Appellate counsel must review the complete record of proceedings before the trial court, including pre-trial hearing transcripts, in order to provide effective assistance of counsel.
Criminal
Wright v. State, No. 05A02-1610-CR-2397, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 24, 2018).
Defendant’s felony child molesting conviction reversed because his incriminating statements to arresting officers flowed from an unconstitutional search and seizure of his computers and were the fruit of the poisonous tree.
Burden v. State, No. 66A03-1706-CR-1298, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 25, 2018).
Conviction reversed for felony neglect of a dependent because there was no evidence of subjective awareness of a high probability that by leaving the scene defendant had placed child in a situation that endangered her life or health.
Crowder v. State, No. 02A03-1704-PC-824, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 16, 2018).
Counsel should have advised defendant to not accept a plea agreement that waived his appellate rights when he received no benefit for the waiver; therefore, that waiver is severed from the plea agreement and he may appeal his sentence.
McCain v. State, No. 18S-CR-26, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Jan. 17, 2018).
Trial court’s forty-year sentence for felony child molesting was not inappropriate and does not warrant appellate revision under Appellate Rule 7(B).