A Quick Look at Stepparent Adoption Adoption is an instrumental process in the lives of many Indiana children and can give them the consistency needed for a well-balanced life. An adoption requires a petition filed to the court containing information regarding the child sought to be adopted along with information of the petitioner seeking to adopt. So what happens when the petitioner is married to a biological parent of the child? With divorce at its…
A quick look at consecutive versus concurrent sentencing Whenever somebody is convicted of multiple offenses – whether they arise out of the same incident or different cases – the determination needs to be made on whether the sentences will run concurrently or consecutive to one another. If they run concurrent, the sentences will overlap and be served at the same time. Consecutive sentences, on the other hand, require one to finish before the other begins….
License Reinstatement Fees and Other Common License Suspension Issues Do you have a laundry list of suspensions and unpaid tickets that you have neglected to take care of over the past 5, 10 or even 20 years due to more pressing issues going on in your life? Are you now ready to take care of your license and get it back to valid but don’t know where to start? Hiring an attorney who is experienced…
A Quick Look at Bond Revocation Hearings Most people have heard of bond or bail — in fact, most people can name the different types of bond such as cash, surety, personal recognizance, etc. While a bond is an amazing thing–it is a mechanism to keep you out of custody while your case is pending–it can be a fragile thing. It is a tool that the courts and prosecutors use as leverage if and when they decide to…
Refusing a Chemical Test During a DUI Investigation: The Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling: A look at the Supreme Court’s most recent ruling on what counts as “refusing” a chemical test. If you ever find yourself in a position where a police officer suspects that you are intoxicated and is asking if you will submit to a chemical test, your actions are just as important, if not more, than your words when it comes to determining…
Are you or someone you know undergoing a potential grand jury proceeding or facing an indictment? Need help understanding what it all means? This blog will go through the different terms and procedures that most often occur in the indictment and grand jury process. Grand juries are very laid back as compared to typical pre-trial court settings. Most times there is not a judge or defense attorney present and it is just the prosecutor and…
Without question, one of the most important things to anyone that works or lives a normal life is the ability to drive, to drive often, and to drive all over. And, this is made even more evident when someone has their license taken away — for any period of time. The inconvenience of nothing having a license is unparalleled. Many have characterized it as a jail-like sentence — relegating people to their homes, unable to…
Criminal Legal Process Common Terms In today’s blog we look at some of the commonly used terms and parties that are part of the process of a criminals case. Look at is as a practical definition of each item. Many times the parties involved in the criminal process forget that someone that is arrested is experiencing the process for the first time, we will try to simplify and make the system a bit more understandable….
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Brad Banks who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a criminal defense attorney.