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The Fight Against the National Opioid Epidemic and “Doctor Shopping”

More than one in 20 people in Indiana admit having engaged in non-medical use of opioid pain relievers. And with similar percentages of Kentucky’s citizens in the same sad predicament, federal, state and local law enforcement is aggressively attacking this social and legal tragedy nationwide. Eighteen states have adopted comprehensive mandates in the past four years requiring doctors who prescribe opioids – oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax and others – and other controlled substances to check databases to learn whether their patients are addicts who get these drugs elsewhere. Prescribers – mainly physicians – can see which drugs their patients are obtaining and whether they are going ...

Should I Insure My Child Support Payments? 

Child support in a divorce ensures that parents give their child the quality of life and support they intended to provide while they were still married. It's a critical component of most divorce agreements when the couple has children. Yet what many parents fail to consider is what will happen to their child's quality of life and their support payments if at some point in the future the supporting parent dies or becomes disabled. In these instances, the income providing the support stops, but the child's need for support does not. One way to ensure that the child will receive all of the support necessary, in spite of obstacles like these, is through insuring the child support. Many parents a ...

Rising Prison Populations Call for Penal Code Reform

It is no secret that there is a massive issue with overpopulation in many of Kentucky's prisons. In fact, actual prison population numbers across Kentucky have been significantly higher than consensus projections for many years and show no signs of slowing down any time soon. Much of this over-population is a direct result of low parole rates, long sentences, and strict second-offender laws in the state of Kentucky. Recently, Governor Matt Bevin announced that a Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council will be created to work toward penal code reforms that are so clearly needed to reduce incarceration rates state-wide and free up funding for other public needs. Contributing Factors to Ove ...

New Bill May Add More Accountability to Forfeiture Laws

A news report from television station WSBT in South Bend has brought attention to what could be a change in the way criminal forfeiture laws work in the state of Indiana. The report spotlights a new bipartisan bill introduced and passed by the Indiana Senate which may have far-reaching implications in the state’s criminal code. Senate Bill 8, first read on the Senate floor January 3, 2017 and passed by a vote of 213 yeas, 40 nays and 10 no-votes on its third reading, passed the Senate on February 28 and was first read in the House on March 6, where it was passed to the Committee on Courts and Criminal Code. Back to the Founders Senate Bill 8 has its roots in the Fifth Amendment, a par ...

Ransomware is Now its Own Crime in Indiana

  • June 26
  • CLLB Law
  • News

A bill signed into law this April in Indiana will significantly raise the penalties for ransomware attacks in Indiana. Ransomware, according to TechTerms, is defined as: “A type of Malware that prevents you from using your computer or accessing certain files unless you pay a ransom. It often encrypts files so they cannot be opened.” The Indiana Economic Digest suggests the bill is a response to several ransomware attacks in Indiana last year. They report that in November 2016, the Madison County government system was accessed and an individual encrypted files and demanded money to open them. Also in November, 76,000 Howard County government files were ransomed.  The website Bleep ...

How a DUI Conviction Can Affect Your Job Search

If you have a driving under the influence (DUI) on your record, you may wonder, can I get a job with a DUI conviction? A  DUI conviction is embarrassing enough as it is, but to have it follow you around the job market puts you in a tough spot. It absolutely can affect a person's future employment prospects, as most employers make a point to inquire about misdemeanor and felony convictions. Many employers also routinely perform background checks from law enforcement agencies. Everyone deserves a second chance, and many people caught drinking and driving make sure to never let it happen again. Luckily, there are reasonable employers out there who understand that making mistakes is only hu ...

Ankle Bracelet Monitoring is Big Business

Electronic monitoring was first developed at Harvard University in the 1960s and became a judicially sanctioned program by the mid-1980s. Based on the principle that surveillance deters criminal behavior, ankle monitors (also known as tethers) are often used for house arrest or parole of mostly non-violent misdemeanor offenders as an alternative to prison time. Most of these devices are bulky black boxes that are designed to be tamper-resistant. Attempts at removal or obstruction can automatically notify the authorities. Fundamentally, ankle monitors are homing devices that use radio frequencies to transmit a signal to a receiver in the wearer’s house. The receiver relays the informa ...

Educational Support Orders

Married parents get to choose whether they will (or whether they can) finance their child’s college education. For divorced parents, however, that choice is one of the luxuries they often have to sacrifice. Nearly everyone is familiar with the concept of child support in divorce and custody cases. The court can (and nearly always does) order one parent to pay child support to the other parent. Child support is a contribution toward the child’s basic needs: a roof over his head, food in her stomach, clothes on his back. Child support ends at a certain age by statute or upon certain life events, such as marriage or enlistment in the military. When the parents don’t have a combined house ...

Variations on Power of Attorney: One Size Does Not Fit All

While you never know when you might have to rely on someone else, there are ways you can prepare for the possibility. The financial power of attorney (POA) is the cornerstone to any estate plan.  It allows a person (the principal) to give legal authority to someone else (the attorney-in-fact) to take financial actions on the principal’s behalf. There are many situations where having such a document and creating such a relationship is preferable to allowing one’s personal finances to languish. Of course, the planning needs of an unmarried, childless 21-year-old are likely not the same as a 65-year-old married couple with grandchildren, but powers of attorney are highly customizable. ...

Paul’s Law: Revised Sentences for Juvenile Offenders

Can people change? If an adult commits murder, that person is tried in court and if found guilty, will go to prison. What if a child commits murder? Has true justice been served if that child is found guilty in an adult court and sentenced to twice as much prison time as he or she has even been alive? Or are a person's developmental years dynamic enough to suggest a child felon can go on to lead a productive, happy life? Paul's Law, which passed in 2013, addresses that very issue. Paul Gingerich was 12 years old when he was an accomplice in the murder of his friend's stepfather 45 miles outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The plan was to skip town after the fatal shooting, but the kids didn't m ...

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What Is Considered an Asset in Divorce?

After a marriage ends, countless questions typically arise. One of the first questions many couples ask our attorneys is, “What exactly are considered assets in a divorce?” In Indiana, any property is considered an asset during a divorce settlement, regardless of how it was obtained. Because Indiana is not classified as a community property state, none of your assets will be considered communi[...]