Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week in the case of Bryant v. State that having an incompetent trial lawyer does not necessarily entitle a person to a new trial.

In this case the Defendant was strip searched after being arrested for a misdemeanor the officers.  Specifically, officers "forcibly bent" Defendant over and retrieved marijuana from the Defendant's buttocks.  The law in Indiana is that officers generally cannot strip search a Defendants accused of misdemeanors.  There is an exception if the police reasonable suspect that the Defendant is concealing contraband.

In this case the Defendant's attorney did not attempt to exclude the evidence that was forcibly extracted from the Defendant.  This was a mistake.  The Court of Appeals ruled that this was okay because the police officers testified that the Defendant leaned over in his car and that was suspicious behavior.  Thus the Court of Appeals decided that a motion to exclude would not likely have been granted.

The bottom line?  When you need to hire an attorney you need to find someone who can, if necessary, take your case to trial.  Because you only get one shot. You had better make it count.

If you have been charged with a crime or otherwise need a trial attorney, contact Indiana Trial Attorney Marc Lopez today at (317) 489-9611 or through his law firm's website.

Indiana Court of Appeals Dismisses Late Appeal

In the matter of Jeremy Phovemire v. State, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a late appeal is subject to dismissal.  This is particularly troublesome as the issue in the case was that the trial court did not give the Defendant the proper number of credit days.  The most important thing to take away from this appellate case is that when dealing with an appeal it is important to recognize that the Indiana Court of Appeals is very strict with deadlines and other rules applicable in Appeals.  

The second most important thing to take away from this case is that whenever anyone is accused of any type of criminal wrongdoing that person must have a competent and capable trial lawyer.  Any law school graduate who passes the bar is a lawyer.  But being a trial lawyer takes more work than studying at law school and passing a test.  It takes someone who is willing and able to spend time learning how to be a trial lawyer.  It takes someone who is willing and able to stand up for the little guy against the Government.  It also takes someone who knows court procedure, knows the rules of evidence and has the guts to stand up to a judge that would probably be much happier, and possibly get home much earlier, if the Defendant just plead guilty. 

Attorney Marc Lopez is an Indiana Trial lawyer that spends all of this time fighting for the rights of the little guy.  If you are in need of a trial lawyer feel free to contact Attorney Marc Lopez at (317) 489-9611 or through his web page.