Articles

COA affirms 20-year sentence for man convicted of firearm, drug felonies

The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a 20-year sentence imposed on a man convicted of illegally possessing a firearm and driving children in car while under the influence of various drugs, finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in considering aggravators and that the sentence is not inappropriate.

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Supreme Court: Officers had probable cause to detain man

Grant County law enforcement officials had probable cause to believe a Chicago man was in possession of a narcotic drug when they detained him and transported him to a police station, the Indiana Supreme Court held Thursday in an opinion affirming the man’s felony drug conviction.

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COA: Officer’s stop of car for expired plate ‘reasonable’

An Indianapolis police officer who initiated a traffic stop that led to the arrest of a passenger in the stopped vehicle did not violate the man’s constitutional rights, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, because the officer reasonably believed the vehicle had an expired license plate and registration.

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Delay in search of cellphones gets marijuana charges tossed

Prosecutors holding cellphones for months and then having to ask for a continuance so they could finally search the evidence raised the ire of the Indiana Court of Appeals, which subsequently tossed the charges against two defendants whose trials were delayed more than a year.

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Convicted murderer to get new trial

A Marion County man convicted of murder and multiple drug charges will receive a new trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the trial court erred by dismissing a juror nearly two hours after deliberations had begun.

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COA: Federal, state meth prosecutions not double jeopardy

A woman convicted and sentenced in federal court on a charge of conspiring to distribute meth lost her appeal seeking to dismiss state court charges, both of which referenced the same police raid of the hotel where she lived and where the drugs were found.

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7th Circuit affirms convictions in heroin conspiracy

A couple convicted in a heroin conspiracy will not have their convictions overturned after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the district court did not err in its rulings on the composition of the jury, jury instructions or sentencing decisions.

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High court defers to jury’s judgment, affirms enhanced meth conviction

Deferring to the role of a jury to hear evidence and draw related inferences, the Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed a man’s enhanced conviction of dealing meth within 500 feet of a public park, finding the jury was in the best position to determine if children were “reasonably expected” to be at the park at the time of the crimes.

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Divided court reverses drug convictions for lack of probable cause

Despite a search pursuant to warrants that led to the discovery of more than 60 pounds of marijuana in a man’s Indianapolis home, the man’s drug convictions will be overturned after a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals determined there was a lack of probable cause to support the issuance of the warrants.

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