William McNeal v. State of Indiana
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Bernice A.N. Corley Ruth Ann Johnson Marion County Public Defender Agency Indianapolis, IN Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Attorney General of Indiana George P. Sherman Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana FILED Jun 20 2017, 10:29 am CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court ______________________________________________________________________________ In the Indiana Supreme Court _________________________________ No. 49S05-1706-CR-405 WILLIAM MCNEAL, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee (Plaintiff below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, No. 49G21-1509-F5-31039 The Honorable Shannon Logsdon, Judge Pro Tempore _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A05-1604-CR-838 _________________________________ June 20, 2017 Per Curiam. On August 28, 2015, police encountered a man lying face down on the sidewalk and called for medical assistance. Soon thereafter, William McNeal approached the scene and attempted to rouse the man to leave. Police on the scene noted that McNeal exhibited slurred speech, unsteady gait, and glassy eyes, and asked him to sit down. McNeal refused and then tripped over the man on the sidewalk and fell down. When McNeal tried to get up to leave, he fell down again, so police placed him in handcuffs to keep him seated. Medics arrived and determined that McNeal and the man should be transported to the hospital. During this period, police ran a check on McNeal’s identification and discovered he had an outstanding arrest warrant. During a search before the medical transport, police found baggies of cocaine in McNeal’s pants pocket. McNeal was charged with Level 5 felony possession of cocaine. Before and during trial, McNeal sought to exclude the cocaine evidence, contending it was obtained as a result of an unconstitutional detention. The trial court admitted the evidence and found McNeal guilty. McNeal appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. McNeal v. State, 62 N.E.3d 1275 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), reh’g denied. Among other things, the Court of Appeals concluded McNeal’s detention was supported by reasonable suspicion that he was publicly intoxicated, and thus the cocaine was properly admitted. McNeal seeks transfer. He does not dispute that his encounter with police was justified by reasonable suspicion of public intoxication. Rather, he asks this Court to vacate a portion of the Court of Appeals’ opinion discussing the community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. McNeal’s request is well-taken. We now grant transfer, vacating the Court of Appeals’ discussion of the community caretaking function—specifically, the final sentence of Section 1, the entirety of Section 1.1, the first phrase of Section 1.2, and the second sentence of the paragraph numbered 25. See 62 N.E.3d at 1281-83, 1285; Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A). We summarily affirm the remainder of the Court of Appeals’ opinion, including the rest of Section 1.2 (concluding McNeal’s detention did not violate the Fourth Amendment because police had reasonable suspicion he “had committed, or was about to commit, the crime of public intoxication”), and the rest of Section 2 (finding no Indiana constitutional violation). See 62 N.E.3d at 1283-85; Ind. App. R. 58(A)(2). All Justices concur.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
