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Secret Sources of Information Can Taint a Criminal Prosecution

Indiana criminal defense attorneys can’t take at face value prosecution claims and evidence supposedly found during an investigation. They have to be verified for their accuracy, that they’re genuine and the source of the evidence or claim is legitimate. We need to know whether evidence has been fabricated or obtained illegally and whether evidence pointing to another suspect has been ignored. If so, it may result in charges being dropped by the prosecution or a jury finding of not guilty. Much of this depends on relying on prosecutors to act in good faith and honesty, but unfortunately that’s not always true. Human Rights Watch accuses the federal government of secretly supplying e ...

Will Kentucky Reconsider How Non-Violent Offenders Are Sentenced?

How should Kentucky sentence low-level drug dealers, thieves and others found guilty of non-violent crimes? Should they be locked up, securely separated from the public (at least until they’re paroled or released) or should there be another, better, less expensive and effective way to hold these people accountable while making it less likely they’ll commit another crime after their sentences are over? A report released in December by Kentucky's Justice Reinvestment Workgroup makes 22 recommendations that might be the basis of new legislation which could help reduce the rising prison population. There are so many “hot button” issues involved that the report's creators admit they ha ...

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 goi ...

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 infor ...

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 h ...

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Does It Matter Who Files for Divorce First?

While Indiana is a “no-fault” state, so you do not have to make any allegations against your spouse to file for divorce, it still may matter whether you file for divorce first.

Even when both spouses want to divorce, it can be a scary time as you are embarking on a new chapter of life. You have several unknowns ahead of you, such as how long the divorce process takes, whether your[...]