Judge’s overall conduct during trial demonstrated reversible bias.
Reinhart v. State, No. 57A03-1002-CR-84, __N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 9, 2010)
When motorist calmly complied with officer’s commands, although motorist had yelled at officer earlier, officer’s pointing firearm at and handcuffing of motorist transformed a permissible investigative stop into an illegal arrest without probable cause.
Halferty v. State, No. 20A03-0910-CR-475, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 9, 2010)
Testimony that cooking ephedrine/pseudoephedrine would “usually” and “generally” reduce it to methamphetamine at a 70 percent ratio but that ratio could have been as low as 50 percent was insufficient to prove defendant was manufacturing more than three grams of methamphetamine so as to support an A felony conviction.
Taylor v. State, No. 71A04-1001-PC-6, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., July 9, 2010)
Officers’ warrantless search of home to determine whether there was an additional occupant who could have fired a weapon was a valid protective sweep.
Sample v. State, No. 45S03-1006-CR-338, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., June 30, 2010)
Error in habitual offender instruction that jury “must” find habitual status if it finds priors proven was compounded, not avoided, by a “law and the facts” instruction which told jury the instructions were its “best source in determining what the law is.”