High court limits drunken-driving test laws
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday placed new limits on state laws that make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse alcohol tests.
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Justices rule jury instruction not fundamental error
The Indiana Supreme Court found a jury instruction that jurors “shall presume” that a man’s alcohol concentration equivalent was above the legal limit if his chemical test, taken hours later, was at 0.08 or higher was not fundamental error. As such, it affirmed his conviction.
Indiana State Police to investigate missing court records
Indiana State Police plans to investigate why Lake Station City Court failed to report license restrictions to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, according to an official with the agency.
Scientific basis for laws on marijuana, driving questioned
Six states that allow marijuana use have legal tests to determine driving while impaired by the drug that have no scientific basis, according to a study by the nation's largest automobile club that calls for scrapping those laws.
Justices toss driving convictions due to delays
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled a man who was convicted of four driving offenses should have his case dismissed because the prosecution did not bring him to trial in time while he was in prison for a separate conviction.
COA changes sentence for drunk woman who hit a man with her car
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the sentence given to a woman who hit a man with her car and killed him while driving drunk was too harsh and took two years off it. However, the COA upheld all other parts of her conviction.
COA rejects BMV’s request for relief from judgment
The state of Indiana did not establish prima facie error in the trial court’s denial of its motions for relief from judgment in two cases in which the lower court ordered the reinstatement of drivers’ licenses without proof of future financial responsibility, the Court of Appeals held Thursday.
COA: CDL holder cannot enter diversion program for alcohol offenses
A man who held a commercial driver’s license and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor drunken-driving offenses cannot participate in a diversion program, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. One judge on the panel had concerns that the law treats CDL holders and those without a CDL differently.
Adoption records, gun licensing reform bills to be heard this week
Hoosier adoptees will make a new push for access to their birth records, beginning with a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
Officials: ‘Affluenza’ teen, mother detained in Mexico
A sheriff in Dallas said Tuesday an arrest warrant will be issued for a Texas woman who was found with her son in Mexico, a teenager on probation after killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck and invoking an "affluenza" defense
COA: Breath test properly admitted
A man convicted of drunken-driving failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the state did not prove that the chemicals used in his breath test equipment were certified under Indiana administrative rules.
Temporary tag in rear window gets conviction tossed
A Hendricks County Sheriff’s deputy’s ignorance of where a temporary license plate can be displayed on a car led the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn a drunken-driving conviction.
New York conviction doesn’t support Indiana charges
A man’s 2014 conviction of operating a vehicle while impaired in New York cannot serve as the basis to bring enhanced drunken-driving charges against him because the New York statute is not substantially similar to the elements of a crime described in Indiana Code, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
Boilerplate language can’t support warrant for blood draw
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a woman’s motion to suppress a blood sample taken after a police officer suspected her of drunken driving. The judges found the affidavit did not contain specific information alleging the woman drove a vehicle.
Judges split 3 ways on motorist’s ambiguous response to DUI test
An apparently intoxicated motorist’s ambiguous reply to an officer’s request to perform a chemical test has resulted in a new, strict standard affirmed by only one of three judges who heard the driver’s appeal.
Ex-IMPD officer’s convictions upheld in 2010 fatal accident
Former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer David Bisard, convicted of drunken-driving offenses after he struck three motorcyclists while responding to a non-emergency call, was not entitled to a mistrial based on juror misconduct issues, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Justices uphold convictions in second trial after partial deadlock
The Indiana Supreme Court Thursday upheld the convictions of a man involved in a fatal drunken-driving crash. The defendant was retried on all charges after a jury convicted him on some counts and deadlocked on others.
Drunken-driving conviction upheld for motorist parked at courthouse
A woman who was intoxicated while she attended to business at the courthouse in Crawfordsville lost her appeal of a felony drunken-driving conviction Wednesday.
Questions exist as to whether teen furnished alcohol to other teens
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in favor of a Pittsboro man in a lawsuit alleging he was liable for the death of friend because he furnished alcohol at a party. The friend died in a car accident while riding with another teen who had consumed alcohol at the party.
Indiana responds to convicted ex-officer’s appeal
Indiana has responded to a former Indianapolis police officer's appeal of his convictions in a fatal drunken driving crash.