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The state’s errant dismissal of a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge in 2009 may not be corrected in order to enhance to a felony a defendant’s second such charge within five years, a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
A 2012 change in Indiana’s public intoxication statute adding a required charging element of at least harassing, annoying or alarming another person doesn’t negate a conviction for a man who the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled did at least that much.
The process to correct and clarify House Enrolled Act 1006, the massive piece of legislation overhauling the state’s criminal code, will begin Aug. 15 at the first meeting of the Indiana General Assembly’s Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee.
Justice Mark Massa should recuse himself from hearing an Indiana Supreme Court appeal of a ruling that hindered a proposed multi-billion-dollar coal gasification plant in Rockport, several environmental and consumer groups argue in a brief filed in the case.
A commission created last year by the Legislature to better coordinate services for children will hold its first meeting Aug. 21.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Cory A. Myers v. State of Indiana (NFP)
35A05-1302-CR-90
Criminal. Affirms conviction for domestic battery, as a Class D felony.
Jeremiah Kelley v. State of Indiana (NFP)
34A02-1303-CR-281
Criminal. Affirms 21-year sentence imposed following Kelley’s guilty plea to class B felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
John Latta v. State of Indiana (NFP)
12A04-1212-CR-618
Criminal. Affirms conviction of one count burglary as a class B felony and five counts of theft as a class D felony. Finds the prosecutor’s questions about the victim’s husband becoming a judge were inappropriate but does not rise to the level of fundamental error.
In Re The Adoption of S.H., L.H., and J.H., Benjamin Hankins v. G.Nick Peterson, Andrea Peterson (NFP)
18A02-1212-AD-1020
Adoption. Affirms trial court’s determination that Hankins’s consent is not required in the adoption proceedings of his three children, S.H., L.H. and J.H. Rules the determination that Hankins’s consent is unnecessary if supported by clear and convincing evidence, and the adoption by the children’s maternal grandparents is in their best interest.
John Dumitru v. State of Indiana (NFP)
75A05-1210-PC-501f
Post conviction relief petition. Affirms post-conviction court’s denial of relief following Dumitru’s conviction for murder, a felony, attempted murder, a Class A felony, two counts of neglect of a dependent, as Class D felonies, and resisting law enforcement, as a Class A misdemeanor.
Lebronze Myles v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1301-CR-25
Criminal. Affirms Myles’ convictions as an accomplice to both Class B felony burglary and Class C felony robbery.
In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of L.P., D.P., & C.H., (Minor Children), and J.P. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
87A05-1212-JT-622
Juvenile termination of parental rghts. Affirms termination of J.P.’s (mother) parental rights.
Terry Chandler v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1302-CR-166
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class A misdemeanor possession of cocaine.
Michael S. Parker v. State of Indiana (NFP)
91A02-1210-CR-830
Criminal. Affirms conviction and 15-year sentence, with 11 years executed, for Class B felony manufacturing methamphetamine.
Eric D. Smith v. Superintendent, Et Al. (NFP)
46A04-1303-MI-164
Miscellaneous. Dismisses Smith’s appeals of the dismissal of eight complaints he filed in the LaPorte Superior Court. Finds his notices of appeal were untimely filed.
Jesus Cruz v. State of Indiana (NFP)
38A02-1212-CR-969pdf
Criminal. Affirms conviction and 46-year sentence for two counts of Class A felony child molesting and three counts of Class C felony child molesting.
James E. Sizemore v. State of Indiana (NFP)
31A05-1212-CR-626
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class A felony dealing in methamphetamine, Class C felony possession of methamphetamine and Class D felony possession of a controlled substance.
Thomas E. Stevens v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1301-CR-6
Criminal. Affirms five-year sentence for Class C felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Karen J. Marshall v. Casa M. Marshall, Center Bank, Treasurer of Porter County, State of Indiana (NFP)
64A03-1212-MF-517
Mortgage foreclosure. Affirms summary judgment in favor of the defendants. Finds the mortgage and loan documents do not constitute a valid and enforceable contract.
Sheldon C. McAuley v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1302-PC-50
Post conviction relief petition. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief following conviction for Class C felony burglary, Class D felony residential entry and Class A misdemeanor interference with the reporting of a crime.
LTC Investments Inc., v. EGR Indiana Properties, LLC. (NFP)
18A02-1301-PL-15
Civil plenary. Affirms trial court’s grant of EGR’s summary judgment motion.
James E. Chalfant v. Lana Lods (NFP)
79A02-1212-CT-986
Civil tort. Reverses and remands trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Lana Lods. Concludes Chalfant did provide evidence in this case to rebut the prima facie evidence of probable cause and to identify a dispute of material fact.
Javier Maldonado v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A04-1212-CR-654
Criminal. Affirms conviction for child molesting, a Class A felony, and 50-year sentence.
Kelvin Lee Heyen v. State of Indiana (NFP)
84A01-1207-PC-345
Post conviction relief petition. Affirms denial of post-conviction relief petition following conviction and 21-year sentence for dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, and a habitual offender charge.
In The Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: M.A. (minor child): Mi.A. and C.A. v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
73A01-1209-JT-411
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms juvenile court’s decision to terminate the parental rights of C.A. (mother) and Mi.A. (father) to their minor child, M.A.
No opinions were submitted by IL deadline by the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Tax Court and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Opinions Aug. 13, 2013
Indiana Court of Appeals
Rollett Family Farms, LLC. v. Area Plan Commission of Evansville-Vanderburgh County, Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners, and Vanderburgh County Recorder
82A01-1301-PL-43
Civil plenary. Affirms trial court judgment denying claims that “lots of record” for boundaries of river camps could be established based on the testimony of longtime residents. The lack of official documentation defeats the plain meaning of the words “of record,” requiring some sort of official documentation in the public record, the panel ruled.
Sidebars reviews and rates eateries lawyers may enjoy visiting when working at courthouses throughout Indiana. Fred offers this week’s review of Punch Burger.
A trial court will have to reconsider its ruling in a child support dispute in light of a state law that was changed while an appeal of the case was pending.
A man’s voluntary confession that he was a habitual traffic violator is admissible even though he had not broken any laws when the sheriff’s deputy pulled him over.
A man acquitted on a rape charge but whose charge of sexual misconduct with a minor ended in a hung jury and mistrial may be retried, but not on a count the state sought to amend, the Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
“River camps” along the Ohio River that date back to the 1930s may not be divided as lots of record based on the testimony of longtime residents, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, affirming a judgment of the Vanderburgh Circuit Court.
A Speedway man accused of posting online death threats against a judge, an attorney and others has been charged in federal court, according to a statement from the office of Joe Hogsett, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
Do you know of a deserving IndyBar member who has worked hard for the community? Nominate him or her for an IndyBar award! Nominations are being accepted for the following IndyBar awards: the Dr. John Morton Finney Jr. Award for Excellence in Legal Education and the IndyBar Pro Bono Awards, which are presented in five categories: Practicing Attorney, Aiding Individuals; Practicing Attorney, Aiding Entities; Law Firm; Law Student and Paralegal. Go to www.indybar.org for a nomination form. Nominations are due September 30, 2013.
Planning to take the bar exam in Winter 2014? Applications are now being accepted for two scholarships for the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Winter 2014 IndyBar Review session. The application deadline is November 1.
I am writing this President’s column in San Francisco at a meeting of the National Conference of Bar Presidents. Yes, there is an association of us, frightening though that may seem, yet I unapologetically say it is a good thing. This association helps bar leaders and executives analyze and confront the unique challenges we have as our legal worlds collide, whether it be defining (and paying for) the ideal legal education in 2013, triaging the challenges of our underfunded courts, the changing professional landscape for today’s (and tomorrow’s) practitioners or the very real access to justice issues apparent by the increasing percentage of individuals and businesses who just cannot afford to hire a lawyer anymore to solve their problems.
While still shocked from Joe’s death, having spent the day before and the morning of his death with him, I am trying to adjust my own perception of life based on Joe’s premature departure.
The state’s largest teachers union and its national parent organization have agreed to pay $14 million under a tentative settlement announced Tuesday morning by Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson and Indiana Securities Commissioner Chris Naylor.