June 2017

After a defendant is found guilty, the court will hold a sentencing hearing to determine the appropriate punishment. Beyond mandatory minimums, judges may consider a pre-sentence investigation (PSI) report, especially in felony cases. Indiana courts generally require a PSI when a felony conviction could result in Department of Corrections time, an open sentencing term, or a Level 5 felony or higher. An experienced Indianapolis criminal defense attorney can help defendants understand how a PSI may…

One of the most common charges we see as criminal defense attorneys is the crime of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.  This many times comes with the charges of Operating a vehicle with a BAC of .08 to .14 or Operating a vehicle with a BAC of .15 or more.  But, where do those BAC results come from?  In Indiana the primary source is a breath test machine.  In today’s blog we take a closer…

A paternity affidavit is a legal document that, “permits a man and a woman to declare, under penalty of perjury, that the man is the biological father of a child”.  Paternity affidavits are not required to prove paternity when a child is born during a marriage or within 300 days of a divorce.  In those situations, the husband of the biological mother is presumed to be the biological father of the child. For situations where…

May 9, 2017 the Indiana Supreme Court made a ruling in the case of Thomas Pinner v. State of Indiana under case number 49S02-1611-CR-610, holding that the sole fact a person has a gun is not a sufficient reason for the person to be stopped and searched. In February 2015, a taxi driver called the police after a man and a woman got out of his cab because when they exited, the man dropped a…