Eberaia Fields v. State of Indiana

Vaidik, Chief Judge.

Case Summary

[1] When Warsaw Police Department Officer Miles Reichard pulled over Eberaia Fields, Officer Reichard had not taken the statutory oath for law-enforcement officers. Fields filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, and the trial court denied his motion, finding that although Officer Reichard had not been sworn in, he was acting as a de facto officer at the time of the stop.

[2] The de facto officer doctrine confers validity upon acts performed by a person acting under the color of official title even though it is later discovered that the legality of…