Legal Question in Criminal Law in Indiana

Re: usage of confidential informants

As a defendant in Indiana and the U.S., you are entitled to discovery and have the right to confront and cross examine states witnesses. Many times the state does resisit providing names of the CI claiming safety reasons. However, your attorney using the discovery process along with the appropriate motion can compell the identity of the CI. If after such an order is made the state fails to comply, then sanctions could be imposed. This could include excluding testimony of the CI from being introduced at the time of trial.

The warrant is not impacted by use of a CI. This is well established case law in both the state and federal courts. However, there may be other factors in considering whether a warrant is a good one or not. A close review of that warrant would be required to make that determination.

I suggest you discuss this with your attoney fully in approaching the issues of your case. Try to do this as as you can.

Re: usage of confidential informants

The questions you pose in your e-mail are commonly asked by defendants in drug cases involving confidential informants. Prosecutors frequently drag their feet in providing the identity of a confidential informant to a defendant with the excuse of protecting the safety of the confidential informant. There are discovery options that can be used to force the prosecutor to provide the identity of the confidential informant to you. If the State fails to provide the confidential informant's identity after ordered to do so by the Court, you could request that the Court bar all testimony by the confidential informant in trial.

The search warrant in your case would not be thrown out simply because a confidential informant was used. There are several issues regarding the legitimacy of a search warrant, however, and I would recommend that you speak to an attorney as soon as possible to discuss the search warrant in your case.