A no-contact order cannot be issued to protect a deceased person and probation cannot be revoked based on violation of that void order.
Criminal
Wright v. State, 20S-LW-260, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 4, 2021).
When deciding whether a defendant properly waives the right to counsel in capital and LWOP cases, a trial court should frame its waiver inquiry with the state’s heightened reliability interests in mind. That inquiry should focus on whether, and to what extent, the defendant has prior experience with the legal system; the scope of the defendant’s knowledge of criminal law, legal procedures, rules of evidence, and sentencing; and whether and to what extent the defendant can articulate and present any possible defenses, including lesser-included offenses and mitigating evidence.
Wampler v. State, 20A-PC-2043, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Apr. 28, 2021).
A trial court does not have the authority to resentence a defendant who has served his sentence and been released from the DOC.
State v. Ellis, 21S-CR-159, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., April 26, 2021).
When a defendant is processed for home detention, a waiver of the “rights against search and seizure” clearly encompasses the right to be free from search and seizure absent reasonable suspicion.
Utley v. State, 20A-CR-1741, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Apr. 7, 2021).
The day of the arrest is not included in the fifteen-day time frame for which a defendant, who faces a petition to revoke probation, may be held in jail without a hearing.