Indiana General Assembly Special Session Resolves Conflicts in New Criminal Code

The new criminal code is now in effect as of July 1, 2014.  The General Assembly met for a one-day special session on June 17, 2014, to resolve certain technical conflicts in the criminal code before July 1.  The Governor signed it into law on June 20, 2014, as HEA 1448(ts).  Police officers will now have the ability to arrest a suspect where the officer has probable cause to believe they have committed theft, even if that theft is a misdemeanor.  See I.C. 35-33-1-1(a)(11).  Also, several drug laws changed enhanced felonies from ‘less than 5 grams’ to ‘at least 1 gram but less than 5 grams.’  Finally, Child Molesting as a Level 1 Felony has been increased from 20-40 years to 20-50 years with an advisory sentence of 30 years if Defendant is older than twenty-one and the victim is under twelve or if the act resulted in serious bodily injury or death.  I.C. 35-50-2-4.