2013

Federal Court, Federal Crimes & Federal Sentencing – A great lawyer once said, “If the criminal justice system was compared to baseball, being charged at the state level would be tee-ball league. Being charged at the federal level would be the majors.”  Whether it’s the complex rules of procedure, the nuanced statutory offenses, the detailed levels of crimes, and/or the harsh range of penalties as comparable to similar state crimes, the federal system was designed…

We have all heard the warnings on TV or in the movies.  You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney…  The infamous Miranda Rights.  Why are they called Miranda rights?  Because  the United States Supreme Court decided a case entitled Miranda vs. the State of Arizona.  In that case, the court outlined rights a suspect has in a criminal investigation.  Those rights have become staples in American criminal jurisprudence,…

The Debate over “Masking” Serious CDL Convictions As every single CDL driver knows, without a license to drive, you can’t make money. That’s obvious, right? What every CDL driver doesn’t realize, however, is that many states issue infractions that could easily lead to you losing your license. In fact, as we have discussed in a previous blog, if you get two serious infractions in three years, you lose your license for 60 days — if…

Banks & Brower, LLC Announces its First Annual College Scholarship   Banks & Brower, LLC takes being productive and active members of the community very seriously.  In support of that effort, we are announcing our 1st annual college scholarship.  We will award a $1000.00 scholarship to one student to help with the student’s post-secondary school expenses. The scholarship is open to all high school seniors regardless of income or GPA.  You must meet ALL of…

We have all heard about the big dollar cases like the old lady who spilled coffee on herself and then sued McDonald’s only to be awarded millions.  When we hear about cases like that we wonder, why on Earth would McDonald’s owe someone money for having spilled coffee on themselves? We will use this blog to explain how a personal injury case works and while doing so explain how a jury reached a verdict in the McDonald’s case. Duty The explanation of…

Been There, Done That, Right? If we are all honest with one another, many of us have committed crimes that involved the use of alcohol when we weren’t of age to drink yet (whether we were caught or not!). That could be while we were in college or hanging out with our underage buddies at a party. In fact, many of us may have even drank when we were under eighteen (18) years old and…

This week’s blog takes a look at the path and life of a criminal charge.  How it starts, where it travels, and how it ends up.  For illustrative purposes, we will also contrast Marion County and Hamilton County. The team of experienced Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys frequently practice in Marion and Hamilton counties, thus we have chosen these two for comparison. The Arrest The arrest can vary in its form depending on the county you…

Batteries Aren’t Just Found in Your Junk Drawer The Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorney’s at Banks & Brower have handled numerous cases involving the charge of battery. Many of us have been in a physical altercation of some type, if we admit it. Whether as a child, on the playground in middle school, with our sibling, our best friend, and, maybe, as an adult after a couple of drinks. Most people perceive a battery as a…