Appeals court: Felon waived speedy trial, judge challenges

A man convicted of multiple felonies lost his appeal when the court determined he had not objected to matters raised in the appeal during his jury trial or sentencing.

The defendant in Joshua A. Bostic v. State of Indiana, 12A02-1202-CR-154, was convicted in Clinton Superior Court of Class C felony charges of attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness; Class D felony arson; Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief; and Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief. He also was determined to be a habitual offender.

On appeal, Bostic argued that the charges against him should have been dropped because the jury trial was scheduled more than a year after he was charged and arrested, and that a special, senior judge should not have been appointed in his case.

The Court of Appeals affirmed Bostic’s conviction and aggregate 20 year sentence with 16 years executed in a unanimous decision written by Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III.

Bostic, who was incarcerated in Tippecanoe County at the time the Clinton County charges were filed, was charged in February 2010, but his trial didn’t begin until January 2012. Criminal Rule 4(C) provides that a charged party must be brought to trial within one year of arrest or charge if the proceedings are delayed through no fault of the defendant.

But Pyle wrote that because Bostic didn’t object when the court rescheduled his trial beyond a year after charges were filed, “We need not calculate the number of days chargeable to each party, because here, at no point during his proceedings, did Bostic file a motion for discharge under Criminal Rule 4(C) or object to the trial court’s setting of any of his trial dates. Accordingly, he has waived his claim that Criminal Rule 4(C) was violated.”

Likewise, Bostic didn’t raise objections at the trial court relating to the process for appointment of Senior Judge Thomas Milligan, so the issue is not preserved for appeal.

The judges remanded the case to correct the sentencing order, abstract of judgment, and chronological case summary to reflect that Bostic’s 12-year habitual offender enhancement is an enhancement to his sentence for felony criminal recklessness, and not a separate conviction.