Indiana has adopted standing one’s ground (generally referred to as a part of the Castle Doctrine as it relates to home and curtilage) as a part of the affirmative defense of self-defense to protect a person’s home and curtilage. This allows the use of deadly force without retreating. Under this legal right, the situation often arises where someone fires a “warning shot” to direct (scare off) someone from their property. This blog post addresses this legally thorny issue, noting the most prudent course is ... Read More
03
Apr2017
31
Mar2017
A key tool prosecutors and defense attorneys use to resolve criminal cases is a plea agreement. This is a contract of sorts between the two “parties”, the prosecutor and the defendant, but is not binding upon the court unless it is accepted. Plea agreements ensure the orderly and timely administration of justice by allowing most cases to resolve without a bench (judge) or jury trial (where allowed).
For most defendants, the biggest reason for a plea is to obtain charges being dropped, a ... Read More
23
Nov2016
Permanency and stability are keys for children; Courts are mindful of this in considering all requests for custody modification in a child’s best interests. For this reasons, Indiana trial courts and attorneys are reluctant to entertain “emergency” motions for child custody modification in all but extraordinary situations because this is incongruous with taking the time to allow the attorneys to develop the evidence and present the case.
However, there are four somewhat common situations where a trial court may ... Read More