Criminal Law

Introduction: In today’s blog, we delve into a crucial aspect of criminal law that has shaped the landscape of individual rights—the Miranda warnings. Named after the landmark 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, these warnings have become synonymous with protecting individuals’ constitutional rights during interactions with law enforcement. This blog post aims to unravel the significance of Miranda warnings in a criminal case and their role in safeguarding the rights of the accused.  Understanding…

The vast majority of criminal sentences in Indiana result in the Defendant being placed on probation. For example, you will commonly see misdemeanor cases where the sentence is “365 days in jail, all suspended to be served on probation”. What this boils down is one year of probation, with up to a year served in jail if you violate your probation. Probation always comes with a long set of rules and they can vary from…

Indiana law allows evidence to be introduced at trial of prior acts of violence perpetrated by the alleged victim on the defendant. Indiana labels this defense as “effects of battery.” “Effects of battery” is defined as “a psychological condition of an individual who has suffered repeated physical or sexual abuse inflicted by another individual who is the victim of an alleged crime for which the abused individual is charged in a pending prosecution.” IC 35-31.5-2-109….

If you have picked up a new criminal case that is a very scary and daunting event.  You are worried about your freedom, your right to bear arms, if you’re facing a felony having a record that will greatly limit you; overall it is just a very stressful and frightening situation.  One of the more difficult decisions you will have to make is how to resolve your case.  That can be by a plea agreement,…

Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (OVWI) is one of the most frequent crimes charged in Indiana.  While it is never a good idea to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol to the point of intoxication, many people think that motorized scooters or bicycles are a safe, legal way to get home after a day (or night) of drinking.  The question becomes, then, is it possible to get an OVWI on a scooter or bicycle? …

In criminal law, almost everyone realizes that police officers cannot search people or places on a hunch without probable cause or a search warrant. Part and parcel to this common knowledge is the expectation from the average person that in order to search a person or property the police should be required to have a warrant. And, while that is true for many situations, what most people don’t realize is that there is a myriad…

For any defense attorney that practices criminal law around the State of Indiana, there are unique differences to each County, especially when it comes to how quickly they receive discovery. Often, some of the State’s busiest counties experience significant delays in providing discovery. The classic examples are an OVWI case where the State takes more than a year to provide lab results, or a shooting case where the State takes more than a year to…

Almost every client we have had at our firm asks whether there is a “trial tax” if they decide to take their case to trial and lose. Put more simply, they want to know if their punishment will be harsher if they lose after trial. While the obvious answer is, “there shouldn’t be a trial tax and constitutionally there cannot be,” the truth isn’t quite so straight forward. Knowing this can drastically change a defendant’s…