Thursday, May 23, 2013

Elisea v. State of Indiana case brief

Elisea v. State of Indiana case brief
777 N.E2d 46


CASE SYNOPSIS: Following a bench trial in the Johnson Circuit Court (Indiana), the defendant was convicted of cruelty to an animal and practicing veterinary medicine without a license. The defendant appealed his conviction.

CASE FACTS: 

The defendant cropped the ears of two dogs with scissors and without anesthetic. As a result, the dogs' ears became infected. 

The appellate court also found that the trial court could have inferred that defendant committed cruelty to an animal. Also, the State proved that defendant engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine as that term was defined in Indiana law.

The act of cutting the puppies' ears was a surgery for which defendant accepted money.

ARGUMENTS:

On appeal, defendant argued that the State presented insufficient evidence to sustain his convictions
The defendant argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel.

DISCUSSION:

The appellate court found that defendant failed to show why trial counsel's performance was deficient or how he was prejudiced.
The appellate court was unable to say that the decision not to call certain witnesses was not simply a strategic decision made in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment. The defendant failed to rebut the presumption of competency nor was he able to show that the result was fundamentally unfair. Defendant failed to show either any actual bias or prejudice against him on the part of the trial court. The sentence imposed in this case was not unreasonable.

CONCLUSION: The judgment was affirmed.
 
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