Criminal Law

From time to time, we received calls asking questions about the defense of duress.  In Indiana, duress is an affirmative defense defined by statute.  An affirmative defense provides a legal justification for one’s actions. A successful defense of duress establishes a lack of criminal culpability for otherwise criminal acts.  The fact that the criminal act occurred is conceded, but the argument is that there was a justifiable reason why the defendant committed the act.  This…

Pursuant to Indiana Code 9-30-5-1 there are three ways a person can be charged with operating while intoxicated. First, operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 but less that .15. Second, operating a vehicle with a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .15 or greater. Third, operating a vehicle with a controlled substance listed in schedule I or II of I.C. 35-48-2 or its metabolite. Marijuana is currently listed as a schedule I…

It is upsetting to think that sometimes people are falsely accused of committing a crime.  Unfortunately, false accusations do happen and sometimes criminal charges are filed against innocent people.  In our experience, the most common type of case in which false accusations are made are sex offense cases.  As a result, these cases routinely go to trial.  The laws and rules of evidence governing what can and cannot be brought up at trial in sex…

As complicated as the Indiana Sex Registry statutes are, we thought it made sense to simplify all the statutes, exceptions, and nuanced factors into simple, easy to understand charts. Below are the two charts simplifying the process. The first chart lists all the Indiana Sex Registry crimes and whether they are 10-year or lifetime registries: D = Defendant AV = Alleged Victim P/G = Parent/Guardian SVO = Serious Violent Offender   The second chart below…

Every single guilty plea around the State of Indiana typically looks relatively the same. While each judge conducts the hearings slightly different and pleas may read differently. There are certain things that must be included in any plea agreement, regardless of the level, and irrespective of the penalty agreed to. More specifically, when someone is pleading guilty, they must demonstrate an understanding of what they are pleading to, the range of penalties they are facing,…

From time to time, we receive calls from people that have recently been arrested and have concerns about the arresting police officer not reading them their rights.  These people are referencing what is commonly referred to as the “Miranda Warning.”  As far as answering whether or not a case should be dismissed because the police failed to give the Miranda Warning—-the answer is…..it depends. Popular television shows have educated the public about the Miranda Warning. …

What is Delta-8 THC? Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (“Delta-8”) is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in marijuana and hemp. Like Delta-9 THC (the federally regulated psychoactive agent in cannabis), Delta-8 gives the user a “high” reported as being similar in effects to Delta-9 THC but with more “clear-headedness” and less anxiety and paranoia. Delta-8 is not present in hemp or marijuana in significant quantities. As a result, it’s generally synthesized or extracted in a lab to produce…

Most of us have heard the phrase “double jeopardy” and the general concept is pretty simple to understand: You cannot be prosecuted or punished for the same offense twice.  This prohibition is found in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution and is actually codified under Indiana Code (“IC”) 35-38-1-6 that a trial court may not enter judgement of conviction and sentence for both an offense…