Duncan v. State

On Petition To Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 79A05-0505-CR-258.

BOEHM, J.

We hold that the Court of Appeals erred in finding a defendant's Blakely claim to be waived when it was included in her initial brief, which was filed after this Court's Smylie decision. We also hold that the Defendant's relatively minor prior convictions do not justify enhancing the sentence.

Factual and Procedural Background

In the spring of 2004, Christopher Lindsey, his fiancé, Natasha Green, Green's two-year old son, Noah, and the couple's son, G.L., lived in a Lafayette apartment. Lindsey's mother,…