Criminal Law

Understanding How Extradition Works in Indiana Extradition is a word that is often tossed around by the general public, but all too often, many don’t truly understand what it means, how it works, and how it’s enforced in the criminal defense world. In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys at Banks & Brower will address how extradition works and how it plays out in a typical criminal case. Extradition, in its most simplistic form,…

With all the media attention from the NFL focusing on the issue of domestic violence, this blog takes a timely look at the domestic violence criminal laws in Indiana.  For those suffering from domestic abuse for numerous resources to assist victims of domestic violence. In Indiana domestic related abuse is a separate charge.  To qualify as a domestic violence the two individuals involved must be related as either spouse, former spouse, living or having lived…

UNDERSTANDING INDIANA’S CRIMINAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES Below is a chart showing the classes of felony crimes in Indiana and the associated sentencing ranges.  Also included is the advisory sentence for each category of felony. SENTENCING RANGES CHART Felony Level Sentence Range (min. – adv. – max.) Murder 45 – 55 – 65 Level 1 20 – 30 – 40 Level 2 10 – 17.5 – 30 Level 3 3 – 9 – 16 Level 4 2…

Understanding How a Juvenile Get’s Waived to Adult Court in Indiana:   –  Most people assume, and rightfully so, that so long as you or a loved one isn’t an adult at the time a criminal offense is committed, you can’t be tried as an adult. While in principal that sounds right, and in practice that is mostly right, you might be surprised to hear that isn’t always the case. Most often it depends on the level…

Trespass, residential entry and burglary all involve someone invading the property of someone else.  However, the elements to prove each crime and the penalties involved are significantly different.  This week’s blog will take a look at each in order from least serious to most serious. First we start out with the crime of trespass.  Everyone has seen the signs posted that say “no trespassing” or trespassers will be prosecuted, but how exactly does this crime…

As many of you are aware, our General Assembly this year passed a comprehensive overhaul of our criminal code.  Some of the changes have been highlighted in previous blogs, and this week’s post takes a look at the habitual offender enhancement in its current form. What is a habitual offender? Habitual offender enhancements are used to increase the penalty for a given crime based on an individual’s criminal history.  The habitual offender enhancement must be…

One of the most common arrests made in Indiana and throughout the country is for driving under the influence.  It can be committed by any driver of any type of vehicle who has had too much to drink or taken medications that have caused them to be impaired.  As it is such a common criminal charge, there are frequent questions and misconceptions when it comes to DUI cases.  This weeks blog takes a look at…

I’ve Been Charged with Theft – Now What? Recently we highlighted for you the significant changes that have taken place with respect to felony offenses in Indiana.  One change in particular merits special attention as much for its significance to many criminal defendants (and practitioners) as for its effect of making the punishment more proportional to the crime. Prior to the change in the law effective July 1, 2014, the theft statute read as follows:…