The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution appears to require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before searching your person or property. Of course, countless exceptions have been carved out of that requirement, and they can vary based on the specifics of a certain situation. If police searched your person or property without a warrant, you will want to contact an attorney at Banks and Brower to review your case and see if there’s…
When the founders of our country wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, photos did not exist, audio and video recordings did not exist, GPS did not exist, and everything written was on a physical piece of paper. As technology has developed over the past 250 years, Courts have sometimes struggled to take the 4th Amendment language, written in the late 18th century, and apply it to modern society. One more recent application is…
Should I Hire an Expert Witness for my Criminal Case? The most common form of evidence in criminal trials is lay witness testimony. Typically, the state will call witnesses to the stand that personally observed an alleged crime. Prosecutors will ask the witness what the witness observed, heard, or perceived. The factfinder (judge or jury) will then place whatever weight they deem appropriate on the witness testimony in conjunction with the other evidence presented at…
Many people have heard of depositions, but it is surprising the number of times witnesses are unfamiliar with what they are, the purpose behind them, and what is expected of them when subpoenaed for one. This blog will attempt to address the purpose of depositions in criminal cases. So, what is a deposition in a criminal case? In most counties in Indiana, in order to get a witness’ testimony, under oath, prior to trial, and…
Indiana Code 35-38-1-17, titled, “Reduction or Suspension of Sentence”, can be used to ask a Court to modify your sentence. This statute divides offenders into violent and non-violent criminals. For offenders who are considered non-violent criminals, you may petition the court at any time after you begin serving your sentence. If you are incarcerated in the Department of Corrections, the Court will also need a report regarding your conduct while imprisoned. The Court will most…
In the world we all live in, we live and die by the internet — no doubt. When we need to buy things, where do we turn? Inevitably, the internet. Be it Amazon, Walmart, or Google, we are turning to things we see online for answers. The days of shopping in person are slowing dying like tape cassettes, CD’s, and telephones with chords. Part and parcel to this consumer process, often we are looking for…
When someone dies and it’s at the hands of another person, unless the killing was justified, the person committing the killing will normally be charged with a crime. Frequently in the news we hear someone being charged with first degree murder or murder in the third degree. In short to answer the question posed in this blog, no, Indiana does not have “degrees” of murder, but it does have a few different crimes someone can…
Can Community Corrections Take Away Credit Time on Violations? Recently in Richard Shepard v. State of Indiana, under case number 84S01-1704-CR-00190, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the director a Community Corrections program lacked the authority to deprive a defendant’s good time credit. In 2013, Shepard pleaded guilty to dealing in cocaine as a class B felony and, in exchange, received an 11-year sentence in the DOC with 900 days total credit, including 450 days…
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.