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No possibility of danger or smell of marijuana was evident, and that was enough to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals to suppress evidence found during a police officer’s search of a motorist’s backpack.
A father’s messy financial statements do not prevent a trial court from doing its own calculations and increasing his weekly child support payments, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Adam Miller v. State of Indiana
53A05-1211-CR-560
Criminal. Reverses trial court’s denial of Adam Miller’s motion to suppress. Concludes the search of Miller’s backpack was impermissible under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Cale Bradford dissents, arguing the search of Miller’s backpack did not violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Further, he asserts, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the state to reopen its evidence at the suppression hearing. Click the case name to read the full opinion.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kevin Buckley v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1211-CR-564
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class C felony.
Robert Marks v. State of Indiana (NFP)
62A01-1212-CR-591
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s revocation of Marks’ probation.
Anonymous Hospital, Inc., v. Jane Doe, Et Al., and Indiana Department of Insurance (NFP)
20A03-1210-CT-426
Civil tort. Reverses and remands for further proceedings the trial court granting Doe partial summary judgment. Rules Doe’s complaint for damages falls within the purview of the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act.
Joseph Dowell and Angie L. Grove and Cody Rowe v. American Modern Home Insurance Company (NFP)
50A03-1211-CT-487
Civil tort. Affirms summary judgment for American Modern Home Insurance Co.
Gary Wayne Shortt v. State of Indiana (NFP)
73A01-1212-CR-590
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Shortt’s motion for earned credit time and to correct error in his sentence.
Floyd D. Stewart v. State of Indiana (NFP)
65A05-1212-CR-656
Criminal. Affirms Stewart’s conviction of two counts of Class A felony dealing in cocaine and sentence to concurrent terms of 23 years, with 21 years executed and two years suspended.
Kendal R. Pitts v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1211-CR-492
Criminal. Affirms Pitts’ 30-year sentence for Class A felony rape.
Dominique Devon Hayes v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1211-CR-576
Criminal. Affirms Hayes’ sentence of 17 years for one count of Child Molesting as a Class B felony.
Margaret Smith v. Kristopher Schaler (NFP)
49A05-1211-CT-552
Civil tort. Affirms trial court’s denial of Smith’s motion to dismiss Schaler’s complaint pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 12(B)(6). Judge Nancy Vaidik dissents, arguing the trial court did err because Schaler has only pled to spoliation-of-evidence claim in his complaint and spoliation of evidence is not a recognized cause of action in Indiana.
Victor Fointno v. Clair Barnes, Et Al., (NFP)
52A05-1303-SC-126
Small Claim. Affirms trial court’s entry of judgment against Fointno and in favor of the defendants.
James A. Groff v. State of Indiana (NFP)
90A02-1211-CR-886
Criminal. Affirms Groff’s statutory no-contact order as a condition of his executed sentence following his plea of guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class B felony.
In the Matter of the Term. of Parent-Child Rel. of M.G. & A.G. (Minor Children), and S.S.(Mother) & S.G.(Father), v. Child Advocates Inc. and Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
49A05-1211-JT-583
Juvenile termination. Affirms the termination of mother’s and father’s parental rights.
Truong Vu v. State of Indiana (NFP)
53A04-1207-CR-352
Criminal. Affirms Vu’s convictions for criminal deviate conduct, as a Class B felony; sexual battery, as a Class D felony; and two counts of criminal confinement, as Class D felonies. Remands with instructions for the court to correct its written sentencing statement and any related documents to include the term of probation.
Jose F. Medina v. State of Indiana (NFP)
20A04-1210-CR-525
Criminal. Affirms Medina’s conviction of and sentence for Class A felony attempted child molesting.
Adam Sullender v. State of Indiana (NFP)
20A03-1212-CR-554
Criminal. Affirms Sullender’s sentence for Class C felony battery of a pregnant woman and Class D felony strangulation.
Martez Brown v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1212-CR-1007
Criminal. Affirms Brown’s 150-year sentence after being convicted of two counts of murder and one count of Class B felony robbery.
Billy Ray Mead v. State of Indiana (NFP)
03A01-1301-CR-33
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s revocation of Mead’s probation and order for him to serve his previously suspended five-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction with credit for time served.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court release no opinions prior to IL deadline. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals released no Indiana decisions prior to IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In Re the Adoption of: P.A.H., f/k/a P..V., Minor Child, B.D. and L.H.C., v. J.H.
79A02-1302-AD-183
Adoption. Reverses trial court’s order granting post-adoption visitation to P.H.’s biological uncle, J.H. Finds the lower court lacked authority to grant post-adoption visitation rights to J.H. since he is not within any statutory category of persons entitled to visitation rights.
An uncle’s post-adoption visitation rights were overturned on the grounds that he was not within any statutory category of individuals entitled to visitation rights.
An employer will have to pay $4.23 million after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was unconvinced by the employer’s argument that language in a later contract superseded that of an earlier contract.
Because the special administrator provision in the Indiana Code did not apply, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled the trial court did not abuse is discretion when it removed a special administrator of an estate without considering the state statute.
While some legal scholars lament the deterioration of Gideon v. Wainwright 50 years after the landmark Supreme Court of the United States decision, Marion Superior Judge David Dreyer is calling for an expansion of the principle to include civil litigants.
With over half of the children in Marion County unable to afford school lunch, it shouldn’t be surprising that there are little funds available for these students to purchase the supplies they need to succeed in the classroom. As the school buses head out for a new year, the IndyBar Professionalism Committee urges firms, agencies and legal departments to “Stock the Schools” in the committee’s inaugural school supply drive to benefit local non-profit Teachers’ Treasures.
I’ve been reading this book about the benefits of positive anticipation. Well actually I’ve owned this book for several years but I put everything aside and pick it back up when I start to believe that cynicism is the great disease of the era, and, frankly, I begin to feel infected.
The Indianapolis Bar Association’s Health Care Section was recently rebranded as the Health Care and Life Sciences Section. This section has long served attorneys representing local health care systems and providers by coordinating educational opportunities and maintaining a professional forum for information sharing and collaboration.
Saving the planet feels good…but does it feel as good as saving money? It turns out you can do both at the same time, according to IndyBar member Rick Mann, who heads up his own small firm in Indianapolis. Richard A. Mann PC was recognized for its outstanding efforts to go green in 2012 through the IndyBar’s Green Legal Initiative, which encourages firms, agencies and legal departments to adopt greener business practices.
He is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington and the Valparaiso University School of Law. He served as a Marion County Deputy Prosecutor and Commissioner at both the Arrestee Processing Center and traffic court before his election to the Marion Superior Court bench in 2009. He is the Honorable Marc T. Rothenberg, and he has been served with interrogatories.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals July 12 Civil – Wrongful Arrest/Excessive Force Miguel Gutierrez v. Michael R. Kermon 12-2934 A man’s federal lawsuit against two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers and the city will go forward after a federal judge rejected one officer’s interlocutory appeal. Miguel Gutierrez sued IMPD officers Michael Kermon and Jason Thalheimer […]
The IL Daily delivers legal news to your email inbox. In case you missed it, following is a recap of some of the stories reported online since the last issue of Indiana Lawyer. To subscribe to the IL Daily, visit www.theindianalawyer.com.
Read who’s recently been suspended by the Indiana Supreme Court, received a public reprimand or resigned.
Indiana Tech Law School recently held a series of open houses to give professors, lawyers and community members a peek inside its new building.
How do you do more with less? Simple answer: smarter staff! Skip the next generation of hardware or software and concentrate on an upgrade strategy that always pays dividends: training.