Bloomington attorney enters into plea agreement
A jury trial set for this week for a Monroe County attorney accused of stealing money from clients has been cancelled because a plea agreement has been reached.
Felony
Articles
Judges order habitual offender enhancement vacated
A post-conviction court erred when it denied a defendant’s request for post-conviction relief to vacate a habitual offender enhancement, finding a case decided after the man’s direct appeal applies retroactively.
Appellate court upholds life sentence
Duane Turner will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering a Ball State student in 1994. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his claims that his sentence was unconstitutional and that his attorney was ineffective.
CCEC Work Group proposes sweeping revision to the Indiana Criminal Code
The Indiana General Assembly’s Criminal Code Evaluation Commission has started another round of hearings to collect data and recommendations for revising the state’s criminal statutes. A key element of this review will be an extensive study of significant sections of Title 35 by the CCEC Work Group.
Inmate loses challenge to law ending certain educational funding
The 2011 amendment that stopped state funding of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities for convicted felons who are confined in a penal facility is not an ex post facto law nor does it violate an inmate’s constitutional rights, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Man unable to show prejudice by attorney’s lack of deportation advisement
A Pakistan-born man who faces automatic deportation as a result of his guilty plea to felony theft lost his pursuit for post-conviction relief before the Indiana Court of Appeals. The judges found Naveed Gulzar was unable to show he was prejudiced by his attorney’s failure to advise him that automatic deportation is a consequence of his guilty plea.
Supreme Court grants more time to e-file some abstracts of judgment
Courts will have until the end of this year to file abstracts of judgment of felony convictions for people not sentenced to the Department of Correction, according to an order issued June 28 by the Indiana Supreme Court.
COA finds double jeopardy in DeLaney attacker’s case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that two convictions of a former attorney who attacked a lawyer-legislator violated Indiana’s double jeopardy clause and that one of the charges should be reduced in order to remedy the violation.
7th Circuit affirms sentence for sexual involvement with 12-year-old girl
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 135-month sentence given to a man who drove from Illinois to have sex with a 12-year-old Westfield girl, finding that although the District Court miscalculated the imprisonment range, the defendant was sentenced within the correct guidelines range.
Judges affirm credit restricted felon status
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a defendant’s claim that because he pleaded guilty to Class B felony child molesting instead of a Class A felony, the Credit Restricted Felon Statute shouldn’t apply.
Judges reverse felony sexual battery conviction
Because the state didn’t prove an essential element needed to convict a man of Class D felony sexual battery, the Indiana Court of Appeals threw out his conviction. But there was enough evidence to support convicting the man of Class B misdemeanor battery.
7th Circuit affirms denial of habeas corpus petition
A man who stabbed his wife repeatedly, leaving her with a collapsed lung and ruptured spleen, was unable to prove that he received ineffective counsel at trial, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held.
Judges refuse to create another intoxication defense
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s argument that he should be allowed to use intoxication as a defense to his criminal charges because the prescription medication that caused his strange behavior was taken for valid medical purposes.
Justices reverse determinate commitment
In a three-page per curiam opinion released Wednesday by the Indiana Supreme Court, the justices reversed a juvenile’s determinate commitment to the Department of Correction for committing what would be felony murder if committed by an adult.
State representative’s attacker permanently disbarred
The Indianapolis attorney who violently attacked and attempted to kill a state representative has been permanently disbarred by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Court reinstates man’s direct appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated the direct appeal of a LaPorte County man convicted of felony robbery and attempted robbery in 2004, finding that he should not receive a new trial for receiving ineffective assistance of appellate counsel the first time he tried to challenge his convictions and sentence.
COA affirms trial court in felony neglect case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a conviction of Class A felony neglect, holding the appellant was unable to prove that he should have been charged with a lesser offense.
Former IURC chairman indicted
The former chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, David Lott Hardy, has been indicted by a Marion County grand jury on felony official misconduct charges, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.
Man gets 326 months imprisonment, lifetime supervision for child pornography
U.S. Judge Robert Miller Jr. sentenced an Elkhart man to 326 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after his guilty plea to sexually exploiting children.
Supreme Court to hold arguments in St. Joseph County
The Indiana Supreme Court will visit Indiana University South Bend and Notre Dame Law School Monday to hear arguments in two cases, including one in which a teen was sentenced to life without parole for murdering his brother.