This is a good time to think about our Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights. The personal favorite of this law office is the Sixth Amendment!

Read it here:

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”

Looks like the Founding Fathers were using that Old English spelling (“defence” instead of “defense”), but you get the gist of it!

The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial and right to counsel work in tandem with each other to protect the right to a fair trial. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is applicable to the individual states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

More about the Sixth Amendment is posted here.

Here is an interesting commentary from HBO’s John Oliver. It is thought provoking and worth a watch.

The Indiana Supreme Court decided police interrogation tactics crossed the line and violated the Constitution when the interrogating officer played upon an African American suspect’s fears of racial discrimination preventing him from receiving a fair trial in order to force a confession.The opinion begins with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King and is well worth reading.

The new Indiana Expungement Law is (as of March 26, 2014) in effect. The Indiana Supreme Court has published instructions and forms.

The first step in the process is to obtain a complete criminal history. For persons in Marion County, this may be obtained at the City County Building in Citizen’s Services which is located in the east wing (police side nearest Alabama Street) of the City County Building on the first floor.

For people looking to get a fresh start and open a new chapter of their lives with a clean slate, this is a positive development in Indiana Law. Hats off to the Indiana Legislature and Gov. Mike Pence for making this happen.

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently ruled expungement is mandatory in cases involving certain misdemeanors and low-level felonies. Read the Court’s April 24, 2014 opinion here!

Contact our office today for more information or to schedule your free initial consultation. We are happy to help!

The Chicago Tribune reports the President is encouraging defense attorneys and local bar associations to help identify persons incarcerated for low level drug convictions and seek their release. This push is designed to alleviate the overcrowded prison population problem.

This news story is well worth a watch.

The story talks about the mass incarceration problem and its being due in part to the privatization of prison systems. I have not read Harper’s books yet, but I am going to get them asap.

Thank you, Mr. Harper! You rock.

Watch the speech here.

Keep the Dream alive. We still have work to do. Education is one key. Courage is another.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”

The 7th Circuit issued an opinion in a Title VII Civil Rights Act case yesterday (June 11, 2013). The federal appeals court reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment (the lower court had ruled in favor of the employer). The facts of the case showed the employer tasked a pregnant woman with an increased and burdensome workload, made inappropriate comments, and gave implausible reasons for firing her, all of which “revolv[ed] around a bizarre incident involving the death of a 100-year-old potential client.”

Jennifer Nelson wrote a good article in the Indiana Lawyer about this case.

Our current and past caseload consists of post-conviction matters, including post-conviction relief actions under the Indiana Rules, as well as sentence modifications, appeals (including both direct appeals and post-conviction relief appeals), federal civil rights matters, and federal habeas corpus.