Hammerle On: Hammerle pays tribute to colleague’s spirit and humor
In this issue, Robert Hammerle reviews “The Way Way Back” and also remembers C. Joseph Russell, an Indianapolis attorney who died July 17.
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In this issue, Robert Hammerle reviews “The Way Way Back” and also remembers C. Joseph Russell, an Indianapolis attorney who died July 17.
Judges in Marion County were rightly troubled recently by multiple instances of cellphone video taken in court winding up online, which included secretly recorded video of a criminal informant’s testimony.
Seated alone at the table in front of the Indiana General Assembly’s Commission on Courts, Vanderburgh Circuit Judge David Kiely recently asked for a new magistrate in his court.
One of the first cases on the Indiana Supreme Court’s fall oral argument calendar also could be among its most controversial and biggest in terms of potential dollars at stake.
Several attorneys recently have departed established firms to form their own practices, leveraging their legal talents, goodwill and loyal clientele to satisfy entrepreneurial longings.
I am sitting at my desk, back from vacation, swamped under the combination of the paperwork that accrued while I was gone and what seems like an unusual amount of pre-term work. I am realizing that I am also just four weeks away from teaching a four-credit contracts course for the first time in 10 years and wondering “What was I thinking?” Although some professors can glance at their notes, stroll into class and conduct a brilliant session, I’ve always been the kind that has to review everything, rewrite my notes and build up a certain level of anxiety before teaching, like the actor who falls flat if she doesn’t experience stage fright. In other words, I’ve signed up for what could be a world of pain in the fall semester of 2013.
A change in policy from its largest contributor is pushing Indianapolis Legal Aid Society to introduce itself to a wider audience.
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.
Defrocked Secretary of State Charlie White has sued Carl Brizzi, the former Marion County prosecutor who represented White during a criminal case that led to his removal from office. White’s lawsuit makes a claim of legal malpractice.
To address the confusion that has been growing since the state’s new expungement law took effect, a group of state and local lawmakers from Marion County have scheduled a public forum and panel discussion to answer questions about removing old criminal offenses from individual records.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Committee on Federal Jury Instructions is seeking comments on an ongoing basis on existing pattern jury instructions as well as suggestions for new pattern instructions.
The American Bar Association will consider a range of policy topics including technology privacy, “gay panic” defense and judicial disqualification during its 2013 annual meeting in San Francisco.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert L. Murray v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1205-PC-274
Post conviction. Affirms COA’s memorandum decision. Grants Murray’s petition for a rehearing to address the two omitted issues regarding false testimony. Concludes the testimony was not false and the court’s omitted reference to Murray’s final motion to amend his petition is immaterial and, therefore, not a basis for relief.
Jay B. Stokes v. State of Indiana (NFP)
43A03-1302-CR-45
Criminal. Affirms in part, reverses in part and remands for further proceedings the judgment of the trial court. Concludes the lower court acted within its discretion in imposing an aggregate term of 50 years but that it abused its discretion in merging Stokes’ Class B felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious offender conviction into the habitual offender determination. In a dissent, Judge Patricia Riley concludes the trial court abused its discretion in increasing Stokes’ habitual offender enhancement from 20 years to 30 years.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court posted no opinions by IL deadline. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals posted no Indiana decisions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert L. Murray v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1205-PC-274
Post conviction. Affirms COA’s memorandum decision. Grants Murray’s petition for a rehearing to address the two omitted issues regarding false testimony. Concludes the testimony was not false and the court’s omitted reference to Murray’s final motion to amend his petition is immaterial and, therefore, not a basis for relief.
The judge in the case of a woman charged with murder and attempted feticide in the death of her newborn daughter on Friday ordered prosecutors, defense attorneys and others involved in the case not to speak about it outside court.
The Child Services Oversight Committee, established by the Indiana General Assembly specifically to keep tabs on the Indiana Department of Child Services, will hold its first meeting July 31.
An attorney’s report examining more than 7,700 lawsuits filed by an Indianapolis-based trucking school in just two Marion County township small-claims courts alleges systemic abuses that resulted in thousands of judgments against people who may never have stepped foot in the county or the state.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jermaine Marcel Nash v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1210-CR-553
Criminal. Reverses conviction of criminal confinement, a Class C felony, and remands case to the trial court to vacate the conviction and amend Nash’s sentence accordingly. Rules Nash’s convictions for attempted rape and criminal confinement violate the principles of double jeopardy.
State of Indiana v. Adrian Lotaki (NFP)
32A01-1304-CR-136
Criminal. Dismisses state’s appeal of trial court’s denial of the state’s motion to correct erroneous sentence. Finds the state is not authorized to bring this appeal.
Parkway Developers Construction, LLC v. Lang, Feeney & Associates, Inc., and Terance D. Lang (NFP)
71A03-1212-PL-526
Civil plenary. Affirms trial court’s judgment ordering Lang Feeney & Associates to pay Parkway interest on late payments under a contract.
Shane E. Maxwell v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1212-CR-999
Criminal. Affirms Maxwell’s seven-year sentence for Class C felony child molesting.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court posted no decisions by IL deadline. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals posted no Indiana decisions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jermaine Marcel Nash v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1210-CR-553
Criminal. Reverses conviction of criminal confinement, a Class C felony, and remands case to the trial court to vacate the conviction and amend Nash’s sentence accordingly. Rules Nash’s convictions for attempted rape and criminal confinement violate the principles of double jeopardy.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana will require use of a revised Chapter 13 plan model form after Aug. 15, pursuant to Local Rule B-3015-1. The form is available on the court’s website and may be used immediately.