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The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next Thursday on cases involving the state’s abortion ban, a recount of absentee ballots from this year’s primary election and a land battle with a Fort Wayne school district.
The arguments begin at 9 a.m. with Metropolitan School District of Southwest Allen County, Indiana v. Crown Enterprises.
In June 2024, the Metropolitan School District of Southwest Allen County filed a complaint against Crown Enterprises over three parcels of real estate Crown owned but the district wanted “for furtherance of necessary school corporation purposes,” which included the future construction of more school buildings, according to court documents.
Crown objected, arguing the district had no need to take the land, though the district said it isn’t required to demonstrate a present need for the property.
The Allen Circuit Court upheld Crown’s objections, finding that the district only had a speculative need for the land and failed to show that the land was needed for present use.
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals panel reversed the trial court’s ruling, determining that the “present need” requirement doesn’t apply to school districts under Indiana Supreme Court precedent. The appellate court said that even if the “present need” requirement was applicable, Crown failed to demonstrate that the district didn’t have present need for the land, according to court documents.
The case is Metropolitan School District of Southwest Allen County, Indiana v. Crown Enterprises, 26S-PL-00170.
At 10 a.m., the state’s high court will hear arguments in The Individual Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, et al. v. Anonymous Plaintiff 1, et al.
Before Indiana’s statewide abortion ban took effect in 2023, five anonymous women and the organization Hoosier Jews for Choice challenged it with a lawsuit against the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana and prosecutors in Marion, Lake, Monroe, St. Joseph and Tippecanoe counties.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs argued that the ban violated their rights under Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Marion Superior Court granted a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the abortion ban against the plaintiffs until their religious freedom claim could be resolved, according to court documents.
The state appealed the ruling and the trial court’s certification of the case as a class action case. In its appeal, the state argued the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the preliminary injunction because Hoosier Jews for Choice lacks standing, and that the plaintiffs’ claims were not ripe for adjudication. They also argued the plaintiffs failed to prove what’s required for a class action case or preliminary injunction. Finally, the state argued the preliminary injunction was too broad.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling in part, finding that Hoosier Jews for Choice has associational standing, that the plaintiffs’ claims are ripe and that the class action certification was appropriate. While the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s granting of a preliminary injunction, the court determined the injunction was overly broad because it enjoins enforcement of the abortion ban in ways that don’t violate the state’s religious freedom act, court documents state.
The appellate court remanded the trial court’s ruling for a narrower injunction.
On remand, the trial court granted summary judgment for plaintiffs and entered a permanent injunction preventing the state from enforcing the ban when doing so violates residents’ religious beliefs. In granting the permanent injunction, the trial court judge determined the state failed to show a compelling state interest in banning abortions for religious reasons.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted the immediate transfer of the case under Appellate Rule 56, which states that an appeal can skip over the state appellate court and transfer straight to the high court if the party making the appeal shows it involves a substantial question of law of great public importance, according to Indiana Court Rules.
The case is The Individual Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, et al. v. Anonymous Plaintiff 1, et al., 26S-PL-00128.
At 11:15 a.m., the high court will hear arguments in the case, Spencer Deery v. Paula K. Copenhaver and Secretary of State Diego Morales, Paul Mullin, and Michael Claytor, as Members of the Indiana Recount Commission.
Last month, the Indiana Recount Commission rejected several absentee ballots, and accepted others, from Senate District 23’s May 5 Republican primary. The commission’s decision altered the outcome of the initial voting count from incumbent Senator Spencer Deery.
Deery appealed the decision and sought immediate transfer to the Supreme Court under Appellate Rule 56.
The case is Spencer Deery v. Paula K. Copenhaver and Secretary of State Diego Morales, Paul Mullin, and Michael Claytor, as Members of the Indiana Recount Commission, 26S-EX-00293.
Oral arguments can be viewed online.
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