SCOTUS denial of cases opens door to new same-sex-couple issues
Now that same-sex marriage is legal in Indiana, the courts will have to settle issues and questions that will arise in other areas, such as family law.
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Now that same-sex marriage is legal in Indiana, the courts will have to settle issues and questions that will arise in other areas, such as family law.
Almost 50 years later, Forrest Bowman Jr. is talking about the murder case involving Indianapolis teen Sylvia Likens, something he’s not done much of in the past. His just-released book, “Sylvia: The Likens Trial,” presents a thorough, inside, day-by-day recollection of a trial that captivated and horrified the state in 1966.
Although a witness’s changed testimony did not open the door wide enough to allow the introduction of a defendant’s prior drug record, the prosecution’s case was still substantial without the improper evidence so the defendant’s federal conviction will stand.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Scott Neal v. State of Indiana (NFP)
32A01-1406-CR-252
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s award of credit time for pretrial detention.
Larry D. Best, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
38A05-1307-PC-325
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Kenneth Schmitt
13-2894
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division, Chief Judge Richard Young.
Criminal. Affirms conviction for possessing a firearm while being a felon and sentence of 110 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Finds police officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment’s restrictions on warrantless searches because the officers were doing a protective sweep to secure the premises when they unlocked the basement door and searched the basement where the AK-15 semi-automatic assault rifle was found. Rules although the District Court erred in admitting evidence of Schmitt’s conviction for possession of methamphetamine, the error was harmless. And concludes District Court did not err in applying a four-level enhancement to Schmitt’s base offense level.
The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether a public school district may charge parents a fee to transport children to and from school.
Notre Dame Law School’s program to assist its graduates who pursue careers in the public service sector has reached the $1 million milestone.
The felony murder convictions of two Elkhart County teens that splintered the Court of Appeals should be heard by the Indiana Supreme Court, the defendants and amicus filers say.
The state is appealing a federal judge’s ruling this month declaring Marion County’s Superior judicial election statute unconstitutional.
A southern Indiana judge says his county needs a full-time public defender office to ensure those who can't afford attorneys receive strong legal representation.
The Supreme Court of the United States agreed Monday to referee a dispute over police access to hotels' guest information without first getting a search warrant.
The brother of a former NFL player has agreed under a deal with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two counts of a 44-count indictment against him and receive a 14-year prison sentence.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Dominic Johnson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1403-CR-125
Criminal. Affirms convictions for auto theft, a Class C felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Class A felony.
Lamonte J. Moore v. State of Indiana (NFP)
4805-1403-CR-136
Criminal. Affirms 35-year sentence with 28 years executed and seven years suspended to probation for dealing in cocaine, a Class A felony; unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Class B felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a Class D felony; and possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.
Anthony Peak Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1406-CR-224
Criminal. Affirms 30-year sentence for pleading guilty to attempted robbery, a Class A felony.
Jeffrey Ray Shanks, Sr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A04-1406-CR-262
Criminal. Affirms seven-year sentence for pleading guilty to child molesting, a Class C felony.
Tony P. Fitts v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1403-CR-77
Criminal. Affirms six-year sentence for pleading guilty to carrying a handgun without a license, a Class C felony.
Daisy Fletcher v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1402-CR-129
Criminal. Affirms revocation of suspended sentence and placement on home detention. Trial court found Fletcher violated the condition of her probation and ordered her to serve the remainder of her eight-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction.
Thomas Boardman v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1401-CR-8
Criminal. Affirms convictions for two counts of dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, and one count of possession of chemical reagents or precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, a Class D felony.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Dominic Johnson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1403-CR-125
Criminal. Affirms convictions for auto theft, a Class C felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Class A felony.
About 800 Indiana health professional, lawmakers, law-enforcement officials and others gathered in Indianapolis Friday for the beginning of a two-day symposium focused on combating prescription drug abuse.
Three teams competing to partner with Indianapolis on a half-billion-dollar criminal justice complex shaped the city’s specifications in closed-door meetings.
The federal government will recognize same-sex marriages in seven more states and extend federal benefits to those couples, the Justice Department said Friday.
Lawyers for the embattled Bureau of Motor Vehicles are speaking out this week in the ongoing legal battles over overcharges by the state agency.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Crown Capital Solutions v. Miller Pipeline Corp. and Liberty Mutual (NFP)
82A04-1403-SC-101
Small claim. Affirms dismissal of Crown Capital Solution’s small claims action seeking $6,000 in damages to a car and allegation it was entitled to bring the action as the car owner’s assignee.
Paul A. Parsley v. State of Indiana (NFP)
21A01-1402-CR-69
Criminal. Affirms convictions and sentence for class A felony dealing in a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a public park and Class B felony dealing in a controlled substance.
Mark Mikesell v. State of Indiana (NFP)
89A01-1402-CR-51
Criminal. Affirm murder conviction and 57-year sentence.
Douglas W. Zehner v. Pamela S. Zehner (NFP)
87A01-1401-DR-44
Domestic relation. Affirms award of spousal maintenance and award of attorney fees to Pamela Zehner.
Marquise McCloud v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1312-CR-1056
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony possession of more than three grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex and 33-year executed sentence.
Jeremiah J. Mosley v. State of Indiana (NFP)
52A02-1402-CR-135
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine, Class D felony possession of precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance and Class D felony possession of methamphetamine.
Gary Marcum v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1403-CR-111
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Indiana Supreme Court
Indiana State Ethics Commission, Office of Inspector General, and David Thomas, in his Official Capacity as Inspector General v. Patricia Sanchez
49S02-1402-PL-80
Civil plenary. Affirms State Ethics Commission’s decision that Sanchez’s conduct – keeping several items that were state property after she was fired from the Department of Workforce Development – ran afoul of an administrative rule and that she should be barred from future state executive branch employment. Double jeopardy does not bar the proceeding before the commission, the criminal court’s probable cause determination is not binding upon the commission, and there is substantial independent evidence to support the commission’s decision.