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FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: CHRISTOPHER C. CRAWFORD Garcia & Crawford, LLC Elkhart, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
IN RE THE PATERNITY OF: TERRY DAVIS, Appellant-Respondent, vs. THERESA MARIE AUDREY TRENSEY, Appellee-Petitioner. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 71A04-0610-JV-606

APPEAL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH PROBATE COURT The Honorable Peter J. Nemeth, Judge and The Honorable Harold E. Brueseke, Magistrate Cause No. 71J01-0601-JP-175

March 8, 2007

OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION

FRIEDLANDER, Judge

Terry Davis appeals the denial of his motion to correct error, in which he asked the trial court to reverse its ruling that he is the biological father of J.T., a minor child. He presents the following restated issues for review: 1. 2. Did the trial court err in denying Davis's motion for continuance? Did the trial court err in denying Davis's motion to correct error?

We affirm. Sometime in late 2004 or early 2005, Theresa Trensey informed Davis that she was pregnant and that he was probably the father. The record is not entirely clear on the subject, but it would appear that at the time, Davis was married to another woman and Trensey was either engaged to or dating a man named Jermal W. The child was born on July 21, 2005. Notwithstanding Trensey's earlier representation to Davis that he was probably the father, Trensey decided the child's last name would be that of Jermal W., who executed a paternity affidavit. When later asked about the inconsistency, Trensey explained she was unsure at the time whether Davis or Jermal W. was the father. For reasons not apparent from the record, but probably related to child support, on January 30, 2006, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office (the Prosecutor's Office) filed a petition to establish paternity in Davis. Davis appeared at an April 19, 2006 hearing at which the trial court ordered Trensey, Davis, and J.T. to submit to genetic

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testing. 1

The test results indicated a 99.9943 percent chance that Davis is J.T.'s

biological father. The court conducted a paternity hearing on June 21, 2006. At the outset of that hearing, Davis claimed he had learned the results of the genetic tests only two weeks before. According to Davis, "I just found out recently of the whole situation. I'd ask to consult with an attorney. I don't have one and I would like to reschedule this. It can be any time next week." Transcript at 11. The court denied Davis's request, explaining, You've had two months, at least, to make contact with an attorney. That's why I have not allowed a continuance of this case. You could have talked to an attorney and gotten legal advice. You've chosen, evidently, not to. Maybe you were expecting the best out of the genetic test and then suddenly they come back and show something you didn't expect to show. Id. at 16. Davis responded, "Once I seen [sic] the genetic test, Your Honor, that's when

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