No one wants to have to file for bankruptcy, but sometimes it's the best option available. If you're struggling to keep up with your bills and debt, you may be wondering if bankruptcy is right for you. Here are some things to consider that can help you make the decision. Are you behind on you...
Consent is an agreement between two or more people. For consent to be present, all parties involved must feel that they can say "no" at any time and have their feelings respected. This also means that everyone involved must be of legal age and mentally competent to make decisions. If someone is u...
In Indiana, criminal confinement is a serious crime. It occurs when someone knowingly or intentionally confines another person against their will, without the legal authority to do so. Criminal confinement can occur in many situations. For example, if you lock someone in a room or tie them up, yo...
In Indiana, public intoxication (commonly called "drunk and disorderly") is defined in state law under specific conditions. There are three elements to the crime of public intoxication: That the defendant was intoxicated, that the defendant endangered the person or property of another, and the de...
Probable cause is needed to make an arrest, conduct a search, or obtain a warrant. It is the standard by which police officers and prosecutors determine whether there is enough evidence to believe that a crime has been committed and that the person accused of the crime committed it. In Indiana, ...
Probation is a court-ordered period of supervision that requires an individual to adhere to certain conditions, such as abstaining from drugs or alcohol, maintaining employment, or completing community service. Probation can be imposed after a person is convicted of a crime or pleads guilty to a ...
A bench warrant is a court order for the arrest of an individual who has failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance. A judge may issue a bench warrant if an individual does not show up for their trial, hearing, or other required court appearance. What is an Arrest Warrant? An arrest warr...
Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. Homicide can be either legal or illegal, and it can be either intentional or unintentional. In some cases, homicide may even be considered Justifiable. The legal definition of homicide varies from state to state, but there are generally three...
When you file for bankruptcy, it can feel like your whole world is crumbling. You may worry about how this will affect your ability to keep your job. Here's what you need to know about how bankruptcy may affect your employment. First, it's important to understand that filing for bankruptcy does ...
Can I record a telephone conversation if the other person on the line does not know that I am recording? When it comes to recording audio conversations, many states have what is called all-party consent, which requires both parties in a conversation to be aware of and give consent to recordi...
My name is Corey Scott, and I am a criminal defense attorney here in Indianapolis, Indiana. As you can imagine with almost 20 years practicing in this area, I have heard just about everything. It seems like every day someone comes into my office with some type of misinformation. For example, ...
All of us have places we need to get back and forth from, and for most of us this requires driving. Whether it be taking the kids to school, going to our jobs, appointments, or church, we are, in truth, a very mobile society. However, one thing I have learned from working in this field is that ...
My name is Corey Scott, and I am a criminal defense attorney here in Indianapolis. If you have ever had the experience of reading over your police report, you may have noticed the term, “implied consent.” I get asked about this term from time to time, and I am more than happy to explain implied...
If you are in criminal court and have been convicted of a crime, this is going to be the most important interview of the entire process. For some people, this might be the most important interview of their life. It is the presentence investigation interview. Generally, cases will start with ch...
There are three distinct types of plea agreements in the state of Indiana, and I would like to tell you about them and discuss their differences. The first type of plea agreement is what is called a set term plea agreement. This is an agreement between the defendant and the state of Indiana,...
What is a plea agreement? You might think that everybody knows what a plea agreement is, but as someone who is asked this question quite often, I can tell you that is untrue. For those out there who are unclear on what a plea agreement is, I will briefly walk through what they are and how they...
“If the police didn't see me commit a crime, they can't arrest me.” I regularly have people show up at my office with all kinds of misinformation. We hear misleading information all the time, people rely on information they got from their cousin, or read on social media. Having done this for...
I have not done anything, and I do not have anything on me. What is the harm in consenting to a police search? I am so glad that you asked that question because this scenario happens all the time. You get stopped, and the officer runs your information. Everything checks out, your license is...
Over the years I have observed too many people make catastrophic, major mistakes, all because of a little peer pressure. I am not exaggerating here; I have seen an excessive amount of people who have completely ruined their lives thanks to peer pressure. There is a particular case that I know o...
There are a few popular phrases and notions that folks have been saying for years and years, that I just need to call out. Take for example, “ignorance is bliss.” I would like to argue that ignorance is not bliss at all. Another popular one goes, “what you don't know can't hurt you.” This sayin...
Can being too polite to the police get you convicted? Absolutely. Suppose you have somehow ended up down at the station and are being questioned in the interrogation room. You are disconnected from your friends and your family, and in fact cannot talk to anybody while the police are questioni...
One of the more difficult tasks in my day as a criminal defense attorney, is the read through of the initial report, or what we call the probable cause affidavit. These reports are accounts written by the arresting police officers which detail how everything, allegedly, went down. I say this pa...
I have a quick question for all of you. What have you been reading these days? I am willing to bet that everyone reading this has skimmed through at least one Facebook or Instagram post today or consumed some sort of content on the internet. The point I am getting at, and what I really want to...
“How would you handle my case?” In my opinion, this question is one of the most important questions to ask any prospective attorney. With the proper documentation and charging information, and after getting a chance to talk over your version of events, your potential attorney should be able to g...
Can you get your money back if you have posted bail for a loved one? This is a question I receive all the time, and the answer to this depends on what type of bond/bail you have paid, as there are quite a few different kinds. The first type of bond we will discuss is called a surety bond. A su...