• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Categories
    • Civil
    • Criminal
    • Juvenile
  • Courts
    • Supreme
    • Appeals
    • Tax
    • SCOTUS
    • 7th Circuit
  • Judges

Case Clips

Published by the Indiana Office of Court Services

Outlaw v. State, No. 49S02-1006-CR-328, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., June 24, 2010)

June 29, 2010 Filed Under: Criminal Tagged With: Per Curiam, Supreme

PER CURIAM
In 2001, the legislature established two separate misdemeanor classes for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Operating a vehicle while “intoxicated” is a Class C misdemeanor. See Ind. Code § 9-30-5-2(a) (2004). Operating a vehicle while intoxicated “in a manner that endangers a person” is a more serious Class A misdemeanor. See I. C. § 9-30-5-2(b) (2004).
Here, there was evidence Outlaw was intoxicated, including that he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot, his speech slurred and he failed three field sobriety tests. The State concedes, however, there was no evidence that Outlaw operated his vehicle in an unsafe manner. Outlaw was convicted of the Class A misdemeanor and was sentenced to 365 days.
The Court of Appeals reversed that conviction on grounds that, although the State proved Outlaw was intoxicated, the State failed to present any evidence on the element of endangerment. See Outlaw v. State, 918 N.E.2d 379 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).
The State has petitioned to transfer jurisdiction, arguing that evidence of “intoxication” should be sufficient to prove “endangerment” as was the case before the current version of Indiana Code section 9-30-5-2. See Outlaw, 918 N.E.2d at 381-82. We conclude the Court of Appeals correctly rejected the State’s argument for the reasons explained in its decision.
We grant transfer, adopt and incorporate by reference the opinion of the Court of Appeals pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 58(A)(1). The Class A misdemeanor conviction is reversed.
Shepard, C.J., and Dickson, Sullivan, Boehm, and Rucker, JJ., concur.

Read the full opinion

If the link to the opinion in this case isn’t available above, you can search for it at public.courts.in.gov/decisions

Footer

About

Case Clips is a weekly publication of the Indiana Office of Court Services featuring appellate opinions curated by IOCS staff for Indiana judges.

Subscribe
  • Flickr
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archive

Copyright © 2025 · Indiana Office of Court Services · courts.in.gov/iocs