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The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which a defendant is challenging the admission of drug-related evidence that he says was illegally obtained.
The case, Theodore J. Canonge, Jr. v. State of Indiana, 24S-CR-15, is the only case in which transfer was granted for the week ending Jan. 12.
In Canonge, defendant Theodore Canonge Jr. is facing four drug-related charges stemming from the discovery of contraband in his vehicle.
Canonge moved to suppress the admission of evidence obtained from the search of the vehicle, arguing the traffic stop was illegally prolonged.
But the Hendricks Superior Court denied the motion to suppress, and a split Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed in September.
“Viewing those collective observations in light of Officer Roach’s professional experience — as we must — it was reasonable for Officer Roach to seize the occupants of the vehicle for a short time longer to conduct the minimally intrusive investigatory dog sniff,” Judge Peter Foley wrote for the COA majority. “Thus, we conclude that the totality of the circumstances — the whole picture — provided reasonable suspicion to prolong the traffic stop to conduct the dog sniff.”
But Judge Melissa May dissented, writing separately, “I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that sufficient reasonable suspicion arose during the traffic stop to justify holding Canonge until a dog sniff could be performed. Therefore, I would reverse the trial court’s denial of Canonge’s motion to suppress.”
Supreme Court oral arguments in Canonge have not yet been scheduled.
The justices also denied transfer to 26 cases last week, splitting in three of those denials.
First, Chief Justice Loretta Rush voted to grant transfer to On the Level Fence & Deck, Inc. v. Indiana Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Indiana, 22A-CT-3073.
There, the Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a motion to set aside default judgment, finding On the Level Fence & Deck reasonably believed that its insurer would know about and handle the underlying complaint.
Rush also voted to grant transfer to Michael Richard Huhn v. Kim L. Huhn, 22A-DR-2761, where the COA upheld the denial of a husband’s motion for relief from judgment concerning an amended qualified domestic relations order.
Finally, Rush and Justice Christopher Goff voted to grant transfer to Brandon Dessan Torrence v. State of Indiana, 23A-CR-546, which the Court of Appeals dismissed in a July order.
The full list of transfer decisions for the week ending Jan. 12 is available online.
In a separate order issued Thursday, the justices vacated the grant of transfer to Zachary A. Woodward v. State of Indiana, 23S-CR-315, reinstating the Court of Appeals’ August decision in that case.
Woodward involved a man appealing his conviction and habitual offender enhancement for felony possession of methamphetamine. The defendant argued that his convictions were improperly elevated and that his sentence was inappropriate, but the Court of Appeals affirmed.
The Supreme Court granted transfer to Woodward in November, then heard oral arguments on Jan. 11.
“After further review, including consideration of the points presented by counsel at oral argument and discussion among the Justices in conference after the oral argument, the Court has determined that it should not assume jurisdiction over this appeal … ,” the order says.
All justices concurred.
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