Legislature made significant changes to criminal laws that take effect July 1

Several measures impacting the practice of criminal law are set to take effect this year, from better standards for police lineups to scholarships that encourage more attorneys to become public defenders or deputy prosecutors.

The measures are among dozens of proposals the Legislature approved earlier this year and that Gov. Mike Braun signed into law.

Senate Bill 141, which establishes procedures for how police conduct eyewitness identifications, will more or less standardize practices many members of law enforcement already comply with, said Bradley Keffer, a criminal defense attorney with Keffer Hirschauer LLP in Indianapolis.

The new law implements three of the “core four” standards nationally endorsed as effective eyewitness identification procedures for law enforcement to follow when conducting photograph and in-person eyewitness identification lineups.

The three standards included in the law are that “fillers” in a police lineup must generally resemble the eyewitness’s description of the perpetrator; the lineup investigator must document how confident an eyewitness is that the person they selected in the lineup is the perpetrator; and before conducting a lineup, the investigator must instruct the eyewitness that the perpetrator may or may not be in the lineup, that they are not required to make an identification, and that the investigation will continue whether they make an identification or not.

Another protection included in the law ensures that a suspect cannot be included in a lineup if the only evidence connecting them to the crime is through a facial recognition technology match.

The law will take effect on July 1, 2025.

Keffer said it will be interesting to see how these standards will be represented in court.

“Obviously defense attorneys, same with prosecutors, they’re gonna look at what was done during the actual lineup in that case to make a certain assessment,” he said. “Where are they pulling these [lineup] photos from? Are they truly accurate and similar?”

While he sees the new law as a generally positive change, he said he believes the law will take some time to sort out, as attorneys and judges will question how lineups were put together.

Another new law passed in this legislative session is House Bill 1137, which requires a court to expunge certain records related to the red flag law under certain circumstances.

Indiana’s red flag law addresses the conditions under which law enforcement can take custody of a person’s firearms when that person is determined to be a threat to public safety.

Under House Bill 1137, a court has the authority to expunge red flag records if it’s found that an individual previously marked as dangerous is deemed no longer a threat. The law will take effect on July 1.

A piece of legislation that will support the state’s efforts to address the ongoing lawyer shortage is House Bill 1515. It establishes several scholarship programs, including one for law school students who commit to five years of service as a deputy prosecutor or public defender.

The bill was supported by the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council.

That scholarship program will be made available beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year. Money for the scholarships will come from gifts and grants made to the program and will be awarded in the amount of $20,000 each year for no more than three years to a full-time student at an accredited law school and $15,000 each year for no more than 4 years to a part-time student at an accredited law school.

Students will apply for the scholarship via an application and written essay.

“That could be a transformative change, not only for prosecutors, but honestly, for law students. It’s extraordinarily expensive to attend law school,” said Courtney Curtis, assistant executive director of prosecutors council.

Curtis said the state is experiencing a prosecutor shortage and the council supported House Bill 1006 because its original language would have introduced funding to help certain counties make salary enhancements for county prosecutors offices and hire more staff. The bill was signed into law, but the revenue forecast removed the language that would’ve made those adjustments.

She said that while the prosecutors council is disappointed the funding wasn’t approved, bringing more attorneys into the state is a priority the organization will continue to fight for.

“Prosecutors are going to continue to do the work that needs to be done, but we are at a tipping point, and the concern, obviously, is that we’ve seen other areas nationwide become unsafe and have to prioritize their resources, and Indiana is on the cusp of having to make those same tough decisions,” she said.•