Indiana officer plans insanity defense in hit-and-run crash
Court records show a suspended Lake County, Indiana, sheriff's officer charged in a hit-and-run crash after last year's Gary Air Show plans an insanity defense.
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Supreme Court: ‘remoteness’ of prior conviction doesn’t affect admissibility
Determining that the “remoteness” of a prior offense does not affect the admissibility of evidence at trial, the Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed the award of roughly $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a man injured by a drunk driver.
OWI charge vacated on double jeopardy concerns
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed one count of operating while intoxicated against a Columbus man, finding that merging the two counts together for sentencing purposes does not satisfy double jeopardy concerns.
COA reduces woman’s OWI conviction, orders new hearing on fees
A trial court did not properly determine whether a woman had the ability to pay fees owed after being convicted of a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge, so the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the case back to the trial court. The judges also ordered her conviction reduced based on the evidence presented at trial.
COA reverses stay of man’s driving suspension
A northern Indiana man whose driving privileges were suspended for a variety of driving-related offenses, including operating while intoxicated, cannot have those suspensions stayed after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that such a stay is contrary to state law.
Justices reverse suppression of man’s admission to driving under the influence
The Indiana Supreme Court has reversed a motion to suppress evidence of a man’s admission to driving under the influence at a sobriety checkpoint, holding that the brief and public nature of the checkpoint did not require police officers to give the man a Miranda warning.
Attorney suspended after OWI conviction
The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended an Indianapolis attorney who pleaded guilty to drunken driving and resisting police.
Police: Driver in double fatal Tesla crash was intoxicated
The driver of a speeding Tesla electric car that crashed and burned in Indianapolis, killing her and a passenger, was too drunk to drive, according to a police report released Wednesday. The two worked at a company that provides case management software for plaintiff attorneys.
COA: Restitution must be based on value of damaged car, not upgraded vehicle
Trial courts must award restitution based on the cost of an item that was stolen or damaged, not the cost of upgrading to a new item, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday, so the Marion Superior Court erred when it ordered restitution based on the cost a woman incurred in purchasing a newer vehicle after a wreck.
Justices take appeal from HHGregg managers denied bonus proceeds
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear a case weighing whether HHGregg senior managers are entitled to share in $40 million worth of life insurance proceeds from the 2012 death of then-executive chairman of the board Jerry Throgmartin.
COA rejects woman’s claim that accident occurred outside chemical test period
A woman who drove drunk into a mobile home causing significant damage lost her appeal Wednesday after arguing the state’s blood draw occurred outside the three-hour window under statute and thus did not prove her blood alcohol level at the time of the accident.
Electronic copies of warrants are equal to paper copies
An electronic version of a signed search warrant is legally considered the equivalent of a paper warrant, the Indiana Court of Appeals has held, so a man’s constitutional rights were not violated when an officer drew his blood after showing him only a photo of a warrant in an email.
Senior judge faces discipline for OWI
A senior judge and former Lake County magistrate is facing judicial discipline proceedings after pleading guilty in November to a charge of driving while intoxicated.
Justices consider transfer in chemical breath test case
Indiana’s rules regarding chemical breath tests can be read as a recipe, with each rule laid out for the process of testing someone’s blood alcohol content meant to be followed sequentially, said the attorney for a woman challenging her misdemeanor drunken-driving charges.
Meth conviction reversed over toxicology authentication
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s conviction of operating a vehicle with meth in his blood and subsequently causing death after finding that the state failed to authenticate the toxicology report that found traces of drug in his blood sample.
COA will not allow specialized driving privileges for man with 27 traffic violations
An Indiana man now living in Mississippi whose Indiana driver’s license was suspended for life after more than two dozen traffic violations cannot receive special Indiana driving privileges that would enable him to obtain a license in Mississippi.
Supreme Court prohibits legal practice for 4 attorneys
Four Indiana attorneys can no longer practice law in the state after the Indiana Supreme Court decided on four disciplinary cases late last week.
Justices consider rights of privacy vs. public safety in 4th Amendment case
At the center of an Indiana Supreme Court oral argument Thursday was the question of when exigent circumstances and an officer’s community caretaker role trump a citizen’s right to protection from unlawful searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment.
COA finds no evidence of severe mental illness to prohibit pro se proceedings
A woman’s convictions for possession of controlled substances and operating a vehicle while intoxicated will stand after the Indiana Court of Appeals found Wednesday that she did not suffer from a severe mental illness that should have precluded her from proceeding pro se.
Man who parked car on I-94 must face OWI causing death charge
Criminal charges against a man who prosecutors say was drunk and parked his car in an interstate lane in the early morning hours, leading to the death of truck driver, will move forward after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the denial of the driver’s motions to dismiss and suppress evidence.