p.m.

Laketra Spinksv.

State of Indiana18A-CR-1532

On appeal from the Marion Superior Court

SYNOPSIS

On July 1, 2017, Laketra Spinks, her boyfriend, and their baby went to a hair salon in Indianapolis. Spinks was unhappy with the quality of the braids she was receiving and argued with the stylist and the salon owner. When the salon owner asked her to leave, Spinks pulled a gun from her baby bag and fired the gun into the ceiling. The State charged Spinks with criminal recklessness, a Level 5 felony, and carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor.

At the start of the jury trial, Spinks moved for a separation of witnesses, which the trial court granted. After voir dire and the jury was sworn in, the State reported to the trial court that three of the witnesses may have violated the separation of witnesses order. The trial court questioned the three witness outside the presence of the jury and found that the separation of witnesses order had been violated. Spinks requested that the three witnesses be excluded from testifying at the trial or, alternatively, that a mistrial be granted. The trial court denied the motion to exclude the witnesses and the motion for a mistrial but allowed Spinks leeway to question the witnesses regarding the violation on cross-examination. After the three witnesses testified, Spinks again requested a mistrial, which the trial court denied. The jury found Spinks guilty as charged. On appeal, Spinks argues that: (1) the trial court should have excluded the three witnesses from testifying due to the violation of the separation of witnesses order; and (2) the trial court should have granted Spinks’ motions for mistrial.

May continued from p. 3Education Commission, where she chaired the Specialization Committee. She is currently on an Advisory Panel to the Specialization Committee. In 2005, she was named to the Indiana Pro Bono Commission and in July 2008, she was named as Chair of that Commission. While chair, she worked with the fourteen pro bono districts to train lawyers and mediators on how to assist homeowners facing foreclosure. In addition, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum from 1994-1999 and has been a co-chair of ICLEF’s Indiana Trial Advocacy College from 2001 to present. Judge May also serves on the Civil Instruction Committee, an Indiana Judicial Conference Committee, which has been working to translate all of the civil jury instructions into “plain English.” She frequently speaks on legal topics to attorneys, other judges, schools, and other professional and community organizations. In 2003, Judge May was named to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Attorney Specialization. She is now special counsel to that committee. In the spring of 2004, Judge May became adjunct faculty at Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she teaches a trial advocacy course. Also in the spring of 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Southern Indiana. In 2015, Judge May became a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Judge May was retained on the Court of Appeals in 2010, and lives in Marion County.

Crone continued from p. 3daughters - a practicing attorney, an anesthesiologist, and a doctor of psychology.

Tavitas continued from p. 3board member of Indiana Legal Services, Inc. She was elected as a board member of the Notre Dame Law School Association in 2010. She served as a judicial appointee member of the Indiana Supreme Court Domestic Relations Committee from 2012 through 2018 and now serves on the Civil Instructions Committee. Judge Tavitas is an active member of several national, state, and local bar associations. She has served as a moot court judge for the Notre Dame Law School Trial Advocacy Program, and as a judge for the "We the People" Program sponsored by the Indiana Bar Foundation. She also sponsors Guardian At Litem (GAL) training in order to ensure representation for children in domestic relations cases. She was named Most Influential Woman of Northwest Indiana in the Law in 2015. She is a frequent speaker for lawyers, judges, and court staff trainings throughout Indiana. Her favorite activities include spending time with her three children and her granddaughter. She enjoys reading, Notre Dame football games, traveling, hiking, and the arts.

Today’s Panel of Judges

Melissa S. May, was appointed to the Indiana Court of Appeals by Governor Frank O’Bannon in April of 1998. She was born in Elkhart, Indiana. She received a B.S. in criminal justice from Indiana University-South Bend and, in 1984, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. She is also a graduate of the Graduate Program for Indiana Judges. Prior to her appointment to the Court, Judge May practiced law for fourteen years in Evansville, Indiana, where she focused on insurance defense and personal injury litigation. Judge May has been active in local, state, and national bar associations and bar foundations. She served the Indiana Bar Association on the Board of Managers from 1992-1994, as Chair of the Litigation Section from 1998-1999, as Counsel to the President from 2000-2001, as Chair of the Appellate Practice Section from 2008-2009, and as Secretary to the Board of Governors in 2008-2009. She is also a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Evansville Bar Association. She is a fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation and is currently serving on their Board of Directors. Judge May is a fellow for the American Bar Association, and a Master Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Association. From 1999 until December 2004, Judge May was a member of Indiana’s Continuing Legal continued on p. 4

Terry A. Crone, was appointed to The Court of Appeals in 2004 by Governor Kernan.

Raised in South Bend, Judge Crone was elected to 3 terms as Judge of The St. Joseph Circuit Court. He is a graduate of DePauw University and Notre Dame Law School.

Judge Crone is past President of St. Joseph County Bar Association, a former member of The Board of Managers of the Indiana Judges Association, The Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of The Indiana Judicial Conference, past chair of Appellate Practice Section of The Indiana State Bar Association and is a member of the St. Joseph County, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana State and American Bar Associations, the American Judicature Society, and the Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Society.

Judge Crone is a frequent speaker at legal education programs. He helped found a program in South Bend to familiarize minority high school students with the law and related fields and was a founding member of the South Bend Commission on the Status of African-American Males and the St. Joseph County Coalition Against Drugs. As Circuit Court judge, he also initiated the first Spanish-speaking program for public defenders in St. Joseph County.

Judge Crone was retained on the Court by election in 2006 and 2016. He is married and has three continued on p. 4

Elizabeth F. Tavitas, was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Eric Holcomb and began her service on Aug. 6, 2018. Judge Tavitas received her B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1985, and earned her J.D. degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1990. She was admitted to the Indiana Bar; United States District Court, Northern District of Indiana; and United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana in 1990. She is a 2007 Indiana Judicial College graduate and a graduate of the 2012 Indiana Graduate Program for Judges. Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Tavitas served for more than 12 years as Judge of the Superior Court of Lake County, Civil Division. Judge Tavitas served as a deputy prosecutor in the Lake County Prosecutor's Office; served as a juvenile public defender in the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division; and maintained a private practice. In 1998, she was appointed to the position of referee in the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division, where she served until 2006. During that time, Judge Tavitas served on the Juvenile Benchbook Committee. She served as Chair of the NWI Volunteer Lawyers, Inc. from 2007 through 2012, and currently continues to serve as a board member. She previously served as a judicial appointee member of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission from 2007 through 2012. She is a former continued on p. 4

Attorneys For The PartiesAppellant AttorneyFrederick Vaiana is an attorney at VOYLES VAIANA LUKEMEYER BALDWIN & WEBB, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s practiced criminal defense in the same office for over 25 years. He is a 1980 graduate of Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana; a 1984 graduate of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana; and, a 1992 graduate of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated law school with honors, and while there was a member of the Chicago Bar Association moot court team. He is admitted to the Indiana bar; the Northern and Southern District federal courts in Indiana; the federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois; and, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.He’s been recognized as an Indiana Super Lawyer for the years 2007-2013, and 2018-2019; a Top 100 trial attorney by The National Trial Lawyers; and, the recipient of a lifetime achievement award by America’s Top 100 Attorneys. He’s appeared both on radio and television, offering legal insight to specific cases and is a contributing author to the book Inside the Minds: Strategies for Defending Sex Crimes, by Thompson Reuters Publishing. He’s held memberships in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the National College for DUI Defense; and, the Criminal Justice Section of the Indianapolis Bar Association.On a personal note, Mr. Vaiana is a married father of 3 and resides in Westfield, Indiana. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, he’s been wheelchair-bound since 2013. Despite that setback, he maintains an active, full-time, statewide criminal defense law practice. His philosophy is “just because something is hard that doesn’t mean it can’t be done” and “just remember that someone always has it worse.” He is grateful to his wife, Amy, his children, and his law partners for their support of him.

Appellee AttorneySamuel J. Dayton joined the Indiana Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section as a Deputy Attorney General in January 2019 after serving in that role for the Professional Licensing Enforcement and Homeowner Protection Unit since 2014. He graduated from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2014, and in 2011, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University with majors in English, mathematics, and economics. While in law school, he served as the Executive Managing Editor of the Indiana Health Law Review, as an associate justice for the Robert H. Staton Moot Court Competition, and as a tutor for legal writing and civil procedure. Also during law school, he participated in his school’s appellate clinic and served as an intern for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, Judge Patrick L. McCarty in the Marion Superior Court, and Judge Tanya Walton Pratt in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

About the Court of AppealsAs the second-highest court in Indiana, the Court of Appeals hears appeals from the state’s trial courts and some state agencies. The Court does not preside over trials and must accept all appeals sent to it, with the exception of:

• Cases in which the death penalty or life-without-parole is rendered (appealed directly to the IndianaSupreme Court);

• Cases in which statutes are declared unconstitutional by a trial court (automatically appealed to theSupreme Court);

• Attorney disciplinary cases (which also go to the Supreme Court); and,• Cases involving taxation (which go to the Indiana Tax Court).

As a result, the 15 members of the Court issue approximately 2,000 written opinions each year. A decision of the Court of Appeals of Indiana is final unless granted further review by the Indiana Supreme Court.

The Court hears cases only in three-judge panels. All panels have statewide jurisdiction and rotate three times per year. Cases are randomly assigned. In addition, there is no deadline for the Court to reach a decision in each case; however, the Court strives to issue decisions within four months of receiving an appeal. Opinions are often issued earlier.

What happens after oral argument? After oral argument, the judges confer to decide the outcome. A designated writing judge drafts an opinion for the others’ review. Final language may involve several drafts and significant collaboration. Generally, opinions affirm or reverse lower court rulings in whole. But some affirm in part, some reverse in part, and some do both. Not infrequently, the opinion instructs the trial court about the next appropriate course of action. Many opinions are unanimous, although non-unanimous decisions (2-1) are not uncommon. Dissenting judges usually express their views in a separate opinion that becomes part of the permanent record of the case. Judges might also write separate, concurring opinions that emphasize different points of law or facts than the main opinion. No rules or laws govern how fast the court must issue an opinion. But the court strives to decide cases within four months of receiving all briefs, transcripts and other records. Once issued, all opinions are published on www.courts.in.gov and maintained in the permanent records of the Clerk of Appellate Courts. Parties can appeal decisions of the Court of Appeals to the Indiana Supreme Court by filing a petition to transfer within a prescribed number of days. But transfer is not automatic; the Supreme Court can grant or deny transfer with or without giving a reason. If the petition is denied, the Appeals Court decision stands.

The Honorable Melissa S. May

Vanderburgh County

The Honorable Terry A. Crone

St. Joseph County

The Honorable Elizabeth F. Tavitas

Lake County