Requiring police identifications to be recorded isn't a standard the Indiana Court of Appeals is willing to adopt at the moment. A three-judge appellate panel agrees on that issue, but in a ruling today those judges disagree on a separate appeal claim about a victim's punch to the face. In Henry Lewis v. State, No. […]
A former Marion County commissioner took the stand against the judge she once worked for, hinting at a pattern of disorganization in his courtroom. However, she took most of the blame for an almost two-year delay in releasing a man who had been cleared of rape charges.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take two Indiana cases, including one that inspired the law requiring child molesters to register their addresses on a public database.In a list of certiorari denials released May 12, the nation’s high court announced it wouldn’t review the Hoosier cases Christopher Stevens v. Ed Buss, No. 07-7745, and Christopher J. Stephens v. Indiana, No. 07-9858. Both had been reviewed at the court’s private conference last week.Stevens is the case that inspired Zachary’s Law. He…
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the murder convictions of a Lakeville man accused of murdering his family almost 20 years ago as a teenager.But in doing so, the three-judge panel all but directly asked the Indiana Supreme Court to take on this issue of first impression and clarify an earlier ruling justices made. That ruling specifically refused to dismiss the case on Robert Pelley’s argument that a delay between charging and trial dates conflicted with his due process of…
An Allen County judge is facing disciplinary charges for what is being described as misconduct in a fellow jurist’s courtroom that involved verbally berating members of a defendant’s family after a sentencing hearing.Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger has been charged by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications with four counts of misconduct, filed Tuesday as a formal notice of disciplinary proceedings. The document can be viewed here.The filed complaint states that on Nov. 30, 2007, Judge Scheibenberger suspended his court…
In the first court decision of its kind in Indiana, a special judge has invalidated Zionsville's parks impact fee because it violates state statute.
The Indiana Supreme Court is being asked to take a legal malpractice case in which an Indianapolis law firm got hit with an $18 million verdict two years ago.Attorneys representing law firm Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe filed a petition for transfer with the state’s highest court Monday in Frederick W. Dennerline III, et al. v. Jim Atterholt, Insurance Commissioner of the State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0610-CV-557. This move comes following the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling in May that upheld the…
The Indiana Supreme Court has denied for the second time in two months a request to get involved in a Terre Haute mayoral election dispute.The justices sent notice Tuesday to attorneys that they won’t bypass the Court of Appeals on a dispute resulting from the November election, when Republican Duke Bennett ousted incumbent Democrat Mayor Kevin Burke by about 110 votes.The court had previously decided not to get involved in an issue about whether Vigo Superior Judge David Bolk had jurisdiction…
On the day a new Indiana law was set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker struck it down as being unconstitutionally vague, overbroad, and a violation of the First Amendment.The 31-page ruling was issued by the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, this afternoon in Big Hat Books, et al. v. Prosecutors, 1:08-CV-00596, a challenge to House Enrolled Act 1042 that would have required any person or organization wanting to sell literature or other material…
An Evansville judge has handed down the first death sentence since Indiana lawmakers changed the jury’s role six years ago. The sentence also is likely the first execution order resulting from a penalty-phase hung jury since 1993.The execution of Daniel Ray Wilkes is set for Jan. 25, 2009, but that will likely be delayed for years by appeals and could have potential to reach the Supreme Court of the United States as an issue of first impression about whether a death…
The Indiana Supreme Court is investing $1.1 million to add computer features to its case management system being implemented statewide in the coming years.Adding to the millions already invested in the state’s largest-ever technology project, the high court has decided to purchase a supervision module for its Odyssey Case Management System, currently in place in Monroe County and the Marion County Small Claims Court in Washington Township; it will be launched in a handful of other counties by early next year.Justice…
The Indiana Supreme Court will consider two cases this week asking whether convicted sex offenders can be required to register for life on a statewide database.The state’s highest appeals court will hear a combined argument Thursday in Todd L. Jensen v. State, No. 02A04-0706-CR-351, and Richard P. Wallace v. State, No. 49A02-0706-CR-498. Arguments are set to begin at 9:45 a.m. and can be viewed online through a webcast.Now, Jensen v. State and Wallace v. State have a combined case number of…
Indiana lawmakers who want to pass legislation targeting employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants got ammunition from a federal appellate court ruling in California.
Dubois Superior Judge Elaine Brown is the newest judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals.Gov. Mitch Daniels announced this morning Judge Brown’s appointment to the state’s second highest appellate court, replacing Judge John Sharpnack who is taking senior status in May. “This is a dream of a lifetime,” Judge Brown said, on first reaction this morning. “I’m just so extremely honored and humbled, and can’t wait to get started. It’s life-changing for me.”The southern Indiana jurist has been on the bench…
In a split decision this morning, the Supreme Court of the United States has defined money laundering and tossed out the convictions of an East Chicago man.The high court ruled on U.S. v. Efrain Santos, et al., No. 06-1005, which involved a money-laundering ring in East Chicago.A majority of justices held today that “proceeds” according to the federal money-laundering statute applies only to transactions involving criminal profits, not criminal receipts.Indianapolis attorney Todd Vare with Barnes & Thornburg argued before the high court…
A Marion County commissioner has resolved the judicial disciplinary action against her, though a similar case against her supervising judge proceeded today with the start of a two-day hearing.
Court-watchers looking online to view Indiana’s appellate decisions have been denied two days of opinions because those published rulings were not posted online.A set of three dozen opinions came down Tuesday and Wednesday, but a change last month in how access is provided to those daily rulings meant that only online viewers, those directly involved in a decided case, or those who’ve traveled to the Indiana Statehouse to inspect opinions knew that any rulings had been released.By noon today, a list…
The Indiana Court of Appeals has tossed out the convictions and 106-year sentence of a former Hamilton County child welfare worker accused of molesting two boys, including an autistic boy who he'd mentored.
Trial courts should be able to deny criminal defendants the right to represent themselves when that person can’t communicate coherently with the court or jury, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office wants the nation’s highest court to decide.The state submitted a brief this week to the Supreme Court of the United States, which will hear arguments March 26 in the Hoosier-based pro se case of Indiana v. Ahmad Edwards, No. 07-208. You can view the 74-page brief online here.Dating to July 1999,…
Marion Superior Judge Grant W. Hawkins is used to spending his days in court. But on Oct. 6 and 7, he wasn’t on the bench; the jurist was the one being judged. Already, his former part-time commissioner has resigned and been permanently banned from any judicial role because of this issue, and Judge Hawkins is battling 11 misconduct charges against him that could mean his judicial career is on the line. But before he finds out his fate, the judge is…