Trial court erred in finding defendant guilty but mentally ill when it rejected the findings of three mental-health experts and relied on demeanor evidence that had no probative value on the question of her sanity.
Criminal
Jones v. State, No. 84S05-1712-CR-741, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind.,Dec. 19, 2017).
Abandonment is an allowable defense for both attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, but it must be voluntary and occur after the “prohibited conduct” and before the “underlying crime” has been committed or becomes inevitable.
Johnson v. State, No. 32S05-1707-CR-469, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 21, 2017).
The state must prove that each of the three prior unrelated felony convictions meet the ten-year requirement in order to have a person sentenced as a habitual offender under Ind. Code 35-50-2-8(d).
Calvin v. State, No. 02S03-1709-CR-611 , __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 21, 2017).
Despite an argument that it leads to an absurd result, a level 4 burglary conviction could not be enhanced with a habitual-offender finding because defendant’s two prior out-of-state convictions must be treated as Level 6 felonies under Ind. Code 35-50-2-8(b).
Fields v. State, No. 43A03-1704-CR-856, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Dec. 22, 2017).
Trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to dismiss charges against him because the arresting officer was acting as a de facto officer and his failure to take the statutory oath was a technical defect.