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Opinions Dec. 21, 2018

Indiana Court of Appeals
Roderick Vandrell Lewis v. State of Indiana,
18A-PC-767
Post-conviction. Affirms denial of post-conviction relief petition. While agreeing with Roderick Lewis that his attorney’s performance at sentencing was deficient, concludes Lewis’s 130-year sentence for his conviction of felony murder would not have been different if counsel had offered the mitigating circumstances raised at the post-conviction hearing. Finds the post-conviction court correctly determined that Lewis was required to establish prejudice under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 688, 694 (1984) rather than U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 (1984). Also holds appellate counsel was not ineffective.

COA says immigrant’s PCR petition was 12 years too late

An immigrant woman who waited 12 years to seek relief from a forgery conviction has lost the appeal of the denial of her post-conviction relief petition, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding the woman did not provide a credible explanation for the delay.

Divided COA rules against grain farmer in statutory dispute

A Putnam County farmer will only be partially compensated for grain he deposited with a failed grain elevator after a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his reading of the relevant compensation statute.

Supreme Court committee seeks comment on amendments to ‘lazy judge’ rules

The Indiana Supreme Court is seeking comment on proposed changes to trial rules that govern what happens if a trial judge fails to timely rule on a motion and that would remove Supreme Court involvement in the appointment of a special judge. The court’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure is considering amendments to Indiana Trial Rules 53.1 and 53.2.

Committee seeks comment on court-administered alcohol, drug program amendments

The Indiana Judicial Conference Board of Directors and Court Alcohol and Drug Program Advisory Committee are seeking public comment on proposed amendments to rules for court-administered alcohol and drug programs. Amendments have been proposed for sections 19, 22, 27, 30 and 31 to the rules, and the creation of a new section concerning chemical testing has also been proposed.

NCSC essay contest on free speech open to students

Indiana students in third grade and up are invited to participate in an essay contest in recognition of National Law Day on May 1. Entrants in each category must pen a 100-word essay in response to this year’s question, “Should there be limits to free speech? Why or why not?”

New rule: Pence, lawyer Congress members exempt from CLE

Indiana lawyers who are members of Congress, senators or vice president no longer have to worry about meeting continuing legal education requirements under a rule adopted this week by the Indiana Supreme Court. The new rule also decreases CLE credits required for state lawmakers who are attorneys.

Competency to be reviewed for man charged in 2 slayings

Competency evaluations will be reviewed for a man charged in the fatal shootings of a woman whose body was found in an abandoned rural central Indiana farmhouse and a man found slain at a nature preserve in Anderson.

Freedom of religion remains free at Monroe County Jail

Be it rosary beads for a Catholic, a meeting with a rabbi, a prayer mat for Ramadan or a Bible for someone who’s never held one, whatever the religious need, it’s met by the chaplain and staff at the Monroe County Jail.

Opinions Dec. 20, 2018

Indiana Court of Appeals 
City of Gary, Indiana and Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company
18A-CT-68
Civil tort. Affirms the Lake Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Auto-Owners Insurance Company, a liability insurer for one of the defendants in a lawsuit seeking payment for cleaning up contaminated property. Finds the city’s complaint focused solely on the operation of Western Scrap and did not allege facts that might fall under the Auto-Owners policies that covered Recycle West. Also rules Auto-Owners designated sufficient evidence to make a prima facie showing that negated the airport’s separate contamination lawsuit. 

IMPD officers sued for destroying homeless camp

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two as yet unidentified Indianapolis police officers, alleging they unlawfully seized and destroyed the belongings of five homeless individuals who had been living under a railroad bridge.  

Insurer has no duty for contamination at Gary airport

The city of Gary’s lawsuit seeking payment for cleaning up contaminated property near the Gary/Chicago International Airport has stalled after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the business owner’s insurer had no duty to indemnify.

Survivor benefits not excluded from marital assets, COA says

The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court’s division of a divorced couple’s marital property, finding the wife’s survivor benefit from her ex-husband’s pension could not be excluded from the marital assets.

False informing conviction reversed for Monrovia dog owner after attack on mini horse

A Monrovia man found guilty of failing to inform an officer that a dog who killed a mini horse was inside his home had his conviction reversed Thursday, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding that the man's failure to provide any information about the whereabouts of the dog could not be considered false informing. 

Supreme Court to travel, invites amici in smartphone privacy case

The Indiana Supreme Court will hit the road early next year to hear oral argument in a first impression case involving smartphone privacy. Justices also have invited amicus parties in the case as they seek to determine whether law enforcement can force a woman to unlock her phone as part of a criminal investigation.

Federal court rebuffs latest Monarch-linked liquor law challenge

An Indiana motor carrier’s attempt to transport liquor for a Michigan City wholesaler has been blocked by the Southern Indiana District Court, which found the proposed arrangement could potentially circumvent Indiana’s three-tiered alcohol distribution and sales system.