Tag Archives: criminal law

Indiana Supreme Court to Hold Oral Argument at Portage High School October 30, 2015

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The Indiana Supreme Court will travel to Portage High School in Portage, Indiana on Friday, October 30, 2015 to hear the case, Leonard Suggs v. State of Indiana (02S03-1508-CR-510).  The general public is invited to attend, along with students from various schools in Porter County. (The link to the Official Page can be found here.)

Oral argument is a process by which both sides of a case argue based upon the content of their briefs, which are generally twenty five (25) page documents outlining the authorities and arguments for their respective sides.  In this case, present will be the State of Indiana (by its Deputy Attorney General, Katherine Cooper) and Mr. Suggs’ Criminal Defense/Appellate Attorney, Paul S. Miller of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

This case is a criminal case. In order for criminal cases to reach the Indiana Supreme Court, one (1) of three (3) things must have occurred: first, the case must have already been decided by the Indiana Court of Appeals, or second, the case involves an issue of the Indiana Constitution, or third, a mandatory Indiana Supreme Court review of all death sentences. In this case, the Indiana Appellate Court has already ruled, and the Indiana Supreme Court elected to grant transfer and hear this case.

The present case involves events that took place in a bowling alley in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The record states that the Defendant threw a bowling ball at the side of the head of his then girlfriend, Evelyn Garrett, causing her injury and pain.

The case was filed under charges of Domestic Battery, as a Level 6 Felony.  In order to charge the crime as such, the State must prove that the victim was “living as the spouse” of the Defendant. According to the Indiana Court of Appeals Record, the two cohabitated for two (2) years, sharing a bedroom and engaging in an intimate relationship.  The Defendant, Leonard Suggs, argues that this is insufficient to demonstrate that the victim was “living as a spouse”, while the State of Indiana contends that the two were clearly within such definition.  Up to this point, both the Allen County trial court and the Indiana Court of Appeals has agreed with the State of Indiana.  The Indiana Supreme Court will be the final authority on the case, and will bind future decisions based on its opinion.

SFT Lawyers looks forward to seeing you there!

Clean Up Your Criminal Record Indiana!

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The SFT Law Blog has written extensively on the subject of criminal record expungement Indiana, and we are eager and ready to clean up your criminal record Indiana!  (See, “Indiana Criminal Record Expungement Law: A Good, Fair, and Just Social Policy”; “Spend Your Tax Refund Wisely! Get a Better Job With an Indiana Criminal Record Expungement”; “Indiana Record Sealing, Felony Reduction, and Expungement”; “Major Exciting Changes to Indiana’s Second Chance Expungement Act for 2013”; “Indiana Expungement Law: Giving a Second Chance to Those Who Deserve It”; “New Statute Opens Question of Expungement of Criminal Records in Indiana”; and, “Criminal Post Conviction Relief Available July 1, 2013 for A, B, and C Felonies in Indiana”.   This is a real law, and this law actually works! As long as you meet the statutory requirements, you can clean up your criminal record Indiana!*

What is an ‘Expungement‘? An Opportunity to Clean Up Your Criminal Record Indiana!

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An ‘expungement‘ is an act of a court which allows you to clean up your criminal record Indiana by essentially erasing a public record. (Read more here).  Depending on the particular state, sometimes expungement means physically shredding all papers associated with the particular record, removing convictions and/or arrests from online and electronic databases, or possibly sealing such records from public view.  In Indiana, the effect of an expungement is to seal records from any public contact, to remove such records from public view, and to remove such records from most electronic databases. Such electronic records may be available for criminal justice agencies such as law enforcement for a period of five (5) years following the expungement order, but such agencies cannot allow the public to see them.  For all intents and purposes, the Indiana expungement law allows you to clean up your criminal record Indiana and give you a second chance!

What Were They Thinking???  JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Clean Up Your Criminal Record Indiana!

Clean Up Your Criminal Record Indiana

One might ask, “Why would the Indiana General Assembly pass such a law?” “Isn’t the purpose of a criminal record that it be permanent?” The simple answer: JOBS.  The purpose for the original law, The Second Chance Act of 2011, was to prevent the undesirable effect of convicted persons not being able to find a job.  The theory is that people with a criminal record are less likely to re-offend if they are able to obtain employment.  As well, those who have an isolated incident or blemish on their criminal record shouldn’t be forced to carry such a burden for life once they have satisfied all of their court ordered obligations.  The idea is to give past offenders a fresh start, and an opportunity to clean up your criminal record Indiana.

If you would like to clean up your criminal record Indiana to find a new or better job, the experienced Indiana expungement law attorneys of SFT Lawyers can help!  CALL TODAY for a FREE CONSULTATION.  (219) 841-5683.

*Please contact a licensed attorney at SFT Lawyers to determine whether you qualify for an Indiana criminal record expungement.