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When Can You Legally Use Force? Indiana Self-Defense Law, Stand Your Ground & More

If someone breaks into your home, can you legally shoot them? Does Indiana's stand-your-ground law mean you never have to retreat? And if someone hits you first, does that give you the right to hit them back?

In Season 2, Episode 5 of Tales from the Brown Desk, Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Kassi Rigney welcomes guest host Sean Moore, who fills in for Jake Rigney while Jake is sick. Along with producer and co-host Teri Muehlhausen, they discuss Indiana self-defense law and the line between protecting yourself and committing a crime.

We break down when force may be legally justified, what Indiana's stand-your-ground law actually means, when deadly force may be permitted, and what changes when you're defending your home, your property, or someone else. We also discuss the tragic Whitestown wrong-house shooting case and the difficult questions it raises about self-defense.

Then we turn to a proposed Indiana constitutional amendment concerning bail eligibility and what voters need to understand about the November ballot question.

And because we can't stay serious forever, it's time for The Glock Switch! This round comes with a ridiculous house rule: every answer must include the word banana and explain what it has to do with the law. Good luck, counselors.

Finally, Florida Man returns with another round of questionable decisions, outrageous headlines, and a game of the Florida Man board game from Ultra PRO.

In this episode:

• Indiana self-defense and stand-your-ground law
• When deadly force may be justified
• Protecting your home, property, and other people
• The Whitestown wrong-house shooting case
• Indiana's proposed constitutional bail amendment
• The Glock Switch: the banana edition
• Florida Man and the Ultra PRO board game

Real cases. Real legal questions. Straight talk from Indiana criminal defense attorneys… with a little Florida Man thrown in for good measure.

Listen, follow, and join the conversation:

Visit https://www.talesfromthebrowndesk.com/season-2-episode-5 for the episode and more from Tales from the Brown Desk.

If you enjoy the show, follow the podcast, share this episode, and tell us what you think. What does “stand your ground” actually mean to you?

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general legal information and educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Legal outcomes depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each case.

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Indiana didn’t invent a crime called doxxing. It folded the idea into the intimidation statute, and the difference matters.

Season 2, Episode 4 of Tales from the Brown Desk. Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys Jake and Kassi Rigney sit down with Teri to walk through Public Law 146-2026, the anti-doxxing change that took effect July 1. The bill started as its own offense and ended up inside Indiana’s existing intimidation law after lawmakers’ home addresses leaked during the late-2025 redistricting fight, followed by swatting calls, threats, and unwanted pizza.

We cover what “post,” “social media platform,” and “personal information” actually mean under the statute, why two pieces of information matter, and why the penalty jumps when the target is a member of the General Assembly. Then the hypotheticals: posting an address with no threat, “someone needs to teach this guy a lesson,” calling someone’s job, sharing public records, deleting the post ten minutes later, and where political speech ends and a charge begins.

Also on the desk:

The ICE leftover from last episode: IMPD and the mayor aren’t doing street-level work with ICE, but the Marion County Sheriff’s Office is housing detainees and honoring detainers under a long-running U.S. Marshals contract. WTHR records showed 800+ ICE detainees from January through mid-September.

The Glock Switch, house rule edition. Every answer has to include a dollar amount

Florida Man. She asked him not to do that in bed. It became a felony question.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. The law changes, and every case is fact-specific.

Website: https://www.talesfromthebrowndesk.com

Firm: https://www.rigneylawindy.com

Questions for the desk: [email protected]

Listener discretion advised. 18+.

#IndianaLaw #Doxxing #CriminalDefense #GlockSwitch #FloridaMan #TalesFromTheBrownDesk

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This is a short docket notice — not a full episode. No case law, no Florida Man, no hour of us arguing. Just a quick update.

Tales from the Brown Desk is moving from Friday afternoons to Monday afternoons.

Season 2, Episode 3 already dropped on the old Friday schedule. Season 2, Episode 4 lands this coming Monday afternoon, and new episodes will keep coming biweekly on Mondays after that.

Same show: two foul-mouthed Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys, zero script, real talk about the system, and the Florida Man segment at the end. Just a better day of the week.

Subscribe so you don’t miss Monday’s episode:
https://www.talesfromthebrowndesk.com

Questions for the desk: [email protected]

Brought to you by Rigney Law LLC and Teri Muehlhausen.

18+ · Language & listener discretion advised.

This podcast is general information, not legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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He told the jail he had pepper spray. Indiana still convicted him for keeping it.

Season 2, Episode 3 of Tales from the Brown Desk. Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys Jake and Kassi Rigney sit down with Teri to unpack a new Indiana Supreme Court case, two local judges facing misconduct charges, ICE activity in Indianapolis, a leftover Flock-camera question, the Glock Switch, and two Florida Man stories.

In this episode: 

• Flock cameras leftover: if the footage catches a crime, can charges be filed? 

• Gary v. State (Ind. April 9, 2026): 3 a.m. on a friend’s couch, no booking search, a “starter kit,” and the Supreme Court saying the crime was not handing it over 

• Fox 59: misconduct charges against Marion Superior Judges Jose Salinas and Geoffrey Gaither 

• ICE in Indianapolis: what bystanders can do, what to do if you are the one in the car, and what Braun, Hogsett, and Banks actually said 

• Glock Switch: answers must start with the letter G 

• Florida Man: the swamp and the man under the hotel bed.

This is not legal advice. It is two foul-mouthed Indianapolis defense attorneys and their co-host talking through real cases and current events.

Website: TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com
Firm: RigneyLawIndy.com

Send a questions or topic for the next episode to [email protected]. 

Tales from the Brown Desk is hosted by Jake and Kassi Rigney and produced/co-hosted by Teri Muehlhausen. Listener discretion advised. 18+.

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Welcome back to Tales from the Brown Desk.

This week we have a brand-new Indiana Court of Appeals decision out of Hendricks County. The trial judge took the victim off the witness stand. The Court of Appeals said not so fast. That case is State v. Manges.

Then Flock cameras — those little solar poles that photograph your plate on the way to Kroger. Who Flock says they are. What the patents say they can do.

We also put a Glock switch in the show with a new segment. Five questions. Four-word answers.

And like always, we wrap it with Florida Man.

Not legal advice.

https://www.talesfromthebrowndesk.com/

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Tales from the Brown Desk is back!

After a long break, Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys Jake and Kassi Rigney return to the brown desk with a brand-new episode.

In this relaunch we cover:

• A fresh 2026 Indiana Court of Appeals decision (Boyd v. State) involving a traffic stop based on the driver’s facial expression and hand position, a K-9 sniff, and a search the appeals court ruled unconstitutional

• The ongoing push in Indiana to charge Anthony Fauci — and whether local county prosecutors actually have the power to do it

• The nationwide “Dollar Tree Gooner” trend and the self-defense questions it raises

• A classic Florida Man story involving a machete, a hatchet, and a Publix parking lot fightListen now and subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

Website: TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com
Rigney Law: RigneyLawIndy.com  

Contact us and tell us what topic you want us to cover next.

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TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com

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Weekly Criminal Law Podcast, Tales from the Brown Desk, brought to you by Rigney Law LLC. Tales from the Brown Desk is a free flowing conversation involving two foul-mouthed attorneys. It may include graphic descriptions of sexual activity, violence, and traffic law. It may not be suitable for children. Listener discretion advised.

Episode 26. In this episode, Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys, Jacob Rigney and Kassi Rigney, talk about drug possession charges in Indiana, the role of a criminal defense attorney,  and of course the latest Florida Man news.

THE CRIMINAL LAW PODCAST

TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com

Send us Fan Mail

Weekly Criminal Law Podcast, Tales from the Brown Desk, brought to you by Rigney Law LLC. Tales from the Brown Desk is a free flowing conversation involving two foul-mouthed attorneys. It may include graphic descriptions of sexual activity, violence, and traffic law. It may not be suitable for children. Listener discretion advised.

Episode 25. In this episode, Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys, Jacob Rigney and Kassi Rigney, talk about theft, burglary, and robbery and the differences between them. We also talk about corporate personhood and how a pharmaceutical company recently pled guilty to criminal charges, and of course the latest Florida Man news.

THE CRIMINAL LAW PODCAST

TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com

Send us Fan Mail

Weekly Criminal Law Podcast, Tales from the Brown Desk, brought to you by Rigney Law LLC. Tales from the Brown Desk is a free flowing conversation involving two foul-mouthed attorneys. It may include graphic descriptions of sexual activity, violence, and traffic law. It may not be suitable for children. Listener discretion advised.

Episode 24. In this episode, Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys, Jacob Rigney and Kassi Rigney, talk about Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's new Oversight Board, the "Trial Penalty" and the Sixth Amendment Right to Trial, answers to some commonly asked criminal law questions, and the latest Florida Man news.

THE CRIMINAL LAW PODCAST

TalesfromtheBrownDesk.com

Send us Fan Mail

Weekly Criminal Law Podcast, Tales from the Brown Desk, brought to you by Rigney Law LLC. Tales from the Brown Desk is a free flowing conversation involving two foul-mouthed attorneys. It may include graphic descriptions of sexual activity, violence, and traffic law. It may not be suitable for children. Listener discretion advised.

Episode 23. In this episode, Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys, Jacob Rigney and Kassi Rigney, talk about Operation Legend, Stacking Charges, a Recent Indiana Supreme Court Opinion (Wadle v. State of Indiana) which changed the controlling law when it comes to double jeopardy. And of course, the latest Florida Man news.

THE CRIMINAL LAW PODCAST

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