Garcia and Salazar were both members of the Vatos Locos gang until Salazar defected. Salazar and his uncle were in a car driving in downtown Goshen. While they were stopped at an intersection, a veh...
Will You Be Forced To Testify Against Yourself With The Granting Of Immunity?
Question: Will You Be Forced To Testify Against Yourself With The Granting Of Immunity? Answer: Not When a prosecutor has neither filed a charge, nor initiated a grand jury proceeding! In 2010, S.C....
Can The Police Bring A Drug Sniffing Dog To Your Front Door Without Probable Cause?
Question: Can The Police Bring A Drug Sniffing Dog To Your Front Door Without Probable Cause? Answer: Yes, since individuals do not harbor an expectation of privacy on a front porch where salesmen, ...
In the State of Indiana, what does the label of a “SVP” mean?
In 2009, 16-year-old D.K. was asleep in her bed when she felt someone on top of her, beating and stabbing her on her head and upper body. As the attack progressed, D.K. was struck several times with a...
What the heck is an “Evidentiary Harpoon”?
In 2010, Scroggins Gun Shop was burglarized. The burglar forced open the front door of the business, broke a glass display case, and took 8 guns. The crime took less than a minute, and surveillance vi...
Probable Cause & Traffic Stops.
Question: Can a traffic stop be made by police when a car simply has had brief contact with the fog lines? Answer:No, officer needs more facts for reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. In 2011, ...
Indiana Schools, Child Abuse and the Obligation of School Officials to Report.
Question: Does a school have a statutory duty to report child abuse? Answer: Yes. On November 9, 2010, G.G. was a 16 year old student that reported she had been raped in the boys’ bathroom by S.M....
Contempt Of Court Is The Disobedience Of The Court’s Authority, Justice and Dignity
In 2012, the State criminally charged Mr. Schultz and Ms. Wilson. Later, Wilson pled guilty and was sentenced to 6 years in prison. The State then filed a motion for grant of use immunity for Wilson w...
Your Constitutional Rights, Search & Seizure And Sobriety Checkpoints
Question: In Indiana, are sobriety checkpoints a per se unconstitutional search and seizure of potential drunk drivers? Answer: NO. In 1999, the police conducted a sobriety checkpoint in Mishawaka. ...
Trash Is Not Always Trash!
Question: Can the police look through your trash for evidence that you have committed a crime? Answer: Yes, if they have reasonable suspicion of illegal activity. In 2011, a detective interviewed ar...