Bloomington is a city and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 69,291 with a 2007 estimate of 72,254. Bloomington is the home to Indiana University. Established in 1820, IU has approximately 40,000 students and is the original and largest campus of the Indiana University system. In 1991, Thomas Gaines, a landscape artist, published a book, The Campus As a Work of Art, in which he named the Bloomington campus one of the five most beautiful in America. Most of the campus buildings are built of Indiana limestone. Bloomington is also the home of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Maurer School of Law - Bloomington, the world renowned Jacobs School of Music, the Kelley School of Business, the Kinsey Institute, The Indiana University School of Optometry, the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing (the School of Informatics also has a branch at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), and The Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute. Bloomington has been named a Tree City for more than 20 years. The city was the site of the Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away, featuring a reenactment of Indiana University's annual Little 500 bicycle race. Bloomington is also famous for its rock quarries, also featured in Breaking Away, which residents have been known to use as swimming holes.

What is criminal defense law?

In a criminal case, the state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit, while in a civil case the victim brings the suit. Persons convicted of a crime may be incarcerated, fined, or both. Criminal defense attorneys represent clients who have been accused of committing a crime, and defend their rights at each stage of a misdemeanor or felony case -- from an arrest to an appeal after conviction. Criminal defense attorneys may be hired privately or provided by the government (called "public defenders").

Answers to criminal defense law issues in Indiana

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution says that you have a right to be free of unreasonable police searches and...

The general criteria for making an arrest is what is referred to as probable cause. Probable cause arises when there...

There are two different types of warrants that may be issued:

  • arrest warrants - an order issued by a...

The Miranda decision relates specifically to the rights of a criminal suspect after he has been detained by the...

Bail is typically set by a magistrate or a judge who considers the seriousness of the offense and the likelihood of...

Early in the course of a criminal proceeding, the defendant will be brought into court and the charges brought...

At any point during this process the defendant may plead guilty to the charge leveled against him or her. Likewise,...

Criminal offenses can be divided into two general categories:

  • ­felonies -- a crime for which a person...

The distinguishing feature of criminal law is the element of punishment. The purpose of criminal law is to punish...

There are several defenses that can be raised in a criminal case. The defenses listed here are a sampling of those...