• 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

Burke v. State, No. 49A02-1006-CR-660, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 21, 2011)

February 25, 2011 Filed Under: Criminal Tagged With: Appeals, N. Vaidik

VAIDIK, J.
Joshua Burke appeals his conviction for Class B felony burglary. Burke contends that Indiana Code section 35-43-2-1(1)(B)(ii), which enhances burglary from a Class C felony to a Class B felony if the building or structure burgled is a structure used for religious worship, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 4 of the Indiana Constitution. We conclude that Section 35-43-2-1(1)(B)(ii) does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it has a secular legislative purpose, its primary effect neither advances nor inhibits religion, and it does not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion. We also conclude that Section 35-43-2-1(1)(B)(ii) does not violate Article 1, Section 4 of the Indiana Constitution because it does not materially burden Section 4’s core constitutional value. We therefore affirm the trial court.
BAKER, J., and BARNES, J., 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