Collateral Consequences to a Criminal Charge Everyone knows when you are charged with a criminal case you could face jail time, probation and a fine. However, many times the possible consequences someone suffers can be far reaching and make resolving the case much more complicated. When discussing your case with your attorney you need to make sure you consider how a case might affect you in other ways. Immigration Issues If you are not a…
A Quick Look at Inventory Searches after an Arrest Getting pulled over can be an unsettling experience regardless of one’s familiarity with the law. Understanding the interpretation of both the U.S. Constitution Fourth Amendment and Article 1 §11 of the Indiana Constitution is instrumental when presented with a situation where a police officer searches your vehicle. While citizens have the constitutional “right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search…
May 9, 2017 the Indiana Supreme Court made a ruling in the case of Thomas Pinner v. State of Indiana under case number 49S02-1611-CR-610, holding that the sole fact a person has a gun is not a sufficient reason for the person to be stopped and searched. In February 2015, a taxi driver called the police after a man and a woman got out of his cab because when they exited, the man dropped a…
So you have been charged with a low level felony or a misdemeanor and you absolutely cannot have a conviction on your record, now what? A diversion or deferral might be something that could work for you depending on a number of factors. The law in Indiana (IC 33-39-1-8) provides that those who have committed low level crimes or are first time offenders are sometimes able to dismiss their charges. This is called a diversion…
One of the main questions a defendant asks when facing a potential criminal offense is, “who is the best criminal defense attorney in Indiana?” And, if you think about it, that makes sense. Criminal cases have the potential to have lifelong consequences. So, it leads to reason that anyone who is facing a criminal offense is going to try to track down the best criminal attorney for their particular case. The list below is meant…
A quick look at the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in State of Indiana v. David Brown on whether Miranda warnings apply to DUI checkpoints. On March 2, 2017, the Indiana Supreme Court determined, as a matter other f first impression, that Miranda warnings are not required when a driver was detained at a sobriety checkpoint. This case stemmed from a 2013 incident where the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department established a checkpoint to apprehend and deter…
Understanding Credit Time in Criminal Cases Whenever someone is sentenced in a criminal case in Indiana, the Court takes great concern to appropriately and accurately apply any credit time the defendant is afforded when carrying out the formal sentencing. It is incredibly important because no one should ever serve more time for any offense above and beyond what the level of offense requires minus the time they have already served — otherwise, they can serve…
A quick look at consecutive versus concurrent sentencing Whenever somebody is convicted of multiple offenses – whether they arise out of the same incident or different cases – the determination needs to be made on whether the sentences will run concurrently or consecutive to one another. If they run concurrent, the sentences will overlap and be served at the same time. Consecutive sentences, on the other hand, require one to finish before the other begins….
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.