Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Defendant was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for not having a properly displayed license plate. The driver was placed under arrest for driving with a suspended license, and the police requested that Defendant exit the vehicle so an inventory search could be conducted. Upon exiting the vehicle, Defendant informed the police that he had a handgun in his pocket. Defendant was later found guilty of carrying a handgun without a license. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in refusing to give his tendered final jury instruction on the defense of necessity. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) there was some evidence that warranted giving the defense of necessity instruction; and (2) it was error for the trial court to have refused giving the instruction. View "Hernandez v. State" on Justia Law

The State prosecuted three co-defendants on identical charges in the same trial. The Supreme Court reversed the convictions of two of those three co-defendants and remanded to the trial court with instructions to enter judgments of acquittal. The case involving the third co-defendant, Latoya Lee, was indistinguishable from the cases of her two co-defendants with the exception that she belatedly filed her petition to transfer. The Supreme Court granted Latoya’s petition to transfer and reversed her conviction, holding that there was no reason to treat her differently that her co-defendants, who now stand acquitted. Remanded with instructions to enter a judgment of acquittal. View "Lee v. State" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two felony counts of dealing in cocaine. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that a detective’s opinion testimony on witnessing a drug transaction led only to an inference of guilt and was not an opinion of guilt itself in violation of Ind. R. Evid. 704(b). The Supreme Court granted transfer, holding (1) the trial court erred in admitting the detective’s statement, as the statement was an opinion of Defendant’s guilt that violated Rule 704(b); (2) the admission of the guilt opinion testimony, however, was harmless error; and (3) on all other issues, the Court of Appeals is summarily affirmed. View "Williams v. State" on Justia Law