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The Indianapolis school district has reached confidential settlements in lawsuits related to a former counselor accused of having sex with two teenage students. The Indianapolis Star reports the settlements are with a student and two former employees.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
USA v. Devan Pierson 18-1112
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James E. Shadid of the Central District of Illinois, sitting by designation.
Criminal. Affirms Devan Pierson’s life sentence and conviction for possessing drugs with intent to distribute and two related firearm crimes. Finds Pierson’s sentence was imposed within the meaning of Section § 401(c) of the First Step Act when the district court sentenced him, regardless of whether he appealed a sentence that was consistent with applicable law at that time it was imposed. Also finds Pierson’s Apprendi argument is foreclosed by Supreme Court precedent and finds no prejudice that would authorize an appellate court to find a reversible plain error in the absence of a timely objection in the district court.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
USA v. Devan Pierson 18-1112
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James E. Shadid of the Central District of Illinois, sitting by designation.
Criminal. Affirms Devan Pierson’s life sentence and conviction for possessing drugs with intent to distribute and two related firearm crimes. Finds Pierson’s sentence was imposed within the meaning of Section § 401(c) of the First Step Act when the district court sentenced him, regardless of whether he appealed a sentence that was consistent with applicable law at that time it was imposed. Also finds Pierson’s Apprendi argument is foreclosed by Supreme Court precedent and finds no prejudice that would authorize an appellate court to find a reversible plain error in the absence of a timely objection in the district court.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s life sentence after rejecting his request to vacate and receive a new trial on his firearm possession convictions based on a constructive amendment error in his indictment.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an Elkhart student’s robbery conviction after concluding there was sufficient evidence to support that she stole money in the presence of the cash’s owner.
Faegre Baker Daniels will receive a prestigious national pro bono award for its commitment to enhancing the human dignity of others through free legal services.
A victims rights bill inspired by a mother attempting to protect her underage daughter from a sexual predator’s grooming tactics was ceremonially signed Wednesday by Gov. Eric Holcomb, with support from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council.
Study committees for the 2019 interim period have been approved by Indiana’s Legislative Council and will address dozens of issues for review in the coming months, including several legal-focused topics.
Nearly a month after two judges were shot on the streets of Indianapolis, after which the alleged shooter and his accomplice walked free, an attorney representing one of the arrested men in his probation violation case said the unusual nature of the prosecution and lack of information released about the case has left it “open to speculation and conjecture.”
The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned one of several convictions and trimmed the sentence for a central Indiana man who tried to kill his former girlfriend with a homemade bomb. The rulings in the case of 40-year-old Lionel Ray Mackey Jr. of Muncie will apparently reduce his prison term from 101 years to 94½ years.
A central Indiana teenager with special needs is suing her local school district, alleging it failed to stop “severe and pervasive” bullying she has faced in school. The federal lawsuit filed May 13 in Indianapolis against the Franklin Community School Corp. doesn’t identify the girl.
Four southern Indiana residents have been sentenced after authorities say they pocketed more than $125,000 through fundraisers touted as benefiting veterans and their families. Federal prosecutors say James Linville was sentenced this week to 5 years in prison; Joanie Watson was sentenced to 3½ years, and; Thomas Johnson and Amy Bennett were sentenced to 3 years.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Brian Weil v. Metal Technologies, Inc.
18-2440, 18-2556
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Civil. Affirms in part the Southern District Court’s decertification order of Brain Weil and Melissa Fulk’s time-rounding claims against Metal Technologies, Inc. However, vacates in part the district court’s judgment on their wage-deduction claims and remands the case for the lower court to reconsider those claims in light of Indiana Code 22-2-6-3(b).
The campus sexual assault lawsuit brought by an unidentified male student against Purdue University, which was one of the first such cases to be heard by a federal appellate court since the U.S. Department of Education issued its “Dear Colleague” letter in 2011, is still awaiting a ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals while the number of similar complaints being added to the dockets of circuit courts around the country continues to grow.
A lawn mower thief failed to convince an appellate court that Hamilton County was an improper venue for his case because the theft did not actually occur until the mower’s signed rental agreement expired one day later in another county.
A former Adams County chief public defender who was suspended from the practice of law for harassing an ex-girlfriend has been reinstated to the practice of law by the Indiana Supreme Court. A hearing officer in the attorney’s case had concluded the lawyer’s prescribed antidepressant Prozac had triggered his misconduct.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a restitution calculation in the case of a former Vigo County School Corporation employee who received a share of more than $110,000 in kickbacks after steering government contracts to a favored bidder.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated in part a Southern District Court’s decision, asking it to reconsider whether an amended Indiana wage-deduction law could be retroactively applied to claims made against a former employer for withholding employee wages to rent work uniforms.
A suspended Vincennes attorney’s sanction has been converted to an indefinite suspension from the practice of law for failing to cooperate with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission concerning a grievance filed against him.
A Fort-Wayne based electronic health records company has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle an Indiana-led multistate lawsuit filed after a data breach compromised the personal health information of nearly 4 million people.