Pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-8-12-11, volunteer firefighters may display blue lights in limited places on their vehicles visible to the public, but non-volunteer firefighters may not display blue lights visible to the public at all.
Criminal
Evans v. State, No. 22A-PC-220, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., May 1, 2023).
A habitual offender adjudication must be based on proof that a defendant has accumulated two prior unrelated felony convictions, meaning that the commission, conviction, and sentencing on the first felony preceded the commission, conviction, and sentence on the second felony. A post-conviction petitioner who challenges his habitual offender determination must demonstrate that he was not a habitual offender under the habitual offender statute and that his various convictions did not in fact occur in the required order.
Baker v. State, No. 22A-CR-998, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., April 10, 2023).
The Indiana Seatbelt Enforcement Act does not permit investigatory behavior based solely on a seat belt violation unless circumstances arise after the stop that independently provide the officer with reasonable suspicion of other crimes.
Owens v. State, No. 21A-CR-1900, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., March 28, 2023).
The criminal code demonstrates our legislature’s intent that a habitual offender amendment be filed no less than 30 days before the beginning of trial as opposed to a particular trial setting.
Leshore v. State, No. 23S-CR-51, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Feb. 28, 2023).
When confronted with a petition under Post-Conviction Rule 2, seeking dispensation from otherwise firm deadlines and their decisive consequences, judges must ask, “was it [Petitioner’s] fault?” And if not, “did [Petitioner] act quickly enough thereafter?” Trial courts should take these questions up in sequence, though a negative answer to either one can be enough to bar relief.