Indiana Criminal Defense Lawyer

About 10 people die every single year in Indiana due to police chases. Some are demanding the Indianapolis Police Department make changes to prevent this from happening. But despite two recent deaths, the department is cautious to make any “hasty” decisions and is concerned that officers would see the changes as “surrendering”. [read more...]

A few months ago we reported about problems within the state crime lab, where It had been discovered that numerous drug tests had been flawed. The three-person panel, appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels recommended and immediate audit to get scope on the extent of the issue. Now, however, the audit has been called off and it’s not clear if we’ll ever know just how bad the problems were. [read more...]

A former Delaware County Deputy Prosecutor has had his law license suspended for 120 days after being found guilty of professional misconduct which occurred between 1995 and 2006. The prosecutor’s misconduct involved his negotiating criminal cases all while handling criminal forfeitures, of which he kept around 25% of the money collected. [read more...]

The Supreme Court issued a ruling this week in a case out of Indiana. At question was whether fleeing from the police was considered a violent felony and therefore could be used to sentence a defendant under the Armed Career Criminal Act. [read more...]

The state crime toxicology lab is under fire, as we reported last month. And as more and more information about the problems become available, it’s obvious the lab had been struggling for many years. The Indianapolis Star reports this week that 2,000 emails dated from as early as 2003 reveal errors and also reveal a lab supervisor who was trying to speak up, trying to get help for the lab. [read more...]

In 2008, a new director was named to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology. Immediately Michael Wagner noticed problems. He was the first forensic toxicologist to head the department in more than a decade and this could have been the reason problems were so apparent to him. Soon after taking office he decided to do an audit and since then the issue has been coming to a head. [read more...]

The sentencing reform package reported on last month is under attack by a group of Indiana prosecutors. The Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys has voted to oppose the progressive changes that would save the state over $1 billion in coming years, this despite support for the legislation coming from both sides of the political fence and the public at large. [read more...]

A study commissioned by the state and done by the Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Governments made some progressive recommendations on the Indiana criminal justice and prison systems. Just a few weeks ago, Governor Mitch Daniels signaled his support for the prospective changes and now everyone waits for lawmakers to make some of the recommendations as reality. [read more...]

Tippecanoe County Jail, like most others across Indiana and even across the country are forced to deal creatively with funding and overcrowding on a daily basis. Budget crunches only serve to push jail administrators to get even more innovative with where they spend and where they save. [read more...]

While many states have begun to let up on the “get tough on crime” attitude that has cost millions and done little to curb criminal behavior, Indiana continues to lock people up and throw away the key—and the budget reflects this. From 2000 to 2008 corrections costs rose 76% to $679 million. Within 10 years that cost is estimated to reach $1 billion if something isn’t done to curtail it. [read more...]