Taylor v. Indiana

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

The principal issue in this case is whether the Indiana Constitution, Art. 1, § 16 proscribes a thirty-two-year sentence for the theft of fifty dollars worth of merchandise when the conviction is the defendant’s fifth nonviolent felony.

We consolidate the other issues Taylor raises on direct appeal to these four:

2) Whether the Indiana Constitution requires that the jury be informed of the penalty for a habitual offender finding and mandates the jury hear defendant’s testimony that he never did anything violent;

3) Whether the trial court erred when it declined to order…