Courts

The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard a government challenge of drugmakers' "pay to delay" practice.

Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary Actions - 4/10/13

April 10, 2013

Read who has recently resigned from the bar.

Governor appoints 2 to St. Joseph Superior bench

April 10, 2013

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has made his first two judicial appointments, naming Elizabeth C. Hurley and Steven L. Hostetler to the St. Joseph Superior bench to replace two judges retiring this year.

COA rules trial court cannot exceed scope of plea agreement

April 9, 2013

A man will have to serve his full sentence, but the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled since his plea agreement makes no mention of restitution, he will not have to pay.

7th Circuit upholds precedent but asks for further guidance from U.S. Sentencing Commission

April 9, 2013

Although a gun buyer had his sentence affirmed, his argument for reduced time has caused the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to call upon the Sentencing Commission to clarify a section of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Disfigurement sufficient to affirm aggravated battery conviction

April 9, 2013

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed a Marion Superior Court conviction in a 2012 stabbing and the 20-year sentence enhancement the perpetrator received.

7th Circuit revives suit for woman with MS fired from city job

April 9, 2013

An Indianapolis woman who worked in the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis may pursue her discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Malpractice ruling for hospital remanded to trial court

April 9, 2013

The apparent agency of Ball Memorial Health Clinic as it pertains to the alleged malpractice of an affiliated doctor and nurse practitioner is a fact question the Indiana Court of Appeals sent back to the trial court, which had granted the hospital summary judgment on the issue.

7th Circuit affirms for employer in rental equipment fatality

April 9, 2013

An employer bears no liability in a lawsuit brought by the estate of a man who died operating a rented 40-foot boom lift, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Mexican restaurant owner's $3 million bond reversed, remanded

April 8, 2013

The owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants in southeast Indiana charged with numerous crimes will have a lower bond after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to reduce his $3 million bond.

Taking unauthorized courses online gets displaced worker booted from TAA program

April 8, 2013

A displaced worker’s enrollment in online classes without permission is grounds for dismissal from the Trade Adjustment Assistance training program, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.

Appeals court rehearing affirms serious violent felon conviction

April 8, 2013

An Indiana Supreme Court ruling that a conviction of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon cannot have a sentence enhanced under the habitual offender statute does not apply when the enhancement came for a separate conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Monday.

Endorsement clause makes insurance policy ambiguous

April 8, 2013

Describing an insurance company’s policy as “inherently ambiguous,” the Indiana Court of Appeals has reserved the summary judgment granted by the trial court.

COA affirms car forfeiture when owner arrested for iPhone theft

April 8, 2013

A Wal-Mart worker who tried to steal four iPhones from the store at the end of her workday has no protection from forfeiture laws that allowed the state to take her car, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Hearings set for trio charged in southside Indy explosion

April 8, 2013

Three people charged in an explosion that killed two people and leveled part of a southside Indianapolis housing development will go before a judge in Marion Superior Court on Wednesday.

Toxicology lab witness’s failure to appear dooms drunken-driving conviction

April 8, 2013

A Tennessee man’s drunken-driving conviction in Shelby Superior Court was tossed because his trial took place more than a year after his arrest, largely due to a toxicology lab worker’s failure to appear for scheduled depositions, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Pair convicted in liquor store killing not entitled to DNA evidence

April 8, 2013

Two men sentenced more than 20 years ago for murder and Class C felony attempted robbery were not improperly denied post-conviction relief when they couldn’t obtain DNA evidence they said would prove exculpatory, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Conour alleges feds reneged on deal to delay prosecution

April 5, 2013

Former personal injury attorney William Conour has filed an affidavit in his federal wire fraud case swearing that the government reneged on a deal to delay his prosecution so that he could settle outstanding cases that could have generated about $2 million in fees.

Public input wanted on proposed changes to court rules

April 5, 2013

The Indiana Supreme Court wants to hear from judges, attorneys and the general public as it considers possible changes to court rules.

Justices affirm denial of killer’s post-conviction relief

April 5, 2013

A man originally sentenced to die for the 2006 murders of a mother and her 8- and 13-year-old daughters will continue to serve his converted sentence of life without parole after the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon affirmed a trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief.

Law students to join Bei Bei Shuai rally

April 5, 2013

Students from Indiana University Maurer School of Law will take part in a rally this weekend to call for an end to the prosecution on murder and attempted feticide charges of Bei Bei Shuai. Shuai consumed rat poison while pregnant, and her newborn daughter died shortly after birth.

Court reverses several theft convictions under single larceny rule

April 4, 2013

Jennifer Nelson

An Orange County man who stole items from a deceased man’s home and sold them had multiple convictions overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals, including several theft convictions and failure to report a dead body.

COA affirms dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction

April 4, 2013

Jennifer Nelson

The Indiana Court of Appeals found that a Texas corporation that made a component of a dust collector that injured a Fort Wayne man did nothing more than place the screw conveyor in the stream of commerce, which supports dismissing the Texas business from a lawsuit filed here.

Trial court improperly suspended driving privileges for life

April 4, 2013

Jennifer Nelson

A Marion Superior Court exceeded statutory authority when it suspended a man’s driving privileges for life, the Indiana Court of Appeals has held. At the time Thomas Porter was arrested and charged, his driving privileges were suspended for life, but that was no longer the case when he was sentenced.