Michael W. Hoskins

Footnotes in at least two recent Indiana Court of Appeals decisions show how the appellate court sees state statutes governing the authority master commissioners have in carrying out trial court business.In a published opinion issued today in Denia Baniaga v. State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0801-CR-21, the three-judge panel led by Chief Judge John G. Baker attached a footnote to the first page of the case from Marion Superior Judge Steven Eichholtz and Master Commissioner Patrick Murphy. The master commissioner heard the…

Criminal defendants can waive their right to appeal a trial court’s sentencing decision as part of a plea agreement, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled today.In a unanimous ruling in Timothy Ray Creech v. State of Indiana, No. 35S02-0709-CR-376, justices affirmed a decision from Huntington Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hakes.The case stems from a six-year executed sentence on a child-molesting charge in 2006; Creech had entered a plea agreement that left the sentence up to the trial judge but capped the executed portion…

While lethal injection itself isn’t unconstitutional, a ruling today from the U.S. Supreme Court has left open the door for more legal challenges to how states administer the deadly drugs. But on a broader level, the one justice who supported the 1976 decision to reinstate Capital punishment is now in favor of reigniting the debate on the death penalty and striking it down.In a widely splintered 7-2 decision in Baze, et al. v. Rees, et al., No. 07-5439, justices wrote a series…

A new shift in the Indiana Appellate Clerk’s Office has helped eliminate a backlog that created delays for some files getting to the appropriate court and appearing on the docket.Dealing with a backlog that’s been evident for months, Appellate Clerk Kevin Smith started making changes late last year after becoming concerned with the ability to keep up with growing caseloads and intake workloads. The office implemented staff and organizational changes in January that involved hiring new employees, shuffling existing staff, and…

After 17 years on the appellate bench, Judge John T. Sharpnack is retiring today from the Indiana Court of Appeals.Though he’s stepping down as a full-time jurist, Judge Sharpnack plans to continue his work as a senior judge starting Monday; he reaches the constitutionally mandated retirement age of 75 May 7.A 3 p.m. retirement ceremony was planned to mark his departure from the court, with Chief Judge John Baker presiding. Judge Sharpnack’s family, colleagues, former law clerks, and special guests were…

The chief judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals is calling a majority’s decision today a “radical act” in reversing a $45,000 jury verdict in favor of a former Butler University football player who was suspended from the school after being accused of raping a female volleyball player.In Susana Henri v. Stephen Curto, No. 49A02-0709-CV-777, Chief Judge John G. Baker disagreed with his two colleagues – authoring Judge Patricia Riley and Judge Margret Robb, who reversed the Marion County jury decision and…

The state’s highest court has agreed to hear a case involving $16 million of East Chicago riverboat casino revenues and whether a private business can shield its financial records from the public.The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer Aug. 14 in Steve Carter v. East Chicago Second Century, et al., No. 49A02-0708-CV-722. The case concerns the attorney general’s request last year for a public accounting of money disbursed to Second Century from the state-licensed riverboat, which eventually became Harrah’s.In a March ruling,…

The Indiana Court of Appeals this week declined to take an interlocutory appeal on a case accusing the Archdiocese of Indianapolis of covering up an ex-priest’s history of sexual abuse.In denying the case of Archdiocese of Indianapolis, et al. v. John Doe NM, 49A05-0802-CV-00075, the court has given its go ahead for the Marion County civil suit to proceed to trial; it would be the first of 13 against the archdiocese to survive summary judgment. The suit was brought by a…

A week before Hoosier voters head to the polls, the nation’s highest court has upheld Indiana’s law requiring voters to show identification before casting a ballot. The Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision, this morning in the pair of consolidated Hoosier cases William Crawford, et al. v. Marion County Election Board, et al., No. 07-21, and Indiana Democratic Party, et al. v. Todd Rokita, No. 07-25. The decision rejected the constitutional challenge to the strictest voter ID law in…

Two men vying for Marion County’s top public defender spot will face public interviews next week before members of the county agency’s governing board decide which one will ultimately be recommended for the position.The Marion County Public Defender Agency’s board of directors declined to release names publicly until today. The board is searching for someone to succeed chief defender David E. Cook, who is leaving the agency for Indianapolis immigration firm Gresk & Singleton.Indianapolis defense attorneys Robert J. Hill Jr. and…

A landmark ruling from the Nebraska Supreme Court this morning means that the last state allowing electric chair executions can’t use the method because it’s considered cruel and unusual punishment.The 6-1 ruling today in State of Nebraska v. Richard Mata, Jr., S-05-1268, affirms the death sentence but stays the execution. The court decided that the legislature may vote to have a death penalty but not one that offends rights under the state constitution. Because the decision is based solely on state…

A Marion County public defender is being suspended from his job after his arrest during an undercover child sex sting this weekend.The chair of the public defender office’s board of directors confirmed that Ryan Snyder, 29, is being suspended today and the Marion County Public Defender’s Agency is determining whether that will be paid leave or not.”We don’t want to be premature, and we have to let the judicial system work,” said chair Jimmie McMillian, an associate with Indianapolis firm Barnes…