A little less than a year ago, the Indiana Supreme Court determined that murder defendants no longer need to prove why they should be entitled to bail, setting aside nearly 150 years of prior contrary decisions. In the case of Fry vs. State, the court ordered that the burden of proof for bail in murder cases be shifted from the defendant to the State because the right to bail is a traditional and cherished right.

Now, in order for the court to determine whether or not the defendant is entitled to bail, the State must now show that the defendant “more likely than not” committed the murder, rather than the defendants having to show that proof of their crime is not evident and the presumption of their guilt is not strong.

Vonderheide & Knecht

Serving Lafayette's Legal Needs Since 1992