Criminal Law

A Quick Look at Indiana’s Statutes on Intimidation, Harassment, and Stalking Before you post that nasty comment about someone on Facebook, or before cyber stalk…you might want to think about whether that communication or internet spying might cross the line. In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys of Banks & Brower will focus on two of the most common communication-based criminal charges: intimidation and harassment,both of which seem to be filed more and more often, especially with the advent…

What is a Federal Detention Hearing In state court many times a defendant will have a bond review hearing and the state court will decide what bond a person must post prior to being released.  It can be a cash or surety bond or a combination of both.  (see our previous blog on bonds).  In federal court, after a complaint has been filed, the US Attorney’s office may seek to have you detained until such…

Sentence Modifications after the 2014 Indiana Criminal Code Overhaul  – In this blog the Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys at Banks & Brower look at sentence modifications. A sentence modification is a mechanism by which a person convicted of a crime can seek to have the length or placement of the sentence changed after some portion of his or her sentence has been completed.  For example, a person may seek to have a few years trimmed…

To Spank? Or, Not to Spank? That is the Question As society becomes more and more politically correct and sensitive, the more and more often we are seeing cases filed against parents for spanking their children for Battery on a Minor as a class-D or Level 6 Felony. Why you might ask? While most people realize that each parent has the right to discipline their own child, be it physically through spanking, etc. or some…

Purposeful Incarceration an Alternative to Traditional Incarceration   The whole idea behind prison, accurately called the Department of Corrections, is to get offenders to a point where they will not re-offend.  It has been a challenge for prisons all over the nation.  Too many times an offender enters the prison only to be released and then return some months later. In 2009, Indiana started a new program called Purposeful Incarceration.  The idea was designed to…

A Look at Indiana’s Aggravating & Mitigating Factors When It Comes to Sentencing   Many people know that a judge generally has considerable leeway in imposing a sentence after a person is convicted of a crime.  For example, a sentence for a Level 5 felony can range from 1 to 6 years.  So how do judges come to a sentencing decision in any given case?  Indiana law contains certain aggravating and mitigating circumstances that a…

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…