Refusing a Chemical Test During a DUI Investigation: The Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling: A look at the Supreme Court’s most recent ruling on what counts as “refusing” a chemical test. If you ever find yourself in a position where a police officer suspects that you are intoxicated and is asking if you will submit to a chemical test, your actions are just as important, if not more, than your words when it comes to determining…
Are you or someone you know undergoing a potential grand jury proceeding or facing an indictment? Need help understanding what it all means? This blog will go through the different terms and procedures that most often occur in the indictment and grand jury process. Grand juries are very laid back as compared to typical pre-trial court settings. Most times there is not a judge or defense attorney present and it is just the prosecutor and…
Statute of Limitations on Criminal Offenses in Indiana Worried that you’ve done something that may result in criminal charges being filed against you? For most crimes, there is a limit on how much time can pass between when the crime was committed and when charges are filed. If the State of Indiana waits too long to file charges then they are barred from prosecution and the person cannot then be held criminally liable for the…
What Happens At a Sentencing Hearing in Indiana? There are many situations where someone can be facing a sentencing hearing. Sentencing hearings typically happen after a trial or plea when a person has already been determined guilty, or after a violation of probation has been determined and the next step is to argue the potential sentence a person must serve. A sentencing hearing is one of the most important stages of any criminal proceeding as…
A Look at the Charge of Reckless Homicide in Indiana When watching the news, it’s impossible to make it through an entire hour of local or national stories without hearing the word “homicide” at least once. Heck, in Chicago alone, over 750 people were killed in 2015…that’s right, over 750 people….close to 2 people a day. Almost everyone when they hear the word “homicide” automatically thinks of someone acting deliberately to kill or harm another…
Arrests for drunk driving (AKA operating a vehicle while intoxicated or driving under influence) is one of the most common arrests in Indiana. According to the most recent statistics from MADD, Indiana had over 14,000 drunk driving arrests in 2014. In order to combat drunk driving, police actively patrol for drunk drivers every day. Once a police officer has stopped a suspected drunk driver they will do a number of field sobriety tests to determine…
A Quick Look at How Grand Juries Work in Indiana: In previous blogs, we’ve discussed some of the various ways that criminal proceedings may be initiated against a person. Most often a person is facing charges after a charging information, which is signed by the prosecuting attorney, is filed with the court. The other way formal criminal proceedings begin is by an indictment, which is the initiation of charges following a grand jury proceeding. A…