Services
Appellate and Post-Conviction Representation.
Since she opened her firm in 2007, Cara has handled hundreds of appeals and has extensive experience arguing cases in Indiana’s appellate courts, including 16 arguments in the Supreme Court of Indiana and 8 oral arguments in the Indiana Court of Appeals. She has also handled over 100 post-conviction cases and practiced in nearly every county in Indiana.
Some of Cara’s former cases include:
Lana Canen v. State of Indiana - Cara’s first post-conviction exoneration. After discovering Lana’s fingerprint was misidentified by the State’s fingerprint examiner, Cara was able to obtain a reversal of Lana’s conviction and secure her freedom after Lana spent eight years in prison.
Blake Layman v. State of Indiana - known as one of the “Elkhart 4,” Blake and three of his friends were convicted of felony murder when they were juveniles. On appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed Blake’s felony murder conviction. Blake’s case was the topic of a Dr. Phil episode and a documentary (“1275 Days”).
Antoine Hill v. State of Indiana, Sarah Pender v. State of Indiana, Shakima Lewis v. State of Indiana - Successive post-conviction cases are unique in that permission must first be granted to file them and they are limited to only a few issues, so attorneys must understand how to effectively “bootstrap” claims in a successive post-conviction case. Cara represented Antoine and Sarah in their attempts to obtain permission to file successive post-conviction petitions.
J.W. v. State of Indiana - Cara represented a child on appeal after a juvenile delinquency proceeding. The case was eventually heard by the Indiana Supreme Court, who clarified the proper procedure for children in delinquency proceedings who wish to challenge the validity of their admissions in juvenile court.
Justin Yeary v. State of Indiana - first appellate case in Indiana to address the constitutionality of Indiana’s drug-induced homicide statute. Cara obtained a reversal of the conviction due to the lack of a causation jury instruction.
Offender Registration Issues.
Cara has developed a particular interest in offender registration issues, which involve the intersection of state probation and parole law, Indiana’s offender registration case law, and federal registry law. She has represented many clients seeking removal or modification of their registration obligations.
Cara authored the Indiana Sex Offender Pamphlet for the Indiana Public Defender Council, a resource for criminal defense attorneys on offender registration issues. She has assisted attorneys in understanding the offender registration consequences of guilty plea negotiations and guided litigation in registration violation and removal cases.
Cara has also created a handbook for clients and those who support their re-entry. The Handbook of Indiana Registration Requirements explains the basic registration obligations for individuals and is available for download here.
Training.
For a decade, Cara has presented at various continuing legal education seminars and workshops, training on topics such as appellate advocacy, parental rights terminations, forensics, offender registration issues, human trafficking and Indiana’s vacatur statute, and petitions for post-conviction relief.
Cara was also an adjunct legal writing professor at her alma mater.