Shooting suspect’s statement that his gun was in his car was admissible under public-safety exception to Miranda; police feared that suspect’s 3-year-old child, who was also in the car, might get to the gun.
Criminal
Akins v. State, No. 49A02-1412-CR-869, ___ N.E.3d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., July 31, 2015).
Restitution award was abuse of discretion; there was no evidence that the injury for which restitution was sought was caused by, or even connected with, the defendant.
Smart v. State, No. 29A02-1412-CR-887, ___ N.E.3d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., Aug. 4, 2015).
Defendant’s admission to injecting “methamphetamine,” without more, was insufficient to prove that he injected the legend drug “methamphetamine hydrochloride”; there was no evidence or basis for judicial notice that the two substances were the same
Buford v. State, No. 20A05-1408-CR-392, ___ N.E.3d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., July 24, 2015).
Search warrant was invalid; uncorroborated anonymous tip of drug dealing at defendant’s home, plus police smelling burnt marijuana and seeing unspecified amount of marijuana “shake” on table in the home, did not establish probable cause of drug dealing.
Kowalskey v. State, No. 32A01-1503-CR-99, ___ N.E.3d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., July 30, 2015).
Defendant’s conduct did not waive his right to counsel. His oral and written requests for the trial court to compel discovery were not obstreperous, and trial court had neither adequately advised defendant of the dangers of self-representation nor made necessary findings on whether his conduct under the circumstances constituted knowing and intelligent waiver of counsel.