Case Results for criminal and employment matters:

Criminal:

Trial Level:

Child Molesting charges dismissed after three days of testimony in which the trial court excluded all statements made by alleged victim.

Fire Chief: NOT GUILTY. Township Fire Chief charged with confining and pointing a gun at three people. Jury found Chief not guilty of all seven (7) charges.

Juvenile Correctional Guard: DISMISSED. Juvenile Correctional guard was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage inmate. ALL CHARGES DISMISSED.

Murder and Robbery: DISMISSED. After sitting in jail for three years, Kathleen was retained. Sixty days later, charges for murder and robbery were dismissed and client was released.

Murder: NOT GUILTY. Client was charged with murder. Ms. Sweeney aggressively cross-examined the pathologist obtaining admissions that the ballistics evidence supported self-defense.

Child Molesting-A felonies: NOT GUILTY. Client was charged with A felonies for allegedly fondling his girl-friend’s teenage daughter. After the teenager admitted, on cross-examination, that she was jealous of her mother and her new boyfriend, the jury returned not guilty on all counts.

DEALING COCAINE-A felony: After successfully, suppressing the majority of drugs found in client’s possession, client pled to D felony.

RICO: Client was employed by a chain of pawn shops and was indicted on RICO charges regarding the events at the pawn shop. The prosecutor finally agreed to an A misdemeanor sentence.

RAPE: A Turkish citizen attending graduate school in Indiana was charged with raping an acquaintance. After negotiations, the State allowed client to finish graduate school, and plead only to a D felony thereby avoiding mandatory sex offender registration.

APPEALS:

Perjury Conviction: Reversed. Marlowe v. State

New Law made in Suppression:

1500 grams of cocaine suppressed by Ind. Sup.Ct.:  Campos v. State, 885 N.E.2d 590 (2008)

Retention of a driver's license can constitute detention. Finger v. State, 799 N.E.2d 528

Incarcerated Confidential Informant deemed unreliable: Coleman v. State, 847 N.E.2d 259

New Sentencing Hearings:

in Life Without Parole Case: Highbaugh v. State, 773 N.E.2d 247
in Federal Drug Case: USA v. Miller, 405 F.3d 551

“A” felony Robbery Conviction Reduced to “C” felony: Spears v. State, 735 N.E.2d 1161

Jury Instruction: Overturned. the Indiana Supreme Court overruled prior cases that had long allowed instructing the jury about victim’s testimony and held that the giving of such an instruction was error. Ludy v. State, 784 N.E.2d 459.

PROSECUTIONS FOUND TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Mueller v. State, 837 N.E.2d 198 (Prosecutor’s diversion program found to be discriminatory)

Smylie v. State, 823 N.E.2d 679, Ms. Sweeney was a part of a team of Amicus Curiae counsel in which the Indiana Supreme Court found the sentencing statutes to be unconstitutional which resulted in the re-writing of the statutes.

Currently pending with the Indiana Court of Appeals is a challenge to the prosecutor’s charging of Performance Harmful To A Minor.

Employment (due to the confidential nature of most settlements only generalities can be described)

Negotiated six figure severance package from fortune 500 company based on sexual harassment of a company executive.

Negotiated covenant not to compete for publishing industry executive

Negotiated whistleblower settlement based upon health care fraud allegations.

Won jury trial in age discrimination case

[There is no guarantee the above results can be obtained in other litigation]