Articles

Drug convictions tossed over suspicionless search

Although caught by Tippecanoe County Community Corrections with his ex-wife in the attic and drugs in the basement, a man had his convictions overturned after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined his consent to warrantless searches did not include suspicionless searches.   

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Justices to hear arguments in speeding-turned-OWI case

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Monday to decide whether a man’s motion to suppress evidence was wrongfully denied by a trial court, which found that a police officer’s belief that the man was speeding constituted reasonable suspicion to support the man’s eventual drunken driving arrest.

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Justices reinstate child molesting convictions under attenuation doctrine

Four Level 1 felony child molesting convictions will be reinstated against a Blackford County man after the Indiana Supreme Court found the man’s incriminating statements to police were sufficiently attenuated from an illegal search and seizure of his apartment. The court’s ruling also more broadly holds that the federal attenuation doctrine can be applied under the Indiana Constitution.

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Smartphone privacy ruling tests how technology affects rights

A consequential Indiana Court of Appeals ruling on an issue of first impression last month marked one of the first times state courts have been asked to reconcile civil rights with advancing technology. The question: considering the personal nature of the contents of a person’s smartphone, can an individual be forced to unlock a smartphone without violating the Fifth Amendment?

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Smartphone privacy first impression case splits COA

Law enforcement cannot force a Hamilton County woman to unlock her smartphone as part of criminal investigation because doing so would violate Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals held on an issue of first impression that combined constitutional law with technological advancements.

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Excessive force claim to proceed against IMPD SWAT officer

A Fourth Amendment excessive force claim against an Indianapolis police officer will continue after a federal judge denied the officer’s motion for summary judgment on Tuesday. The SWAT officer is accused of assaulting a suspected drug dealer in his home after executing a no-knock warrant.

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