Indiana Supreme Court, 1993

State v. Windy City Fireworks, Inc.

Indiana Supreme Court · Decided February 3, 1993 · No. 25S03-9302-CR-200 · Debruler, Dickson, Givan, Krahulik, Shepard, Trial, Would

608 N.E.2d 699; 1993 Ind. LEXIS 16; 1993 WL 20224 (North Eastern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

15 later published cases cite this decision.

BEST DISTURBUTING CO. v. Seyfert Foods, Inc. (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Nass v. State Ex Rel. Unity Team, Local 9212, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Ad Craft, Inc. v. Board of Zoning Appeals (Ind. Ct. App. 1998)
Faver v. Bayh (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
Worldcom Network Services, Inc. v. Thompson (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
State v. Dugan (Ind. 2003)
Livingston v. Fast Cash USA, Inc. (Ind. 2001)
City of Muncie v. Lowe (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Johnson v. State (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Rupert v. State (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Arnold v. City of Terre Haute (Ind. Ct. App. 1999)
Indiana Department of Natural Resources v. Town of Syracuse (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
Chavis v. Patton (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
Lim v. White (Ind. Ct. App. 1996)
State v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (Ind. Ct. App. 1996)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Seven years ago, in a unanimous decision, this Court held that retail fireworks dealers could not avoid prosecution for selling illegal fireworks, simply by asking purchasers to sign a statement to the effect that they were nonresidents who were going to immediately ship the illegal fireworks out of state. Hill v. State (1986), Ind., 488 N.E.2d 709.

The General Assembly has since enacted modest amendments to the fireworks statute, Ind.Code Ann. § 22-11-14-1 to -10 (West 1991) without abandoning, in our judgment, its manifest desire to reduce the number of children and adults burned or injured by fireworks. The Court of Appeals reached the same conclusion, that the legislature has not opened any new loophole by its recent amendments. It held that "a retail sale of items not approved for retail sale in Indiana cannot be legitimized by the execution of a statement of intent to ship the prohibited items out of state." State v. Windy City Fireworks, Inc. (1992), Ind.App., 600 N.E.2d 555, 559. Windy City seeks transfer.

We grant Windy City's petition and adopt the opinion of the Court of Appeals. Ind. Appellate Rule 11(B)(8). Retail sale of illegal fireworks to the general public is not rendered legal by the routine use of written assurances.

SHEPARD, C.J., and DeBRULER, GIVAN and DICKSON, JJ., concur. KRAHULIK, J., dissents without opinion and would affirm the trial court.

Case-law data current through September 30, 2026. Source: CourtListener bulk data.