In a trial in absentia, it is not error for the trial court to inform the jury that defendant was personally notified of the trial date.
Criminal
Madden v. State, 20A-CR-196, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 12, 2021).
Convictions for Level 2 Kidnapping for Ransom and Level 5 Kidnapping, based on one removal, violate double jeopardy. In addition, convictions for both criminal confinement and kidnapping, both enhanced based on a demand for ransom, and are so compressed in terms of time, place, singleness of purpose, and continuity of action as to constitute a single transaction,” violate double jeopardy.
Hackner v. State, 19A-CR-1577, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 12, 2021).
A dying victim’s non-verbal identification of the perpetrator, in response to an officer’s question, is a question credibility and not admissibility. The weight to be given identification evidence and any determination of whether it is satisfactory and trustworthy is a function of the trier of facts.
B.A. v. State, 20S-XP-506, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 22, 2020).
When faced with a permissive expungement petition, trial court should engage in a two-step process when considering a petition for expungement. First, a court must determine whether the conviction is eligible for expungement under the statute. If the conviction is ineligible, the inquiry ends there. But if the court determines that the conviction is eligible for expungement, it must then collect enough information to determine whether it should grant or deny the petition.
Wisdom v. State, 20A-CR-931, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Dec. 22, 2020).
To authenticate under Evidence Rule 901, social-media evidence turns on whether there is sufficient evidence to support a finding it is what the claimant purports it to be. And while the source of the evidence may sometimes be needed, authentication depends on context.