A trial court may not amend a sentence made pursuant to a fixed plea agreement; however, a trial court is authorized to reject such an agreement.
Criminal
Cannon v. State, No. 18A-CR-1871, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Dec. 20, 2018).
A person cannot be convicted of giving false information to an official investigating the commission of a crime when he simply fails to provide any information at all.
Rodriguez v. State, No. 20A03-1704-CR-724, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Dec. 14, 2018).
Court of Appeals affirmed its prior ruling that under Ind. Code § 35-38-1-17(1) a trial court could modify defendant’s sentence, as that section provided a person may not waive the right to sentence modification as part of a plea agreement. A 2018 amendment to that statute may not be applied retroactively.
Barcroft v. State, No. 18S-CR-135, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 3, 2018).
The evidence of defendant’s demeanor—taken together with the flaws in the expert opinion testimony and the absence of a well-documented history of mental illness—was sufficient to support the court’s finding of guilty but mentally ill (GBMI).
Schuler v. State, No. 31S00-1703-LW-134, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 4, 2018).
Trial courts must comply with the requirements of Harrison v. State, in a clear and specific written sentencing statement, when imposing a sentence for the death penalty or LWOP.