Indiana Court Decisions: June 24 to July 7, 2015
Read recent appellate decisions from Indiana courts.
To refine your search through our archives use our Advanced Search
Read recent appellate decisions from Indiana courts.
Like a cat with nine lives, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has survived its second trip to the U.S. Supreme Court.
There is a health care revolution going on in your pocket and on your wrist, and it is one for which the legal system is ill-prepared.
A new law promising terminally ill patients access to trial drugs is no cure-all.
The announcement earlier this year of concerns surrounding the FBI’s analysis of hair samples put forensic disciplines into the spotlight again and raised questions about reliability and validity of such evidence.
Prospective clients routinely and increasingly turn to the Internet to find a lawyer. Therefore, the information you, as a lawyer with a Web presence, put out there is important to the success of your law practice.
Patients from around the country have filed 100 lawsuits against Bloomington-based Cook, alleging that some of its blood-clot filters have broken apart, moved or poked through the blood vessel where they are implanted, the inferior vena cava, which brings blood from the lower body back to the heart.
In Indiana, some large companies have expanded their domestic partner benefit packages to include same- and opposite-sex couples.
The emergence of women in male-dominated practice areas has been enhanced by a willingness among lawyers and the industry to talk about issues and obstacles.
Service providers who assist crime victims around the state received good news this month: Indiana will have almost five times more to spend on programs than the state has been accustomed to receiving.
At least two of Indiana’s five Supreme Court justices were openly skeptical of arguments that the state’s scheme for criminalizing synthetic drugs such as Spice and bath salts is unconstitutional, as the Court of Appeals ruled.
A Fort Wayne man’s argument that his defense strategy was upended when the government waited until mid-trial to produce a complete chain of custody document convinced the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn his conviction
Indiana Court of Appeals
Richard McCrumb v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
29A05-1412-CR-583
Criminal. Affirms conviction of operating a motorboat with an alcohol concentration equivalent of at least 0.08, a Class C misdemeanor. Finds the evidence is sufficient to show that McCrumb’s jet ski is a “motorboat.”
David Reyes-Valdes v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
15A01-1406-CR-237
Criminal. Vacates Reyes-Valdes’ conviction and 50-year sentence for dealing in cocaine, as a Class A felony. Affirms conviction of conspiracy to commit dealing in cocaine, as a Class A felony, but revises the sentence to 40 years executed.
Gene Hooks v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
82A01-1412-PC-546
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Tod E. Elias v. Janet R. Elias (mem. dec.)
45A03-1502-DR-46
Domestic relation. Affirms division of marital property in the marriage dissolution.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Joshua R. Mackin
14-3602
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division;
Judge Theresa Springmann
Criminal. Vacates conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm and remands for further proceedings. Finds the government’s failure to produce the correct and complete continuity slip until mid-trial violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16. Agrees with defense that the incomplete slip presented during discovery was the basis of the defendant’s trial strategy and his decision not to seek a plea agreement.
Colleagues, former colleagues, clients, family and friends gathered July 11 to thank longtime Indiana Legal Services executive director Norman Metzger for his work in making sure disadvantaged and indigent Hoosiers did not fight alone.
Jurors have heard closing statements from the state and defense in the trial of a man accused of planning a 2012 home explosion that gutted an Indianapolis subdivision and killed a neighboring couple.
Hammond’s sanitary district had no statutory authority to cancel wastewater treatment contracts with the neighboring Lake County towns of Griffith, Highland and Whiting, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday, affirming the trial court in a split opinion.
A Washington, D.C., man who has scribbled illegible, abusive lawsuits against presidents, Congress, celebrities and many others in federal courts around the country – sometimes seeking trillions of dollars – can’t do that anymore in the Southern District of Indiana without first paying filing fees, a judge has ruled.
The head of the U.S. government's personnel office resigned abruptly on Friday, bowing to pressure for her to step down following a massive government data breach on her watch.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Rose A. Martiradonna f/k/a Rose A. Rynberk v. Gilbert W. Rynberk (mem. dec.)
45A03-1411-DR-411
Domestic relation. Affirms order dissolving marriage of Rose and Gilbert Rynberk. Finds the court did not abuse its discretion in denying wife’s motions to reopen discovery. Also rules court did not err in finding the husband’s three bonuses were not marital assets.
Derek Lee Morris v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1412-PC-892
Post conviction. Dismisses Morris’ appeal of the denial of his petition for additional credit time. Finds he has already litigated petitions for post-conviction relief and did not file this petition according to the procedures for successive petitions.
Wernle Youth & Family Treatment Center, Inc. v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and C.B. (mem. dec.)
93A02-1501-EX-19
Civil. Affirms the Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development that the discharge of employee C.B. by Wernle Youth & Family Treatment Center Inc., was not for just cause and C.B. is entitled to benefits.