Indiana cases

Defendant’s failure to raise before Litchfield that specific trash search issue could not benefit from that case’s retroactivity. Jefferson v. State, 891 N.E.2d 77 (Ind. App. 2008).*

Stop of minor after curfew when officers were responding to a call of shots fired was reasonable under Fourth Amendment and state constitution. A.M. v. State, 891 N.E.2d 146 (Ind. App. 2008):

In this case, A.M. was walking down the street at 1:00 a.m. well after curfew. The officers were aware that gunshots had recently been fired in the area. A.M. was miles from home and known to frequent the area with other individuals that the officer had arrested on prior occasions. Consequently, the officers were justifiably concerned that a violation had occurred. The officers were also reasonably concerned that A.M. might be armed, and thus justifiably concerned for their safety. These considerations outweigh the intrusion to A.M. Accordingly, we conclude that under the totality of the circumstances, A.M.’s rights were not violated under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.

Entry into defendant’s property to seize dead animals was permitted under open fields doctrine, even under Indiana’s expansive expectation of privacy. Baxter v. State, 891 N.E.2d 110 (Ind. App. 2008)*:

Unlike Fourth Amendment analysis, analysis of searches under the Indiana Constitution does not focus on reasonable expectations of privacy. See Trimble, 842 N.E.2d at 803. Still, the concept of open fields may be relevant in assessing the degree of intrusion a particular search makes on a citizen’s ordinary activities, which is a consideration under the Indiana Constitution. Here, the abandoned house and accompanying dilapidated buildings on the property where the dead horses were found were at least several hundred yards away from Baxter’s residence. Officer East and Deputy Smith went to the property on the basis of the tip and the confirmation by Baxter’s son that the dead horses were there. Other persons besides Baxter and his family, i.e. Silgas employees, were permitted to enter the property. Officer East and Deputy Smith also did not have to enter any closed buildings or structures, or climb any fences, to see the dead horses. We find the degree of intrusion into Baxter’s ordinary activities caused by the viewing of the dead horses to be infinitesimal.