A federal jury decided in less than three hours that a former Ball State University police officer isn't liable in the fatal shooting of a drunken, unarmed student four years ago.An eight-person jury returned Monday evening with a verdict in about 2 ½ hours, after hearing 10 days of arguments and testimony in the case of McKinney v. Robert Duplain in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. Jurors determined that Duplain wasn't liable for Michael McKinney's death.More than 50 people - mostly...

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer Wednesday in a case involving environmental cleanup costs and which party would be liable to incur those costs. At issue in Dreaded Inc., v. St. Paul Guardian Insurance Co., et al., No. 49A02-0701-CV-78, is whether St. Paul is liable for environmental cleanup defense costs incurred prior to receiving notice of potential liability from Dreaded about an environmental claim. Dreaded received a claim letter in 2000 from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management demanding the company do...

Defendants are entitled to fair trials, not perfect ones, and the imperfections of one defendant's trial didn't deprive him of a fair trial, ruled the Indiana Court of Appeals. The court upheld the murder conviction of John Myers II, who was convicted two years ago of killing IU student Jill Behrman in 2000. Authoring Judge Cale Bradford wrote in the 44-page opinion, John R. Myers II v. State of Indiana, No. 55A05-0703-CR-148, the court acknowledges there were certain discrete imperfections at Myers'...

Geography is the main sticking point that has split the Indiana Supreme Court on determining reasonableness of non-compete covenants as they relate to physicians and medical practices.With its 3-2 ruling March 11 in Central Indiana Podiatry v. Kenneth Krueger, Meridian Health Group PC, No. 29S05-0706-CV-256, the court held that employment contracts between doctors and medical practice groups don't absolutely go against public policy and are enforceable if written reasonably.But views on what's "geographically reasonable" in the latter part of the holding is what...

Relying on caselaw from the 19th century, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's decision to dismiss a battery charge against a teacher for striking a student in gym class. Judges Patricia Riley and Melissa May agreed with the trial court in State of Indiana v. Paula J. Fettig, No. 49A02-0709-CR-807, that gym teacher Fettig was protected from prosecution because state statute gives authority to school personnel to discipline students. Citing Indiana Code Sections 20-33-8-8(b) and 20-33-8-9, Judge Riley wrote...

The three-judge panel of L. Mark Bailey, Cale Bradford, and Melissa May travel to southern Indiana to hear arguments before the Sherman Minton Inns of Court in Jeffersonville on April 9. The judges will hear the case Indiana Department of Natural Resources v. Lake George Cottagers Association, No.76A03-0708-CV-381, at 5:30 p.m. at the banquet hall Kye's I, 500 Missouri Ave., Jeffersonville. At issue is who owns the land beneath a dam - the state or the Cottagers Association - and who...

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court order granting a husband relief from judgment because the order modified the parties' original property settlement, which wasn't allowed under Indiana Statute or Trial Rule 60(B). In Janet L. Dillard v. Donald S. Dillard, No. 36A01-0712-CV-606, Donald Dillard filed for divorce from his wife, Janet Dillard, in July 2006. The parties agreed in December 2006 to a property settlement, which stipulated the marital home would be sold and Donald would receive 25 percent...

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Valparaiso Monday in a case involving an automobile accident and the statute of limitations to amend a complaint.The panel of Judges John Sharpnack, Nancy Vaidik, and Michael Barnes will be asked to decide in Tim Sinks v. Krista L. Caughey, 49A04-0709-CV-502, whether the trial court erred in denying Sinks' motion to dismiss and allowing Caughey to amend her complaint. Caughey was rear-ended by a pickup truck, and she relied on the information...

More than a year after hearing arguments in a Carmel mining-regulation case, the Indiana Supreme Court decided Thursday that municipalities can regulate mining and don't have to rely on a zoning process to do so.The unanimous decision came in City of Carmel v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., No. 29S04-0611-CV-469. Justice Frank Sullivan authored the ruling in Carmel's favor after considering the validity of a 2005 city ordinance exerting control over the 50-year-old mining operation by regulating issues such as the mine's hours...

The Indiana Court of Appeals today affirmed summary judgment for the city of Hammond, where an attorney who practices law there contested an ordinance that would charge a fee to have a business license. The lawyer claimed the fee was tantamount to a tax.In the opinion, David Paul Allen v. City of Hammond, 45A03-0708-CV-372, it states that on July 28, 2005, Allen filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against the city to invalidate the ordinance requiring businesses to have a license....

The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended Marion Superior Judge Grant Hawkins from the bench until the court is able to decide his final penalty resulting from a disciplinary action against him.Justices issued an order this afternoon suspending Judge Hawkins with pay, effective today. A second order appoints Indianapolis attorney James Osborn as judge pro tempore until justices issue a final resolution. Osborn was elected this year as a new Marion Superior judge and is slated to take the bench in January.This is the...

The U.S. Senate is about to vote on whether a federal magistrate in Indianapolis will be elevated to a constitutionally established judgeship. The senators started to voted after 4:30 p.m. Around 4:15 p.m. the senators started discussing the nominees in executive session. The session can last up to an hour, after which they will come back for a public confirmation vote. Just before 4 p.m., the U.S. Senate took a break from discussion on wiretapping to move on judicial nominations. A unanimous confirmation appeared on...

Harold D. Buntin is a focal point of the judicial misconduct investigation into a Marion Superior Court judge and his part-time commissioner, but the Indianapolis man could be just the tip of the iceberg for what's been happening in that criminal court.The nearly dozen charges brought separately Wednesday against Marion Superior Judge Grant W. Hawkins and Master Commissioner Nancy L. Broyles, both assigned to Criminal Court 5 since January 2001, not only deal with a single case of possible wrongdoing but...

Construction is set to begin this summer on the new federal courthouse in Terre Haute. The project is expected to be complete by summer 2009. The new courthouse will have 14,000 square feet of rentable space and will house the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District, clerks' offices for both courts, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District, U.S. Probation Office, and U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. General Services Administration spokesperson David...

A former Marion Superior judge and deputy prosecutor died May 2 after a long battle with cancer. Judge John R. "Jack" Barney Jr., 73, also served as a senior judge for Marion Circuit and Superior courts.Judge Barney, an Indianapolis native, earned his law degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1962 and joined his father's law firm, Barney & Hughes, after graduation. He practiced at the firm, which later became Barney & Barney, until 1984. Judge Barney was a Marion...

A Carroll Circuit judge received a public admonition from the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications today in lieu of filing formal disciplinary proceedings. Hon. Donald Currie was arrested in December 2007 for public intoxication after a police officer saw the judge outside of his car near Interstate 65 in Boone County. The judge pleaded guilty to the Class B misdemeanor in Boone Circuit Court and is currently serving a one-year probationary sentence in Boone County. According to the public admonition, both...

In an issue that hasn't been decided by Indiana courts, the Court of Appeals ruled that the "rescue doctrine" applies to people who are injured after stopping to help direct traffic after a car accident or other traffic issue. There is no clear answer in Indiana caselaw or other jurisdictions as to whether someone who helps direct traffic is considered a "rescuer" entitled to a rescue doctrine jury instruction, wrote Judge Michael Barnes in Star Transport, Inc. and Jeffrey Cottingham v. Hervey...

A defendant's appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise a Blakely claim on appeal because raising the issue was outside his counsel's objective prevailing professional norms at the time, ruled a majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel today. However, the dissenting judge cited numerous examples of other counsel amending appeals with a Blakely claim during the same time period. In Steven Kendall v. State of Indiana, No. 49A05-0707-PC-391, Kendall appealed the denial of his post-conviction relief petition by...

Police and animal control officers were justified in removing malnourished animals from a property without a warrant, ruled the Indiana Court of Appeals today. The court also overturned a Bartholomew County man's convictions of neglect on four dead horses because of lack of evidence they died of neglect.In Terry Baxter v. State of Indiana, No. 03A04-0710-CR-596, Terry Baxter appealed his convictions of four counts of Class D felony failure to properly dispose of a dead animal, and 12 counts of Class...

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana wants to hear from you. The court is seeking public comment on the revision of certain local rules. The proposed revisions look to modify Local Rule 5.1 - general format of documents presented for filing, Local Rule 6.1 - extensions of time, and Local Rule 56.1 - summary judgment procedure. Changes have also been made regarding the discipline imposed by other courts, reinstatement, and the service of papers and other notices.The...

The Indiana Supreme Court granted five transfers within the past week to cases dealing with traffic stops, life insurance polices, unpaid medical expenses, modification of a custody order, and plea agreements. The high court granted transfer and released its opinion yesterday in Sergio Campos v. State of Indiana, No. 45S03-0804-CR-199, involving a traffic stop and Sergio Campos' arrest after police found drugs in the car. A story in today's Indiana Lawyer Daily covers the Campos case in more detail. The Supreme Court granted...

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance agent because it found her alleged negligence was not a cause of injury to the plaintiffs. At issue in Jerry and Becky French v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company and Jane Hodson, No. 18A02-0612-CV-1161, is whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Hodson on the Frenches' claim of negligent advice and procurement of insurance. The Frenches decided to...

All of Indiana's appellate jurists facing retention this year will appear on November's ballot.Facing a Tuesday deadline to file retention paperwork, the five jurists told Indiana Lawyer they hope to return to the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Tax Court. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, Justices Theodore R. Boehm and Brent E. Dickson, Court of Appeals Judge Carr Darden, and Tax Court Judge Thomas G. Fisher are up for retention.The Indiana Secretary of State's Election Division reports that all...

Although the United Parcel Service Inc. came out as winners in a discrimination case in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, love and marriage were deemed the losers by the appellate judges. In Gerald C. Ellis v. United Parcel Service Inc., No. 07-2811, Ellis filed a discrimination claim against UPS after he was fired for fraternizing with a fellow employee. Ellis, a manager who is African-American, claimed he was fired after his supervisors discovered he was dating and eventually married a white...

The Indiana Court of Appeals today ruled for the first time on an aspect of a state statute dictating when the Department of Child Services can initiate parental rights termination proceedings.A unanimous decision today affirms a trial court judgment in the case of In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.B. and Dawn B. v. Department of Child Services, No. 02A03-0712-JV-599. The appellant-respondent's daughter, when she was 6, was hospitalized in 2002 for violent, uncontrollable behavior and the...