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.
R. Rucker
Rodriguez v. State, No. 20A03-1704-CR-724, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Jan. 11, 2018).
Trial court may modify defendant’s sentence under Ind. Code § 35-38-1-17(l), as a person may not waive the right to sentence modification as part of a plea agreement.
Pinner v. State, No. 49S02-1611-CR-610, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 9, 2017).
Police need more than a tip that someone is carrying a handgun to conduct a lawful search and seizure; there must be evidence from which an inference of criminal activity can be drawn.
Sims v. Pappas, No. 45S03-1701-CT-26, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 11, 2017).
Prior alcohol-related driving convictions can be introduced into evidence for the issue of punitive damages and the remoteness of a prior offense does not affect the admissibility of the evidence.
Leonard v. State, No. 71S00-1509-LW-539, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., May 2, 2017).
In the Richmond Hill explosion murder case, resulting in trial court imposition of two consecutive life without parole sentences, the evidence was sufficient; the State proved the intentional burning aggravator beyond a reasonable doubt; recorded phone calls from prison between defendant and special agent were properly admitted; and, Indiana’s life without parole statute is constitutional.