Slaughter, J. In 2020, we held juvenile courts lose jurisdiction once an alleged delinquent child reaches twenty-one years of age. But we left open the question whether the State can file criminal charges against a person who committed the charged conduct before turning eighteen but is no longer a child under the juvenile code. Under […]
Criminal
Becklehimer v. State, No. 21A-CR-1646, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., June 24, 2022).
Leaving a thirteen-year-old child home alone for the weekend does not, without more, constitute neglect of a dependent.
State v. Jones, No. 21A-CR-2254, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., June 27, 2022).
Any violation of a defendant’s right to be free from self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, or Article 1, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution, does not require suppression of the physical fruits of that violation.
Blattert, Jr. v. State, No. 21A-CR-1082, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., June 15, 2022).
Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to child abuse; protecting children from physical abuse is a compelling governmental interest and prosecution is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. To that end, Indiana offers the parental privilege as a defense to battery and similar crimes rather than completely banning the practice of corporal punishments. This accommodates religious practices which require reasonable corporal punishment.
Russell v. State, No. 21A-CR-2313, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., June 20, 2022).
There are two avenues for the use of home detention following conviction: 1) home detention as a condition of probation under Ind. Code § 35-38-2.5; and 2) home detention as a direct commitment to Community Corrections under Ind. Code § 35-38-2.6. A trial court must enter a home detention order when a defendant is sentenced to home detention as a condition of probation.