Michael W. Hoskins

An Indiana Court of Appeals panel found itself today determining the legislature’s intent in revising a statute on nonpayment of child support, an issue it describes as having little to no precedent.Though its analysis ended with little answer, the appellate court applied the doctrine of amelioration to conclude a defendant should receive a lower class of felony on nonpayment of about $13,000 in child support from Class C to Class D.The decision released today is Bobby Lee Turner, Jr. v. State…

Don’t expect to be able to use the Indiana Supreme Court Law Library as soon as planned.The library on the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis will be completely closed starting today through June 25 for restorative painting, according to librarian Terri Ross. The library has been open intermittently throughout May for an ongoing building-wide heating and air conditioning renovation, she said.Originally, the plan was for closing between April 30 and June 11; now the closing will continue for…

A sheriff’s deputy has the right to hold an elected position and in doing so isn’t violating state law against holding dual, lucrative offices, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In Walter Thompson v. Mark Hays http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06060701mgr.pdf, 72A01-0607-CV-294, the court upheld a Scott County ruling last year dismissing a claim filed by local resident Walter Thompson, who filed a complaint against Mark Hays following the November 2002 general election. Thompson accused Hays of holding the dual offices and sought an order…

 The Indiana Supreme Court has granted one transfer and is hearing two other cases this week involving trade secrets and claims of negligent infliction of emotional distress. Justices late last week granted transfer of Steven Hollin v. State, 69A01-0609-CR-401, which was an unpublished memorandum ruling from the Court of Appeals in March. The case stems from a conviction and sentencing appeal involving conspiracy to commit burglary and a habitual offender charge. Hollin claimed it was fundamental error for the trial court…

A federal judge in Indianapolis is poised to be the first Hoosier jurist appointed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in 20 years.The White House announced late Tuesday afternoon that President George W. Bush is nominating U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder to the Circuit Court. He’d replace retiring Circuit Judge Daniel A. Manion, who came from South Bend after being appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.A lifelong Indianapolis resident and a graduate of Indiana University School…

Admission of a handgun and related evidence has been tossed by an Indiana Court of Appeals panel on grounds that police who stopped the defendant and retrieved the weapon didn’t have sufficient cause to do so.The appellate court ruled today in Sarail Jamerson v. State of Indiana, No. 49A02-0608-CR-779, arising out of Marion Superior Court 19 and an investigatory stop in June 2006.Three Indianapolis Police Department officers learned a county detective wanted them to locate the appellant-defendant Jamerson in connection with…

The Indiana Supreme Court won’t get involved in a recount challenge to Terre Haute’s mayoral election.Justices voted 5-0 Thursday to deny both a writ of prohibition and writ of mandamus requested by Terre Haute attorney James Bopp Jr., who represents the man who’d won the Nov. 6 mayoral election.Republican Duke Bennett won by 106 votes and was challenging recount petitions filed by incumbent mayor, Democrat Kevin Burke. Bopp argued Burke’s petitions weren’t valid and that Vigo Circuit Judge David Bolk didn’t…

The newest First Amendment and freedom of expression case is playing out over mandatory school uniforms in Anderson.Parents Scott and Laura Bell filed a suit in Madison Circuit Court on Tuesday against the Anderson Community School Corp., claiming that a policy set to start next month would violate the constitutional right of children for a free education.The dress code, which is similar to those implemented in other Hoosier school districts such as the Indianapolis Public Schools, limits students to black, navy,…

The Indiana Supreme Court will consider whether absolute privilege exists for communications made in the course of official proceedings brought under a university’s anti-harassment policies.The court granted transfer Wednesday in Virginia Hartman and Suzanne Swinehart v. Dr. Gabe Keri , No. 02A03-0603-CV-135, which comes from Allen Superior Judge David Avery.Keri became an assistant professor of education in August 2000 at Indiana University-Purdue University – Fort Wayne and was notified in April 2003 that his contract wouldn’t be renewed because of unsatisfactory…

An emergency medical technician student sued for battery after incorrectly performing a procedure on a patient did not commit battery, the Indiana Supreme Court has decided.The 5-0 decision came in W. Ruth Mullins and Johnce Mullins, Jr. v. Parkview Hospital, Inc., et al., http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/05020701fsj.pdf, No. 02S04-0608-CV-292, reversing a Court of Appeals decision that the student had battered patient Ruth Mullins, who was undergoing a hysterectomy in 2000 at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. During the procedure, the student, LaRea VanHoey, performed…

The Indiana Supreme Court will consider cases involving payments under the Worker’s Compensation Act and also how to determine whether someone is a sexually violent predator, justices decided this week.Two transfers came Thursday in Christopher Brown, DDS, Inc. v. Decatur County Memorial Hospital, 93A02-0703-EX-236, and Alan C. Jones v. State of Indiana, 61A01-0704-CR-174. Justices also granted another case, Aaron Reid v. State, with an opinion that reduced an Anderson man’s sentence by 20 years in a murder for hire plot.In Brown, the court…

The Indiana Supreme Court justices have the state’s death penalty system on their minds.Three rulings handed down this week have involved capital cases, including one that sets a new execution date for a condemned inmate. But some of the written rationale shows reluctance on at least two justices’ parts to impose the death sentence.In a ruling dated May 21in Michael Allen Lambert v. State of Indiana http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/05210701ad.pdf, No. 18S00-0412-SD-503, the court denied the latest appeal and ordered a new execution date…

The state’s second-highest appeals court is allowing a class-action lawsuit involving Guidant Corp. defibrillators to proceed in Marion County, though the ruling won’t affect similar federal or state suits.A three-judge Indiana Court of Appeals panel ruled Thursday in Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. v. Ryan Terry and Linda Mason, No. 49A04-0704-CV-240, that Terry and Mason could continue a class-action product-liability lawsuit against Guidant over now-recalled defibrillators or pacemakers.Minnesota-based Cardiac Pacemakers Inc., a subsidiary of Guidant, manufactured the devices and wanted to get involved in…

Anyone making after-hours filings in Indiana’s appeals courts will notice a change in procedure this week.It’s back to the old way, or at least one that closely resembled how the process worked before security measures altered that system earlier this year.Construction started Monday on the east doors of the Indiana Statehouse, which is where the legal community has been allowed to enter after hours for “Rotunda filing” of court documents for the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Tax Court….

The Indiana Supreme Court has granted transfer in four cases. Justices heard arguments Tuesday morning in Philip Littler v. State, 71A03-0510-CR-509, and granted transfer later that day. The case is a murder conviction appeal involving whether the trial court abused discretion in excluding certain testimony from the victim ;s mother, properly allowed the state to add a murder charge after the omnibus date, and whether sufficient evidence was provided to support the charge. The Court of Appeals had affirmed the…