Family Law
Your Trusted Felony & Misdemeanor Defense Attorney in Indiana
No Criminal Charge Should Be Taken Lightly — Not Even a Misdemeanor
The word misdemeanor can create a false sense of security. In Indiana, even a Class A misdemeanor carries the potential for up to one year in jail, substantial fines, and collateral consequences that affect employment, housing, professional licensing, and driving privileges. A felony conviction is more severe still — and Indiana’s felony classification system, ranging from Level 6 through Level 1, means that what begins as a lower-level charge can escalate quickly depending on circumstances, prior record, or how the evidence develops.
At every level of criminal charge, the accused has constitutional rights that govern how law enforcement may conduct investigations, how evidence may be obtained and used, and how the case must proceed through the court system. Exercising those rights and ensuring that police and prosecutors stay within the boundaries of legal procedure is not something that can be effectively done without counsel. An unrepresented defendant in the Indiana criminal system faces significant disadvantage from the moment charges are filed.
Ziemer & Ziemer has spent decades defending Evansville residents against the full range of criminal charges — from first-time misdemeanor matters to serious felony offenses. As an experienced criminal defense attorney in Evansville, Jay Ziemer handles each consultation personally and gives every client a genuine assessment of their situation.
Our Approach
How Ziemer & Ziemer Defends Against Felony and Misdemeanor Charges
DUI and OWI Charges
A DUI or OWI charge may appear routine to a prosecutor who handles dozens each month. For the person charged, the consequences — license suspension, jail time, a permanent criminal record, and dramatically increased insurance costs — are anything but routine. Ziemer & Ziemer examines every procedural element of a DUI case, because the state’s ability to obtain a conviction depends on getting those procedures right. Key questions include:
- Were all field sobriety tests administered according to proper protocol?
- Was the breath, blood, or urine sample collected with consent or pursuant to a valid warrant?
- Is the chemical analysis reliable and was the equipment properly calibrated?
- Was the initial traffic stop constitutionally valid?
A single procedural failure by law enforcement can compromise the admissibility of the state’s most important evidence.
Drug Possession and Drug Charges
Indiana drug possession charges range from misdemeanor possession of a small amount of marijuana to serious felony charges for possession of Schedule I narcotics or possession with intent to deliver. Federal drug charges carry mandatory minimums and prosecutorial pressure that state charges do not. When a prosecutor offers a deal on a drug charge, the offer deserves careful scrutiny rather than quick acceptance. The right questions to ask include:
- Is the prosecutor offering a deal to save face on a weak case?
- Will pleading to the lesser charge actually result in a more lenient outcome?
- Is dismissal of the charges altogether a realistic possibility?
Ziemer & Ziemer also recognizes that many clients facing drug charges are dealing with addiction rather than criminal intent. Where treatment and diversion are in a client’s genuine best interest, the firm pursues those options with the same determination applied to a full trial defense.
Domestic Violence Charges
Domestic violence charges are among the most aggressively prosecuted criminal matters in Indiana, and they are also among the most susceptible to circumstances that complicate the state’s narrative — misunderstandings, acts of self-defense, disputed accounts of events, and allegations arising from relationship conflicts. Every person charged deserves the opportunity to have their full version of events heard and evaluated by competent counsel before any decision about the case is made.
Sole custody means one parent holds primary legal or physical custody. The other parent typically receives parenting time, but one parent carries the decision-making authority or the child primarily resides with one household.
Joint custody means both parents share legal or physical custody, or both. Joint arrangements require a workable level of communication and cooperation between parents. Indiana courts can order joint custody even when one parent objects, if the evidence supports it as the best arrangement for the child.
What Indiana Courts Consider When Parents Cannot Agree
- The child’s age and any expressed preferences
- Which parent assumed primary caregiving responsibility during the marriage
- Each parent’s work schedule and availability
- Each parent’s physical and emotional capacity to parent
- The strength of the child’s emotional bond with each parent
- Whether either parent is attempting to use the child as leverage against the other
- Whether either parent is unfit to raise the child
- Whether either parent is attempting to undermine the child’s relationship with the other parent
WHY NOT GO IT ALONE
What Happens When a Defendant Lacks Qualified Legal Representation
Indiana’s criminal justice system moves quickly and does not slow down for defendants who are unprepared. Prosecutors are experienced, organized, and motivated. Evidence gets reviewed, charges get filed, and hearing dates get set on a schedule that does not accommodate defendants who are still trying to understand what they are facing. An unrepresented defendant at arraignment, at a bond hearing, or at a pretrial conference is at a fundamental disadvantage — and decisions made at those early stages frequently determine how the entire case resolves.
Every person charged with a crime in Indiana has the right to review all evidence collected by investigators, to explain their circumstances and actions, and to avoid unjustly harsh penalties. Those rights exist on paper. Exercising them in practice requires a defense attorney who knows the procedures, knows the courts, and knows how to hold prosecutors accountable for meeting their legal obligations.
WHY ZIEMER & ZIEMER
