2014

A Quick Look at CHINS Cases: One of the scariest and most overwhelming things a parent can experience is when the State of Indiana decides to file a CHINS (Child In Need of Services) petition against them. The reason it can be so overwhelming is once the Court interjects themselves into the nuclear family through a CHINS petition, they effectively take complete control over all parenting decisions and all children in the family. When it happens, parents can…

Anytime a person in public office, whether it be an elected official or a police officer, commits a crime, it is likely to make news.  What you may not know, is that not only will this public official have the added pressure of media attention, but they may also have a felony charge created just for people in these positions of trust.  Indiana has a crime called official misconduct. In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal…

Specialized Driving Privileges:  Indiana’s New Hardship License -. Have you been patiently (or impatiently!!!) sitting by the sidelines unable to drive for what seems like forever? Or, have you been driving when you aren’t supposed to, constantly checking your rear-view mirror for police officers? Well it appears there may be good news on the horizon. In fact, you may finally be able to get your license back — not only if you thought you would never…

Parole is similar to probation in many ways, but there are important distinctions that are important for persons facing time in the Indiana Department of Correction to understand.  In many cases parole will follow completion of one’s executed sentence.  An executed sentence may be any number of years served in prison, but the number of years one actually serves may be reduced due to various types of credit time and time cuts that are available. …

A Quick Look at Indiana’s Statutes on Intimidation, Harassment, and Stalking Before you post that nasty comment about someone on Facebook, or before cyber stalk…you might want to think about whether that communication or internet spying might cross the line. In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys of Banks & Brower will focus on two of the most common communication-based criminal charges: intimidation and harassment,both of which seem to be filed more and more often, especially with the advent…

Can I modify my child support order? If you’re a party to a child support order, you may wonder if that order can ever be modified.  The answer is yes—Indiana allows, under certain circumstances, for modification of a child support order.  If you are going through a divorce, a custody proceeding, or attempting to establish paternity it may be important to remember this.  You can see how child support is calculated in one of our…

What is a Federal Detention Hearing In state court many times a defendant will have a bond review hearing and the state court will decide what bond a person must post prior to being released.  It can be a cash or surety bond or a combination of both.  (see our previous blog on bonds).  In federal court, after a complaint has been filed, the US Attorney’s office may seek to have you detained until such…

Sentence Modifications after the 2014 Indiana Criminal Code Overhaul  – In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys at Banks & Brower look at sentence modifications. A sentence modification is a mechanism by which a person convicted of a crime can seek to have the length or placement of the sentence changed after some portion of his or her sentence has been completed.  For example, a person may seek to have a few years trimmed…