Where the clients ‘are no stoned-out hippies’
Small firms, like Brian Vicente’s in Denver, have been advising clients on marijuana law issues for several years. Now even some bigger corporate firms are tiptoeing into the business.
Drugs
Articles
Probationer’s admission to smoking marijuana supports revocation
Because a man on probation admitted to participating in unlawful conduct during his probationary period, the trial court correctly revoked his probation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Drug conviction reversed because state didn’t prove substance was heroin
Because police did not prove the product of a controlled drug buy was heroin, the Court of Appeals reversed a man’s conviction of Class A felony dealing in a narcotic within 1,000 feet of a school.
COA: Trial court properly admitted drug evidence
The Indiana Court of Appeals held that a trial court acted within its discretion when it admitted evidence found after executing a search warrant of a large quantity of marijuana in a defendant’s backpack, which led to the revocation of the defendant’s probation.
Justices to determine if ‘Spice law’ void for vagueness
The Indiana Supreme Court will determine whether Indiana’s “Spice law” banning synthetic drugs as new formulations appear is void for vagueness, as separate divided panels of the Court of Appeals ruled in January.
Man’s conviction from controlled drug buy upheld
An Anderson man who was criminally convicted for selling drugs to a confidential informant waived both his arguments on appeal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. And, the judges found no fundamental error in a jury instruction given or the admission of cash found on the defendant by police.
Possession of precursors ruled lesser-included offense of greater crime
A man who fled his car and left a “Nazi method” methamphetamine lab behind for police to find was able to get part of his conviction overturned because officers did not find any of the actual illegal drug.
Zoeller calls for congressional inquiry into herbal supplements
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and his New York counterpart A.G. Schneiderman are leading a bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general who want Congress to look into the herbal supplements industry.
7th Circuit affirms Outlaws members’ convictions, remands over suspicionless search condition
Three members of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club lost their appeals before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday, however, the judges did decide that one man’s probation condition needs further consideration.
Court upholds convictions from controlled drug buys
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s argument that his two Class B felonies for dealing in cocaine should be reversed based on prosecutorial misconduct and his limited cross-examination of the state’s confidential informant.
Canine sniff not allowed, but convictions still upheld
Although a Supreme Court of the United States decision issued shortly after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on a case now means that a canine sniff of a suspected drug dealer’s home was unconstitutional, the COA upheld the man’s convictions based on other evidence.
Indiana joins New York herbal supplement inquiry
Attorneys general from Connecticut, Indiana and Puerto Rico have joined New York's attorney general in an investigation of the herbal supplement industry, saying they're building on the long track record of state attorneys general upholding the rights of consumers.
20-year sentence for $60 drug deal reduced as excessive
The 20-year executed sentence a Kokomo man received after pleading guilty to selling an undercover police officer 10 hydrocodone pills for $6 each was excessive, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Patients sue Lilly, claim Cymbalta withdrawal hazards
Two federal lawsuits filed in Indianapolis allege Eli Lilly’s top-selling antidepressant Cymbalta caused almost immediate dangerous withdrawal symptoms when patients attempted to stop using the medication.
Zoeller asks justices to uphold ‘Spice’ law COA struck down
Indiana’s ‘Spice’ law that a pair of divided Court of Appeals panels ruled unconstitutional last month should be reinstated, Attorney General Greg Zoeller argues in briefs asking the Indiana Supreme Court to review the decisions.
Justices reverse grant of motion to suppress based on pat-down search
In a 4-1 decision Monday, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled it is not inherently coercive for police to give conditional permission to step out of a vehicle during a traffic stop, subject to the motorist’s consent to a pat-down search.
Search of home of man in community corrections based on reasonable suspicion
A trial court acted within its discretion in admitting evidence seized from a man’s home, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday. The police search was justified by reasonable suspicion that the man engaged in criminal activity and a search condition contained in his agreement with community corrections.
COA rules lack of probable cause for warrant makes evidence inadmissible
The Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday that a probable cause affidavit allowing police to search the home of a man suspected of manufacturing methamphetamine did not establish a confidential informant’s credibility and lacked probable cause. The majority also concluded that the good-faith exception would not be applicable in David Cartwright’s case.
Judges rule counsel was not deficient, drug conviction stands
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s conviction of Class D felony possession of marijuana in excess of 30 grams after finding that the claims he wanted his attorney to raise at trial would not have prevailed.
Prosecutor: 50-plus warrants issued in Evansville meth ring
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann said federal arrest warrants have been issued for more than 50 people allegedly involved in a meth-trafficking ring that funneled the drug into the area from four other states.