Case Clips» M. Bailey

Law enforcement officer's actions were conducted in a manner that did not prolong the stop beyond the time reasonably required to complete the mission of issuing a ticket, and support the denial of a motion to suppress.

"Where a jury is able to apply concepts without further assistance, highlighting individual exchanges or vouching for the truth or falsity of particular evidence is invasive."

The trial court has authority to reduce or suspend a prior sentence and impose a new sentence that the court was authorized to impose at the time of sentencing under Ind. Code § 35-38-1-17.

Although a trial court has discretion in granting or denying an expungement petition, it does not extend to a disregard of remedial measures enacted by our lawmakers. Such statutes should be liberally construed to advance the remedy for which they were enacted.

A party must strictly comply with the statutory provisions allowing relief from the registration requirements of the Indiana Sex Offenders Registry Act.

In the absence of probable cause to detain, the trial court abused its discretion when it did not exclude from evidence the heroin found in defendant's mouth during jailhouse search.

Defendant's due process rights were violated when the trial court allowed the State to withdraw the plea agreement over the Defendant's’s objection because the victim had not been notified.

State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant acted under sudden heat to sustain a conviction for voluntary manslaughter.

The economic loss rule does not have the effect of barring an accountant malpractice claim at tort.

Forfeiture order was reversed when the trial court inferred from defendant’s presence in the vehicle that he was a co-conspirator with the other passengers for dealing in narcotics when there was no additional evidence of a nexus between defendant’s forfeited money and dealing in narcotics.

Lessor may not circumvent a lessee’s contractual right of first refusal to purchase the leased premises by submitting a third-party offer to the lessee in which the leased premises are bundled with other property.

Tax sale purchasers must provide notice to any person with a substantial, publicly recorded interest even if their interest lies outside the chain of title. “Requiring a tax-sale purchaser to search outside the chain of title—even if it means searching thousands of records in the county recorder’s office—is one of the safeguards created by the statute.”

When defendant is convicted after a trial to the court, the right to waive allocution is personal to the defendant and may not be waived by counsel.

Trial court infringed upon the custodial rights of parent by delegating decision-making as to child’s need for therapy to a service provider.

When the Agreed Decree of Paternity requires that Child be vaccinated based on her school’s requirements and that Mother is in contempt for submitting the religious objection form to circumvent the parties’ agreement, there is a substantial change in Mother’s ability to communicate and cooperate with Father in advancing Child’s welfare and the trial court should modify legal custody of Child for the limited purpose of making medical decisions concerning vaccinations.

A serious violent felon who possesses more than one firearm has committed more than one offense.

“The excessive force objective reasonableness standard…may be instructive but does not provide a minimum threshold for termination of police employment when an allegation has been made that the officer violated an internal use of force rule.”

Even though the underlying crime did not involve the use of a firearm, prohibiting defendant from possessing firearms during his probation period did not violate his right to bear arms under the state or federal constitutions

An individual participating in a needle exchange program may be found guilty of possession of paraphernalia if he intended to use syringes for unlawful ends; however, to sustain a conviction for maintaining a common nuisance for the unlawful delivery of a controlled substance from a vehicle, the State must show that it has been used on more than one occasion for that purpose.

The trial court abused its discretion when it gave the sudden emergency jury instruction with no evidence to support it. Because the sudden emergency instruction was given and emphasized in closing argument, a new trial is warranted.

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