Evansville bar names Gresham award winner
The Evansville Bar Association presented the James Bethel Gresham Freedom Award to Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl A. Heldt on April 29 at its annual Law Day dinner.
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The Evansville Bar Association presented the James Bethel Gresham Freedom Award to Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl A. Heldt on April 29 at its annual Law Day dinner.
Finding a trial judge erred when granting a new trial because he didn’t make specific findings in setting aside a jury verdict, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ordered the jury verdict reinstated.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed judgment in favor of a tenant in a security deposit dispute, ruling that the landlord did deliver an itemized damages letter within statutory deadlines.
Indiana Supreme Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jack M. Estes, II v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1009-CR-657
Criminal. Affirms sentence following revocation of probation.
Thomas James Newsom v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1008-CR-473
Criminal. Affirms conviction of and sentence for Class A felony conspiracy to commit murder.
Thomas D. Eckel v. State of Indiana (NFP)
30A01-1010-CR-522
Criminal. Affirms convictions of Class D felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated in a manner endangering a person while having a prior conviction within the past five years, and Class C misdemeanor operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body.
Michael Bracken v. State of Indiana (NFP)
23A05-1010-CR-667
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony methamphetamine manufacture and finding that Bracken is a habitual substance offender.
Cassandra Gardner v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1010-CR-1132
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor conversion.
A.B. v. Review Board (NFP)
93A02-1009-EX-988
Civil. Affirms denial of request for unemployment benefits.
Peggy Bracken v. Marine Corp. League Joseph Bray Det. Inc. (NFP)
84A05-1009-CT-593
Civil tort. Affirms grant of summary judgment for Marine Corp. League Joseph A. Bray Detachment Inc. with respect to Bracken’s slip and fall at the premises known as Northside Bingo.
Gary C. Williams v. State of Indiana (NFP)
57A05-1007-CR-416
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert Eppl v. Christine DiGiacomo
45A03-1007-SC-402
Small claim. Reverses summary judgment for DiGiacomo and order that Eppl return DiGiacomo’s security deposit and pay her attorney fees. DiGiacomo’s mere delivery of the keys is not sufficient to demonstrate that Eppl actually accepted surrender of the premises and thereby released her from liability as of that date. Eppl’s itemization of damages letter was timely.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined a majority of other circuits nationwide in finding that the federal sex offender registration law is not a retroactive punishment on those who were convicted prior to 2006 and traveled after the law was enacted.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a homeowners’ citizen suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act against a solid waste dump should be allowed despite two similar suits pending in state court filed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. However, the court split when determining whether the District Court erred by dismissing the homeowners’ suit based on the Colorado River abstention doctrine.
The Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Tax Court were closed today due to the primary elections.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Donald Leach
10-1786
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Criminal. Affirms denial of Leach’s motion to dismiss his indictment for knowingly failing to register as a sex offender after traveling in interstate commerce in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. There is no ex post facto violation of the United States Constitution.
A group of teens from Munster High School finished 10th from a field of 52 in the national finals of We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution.
Allen Superior Judge Stanley Levine and Indiana University Maurer School of Law Dean Lauren Robel will make remarks at a Fort Wayne alumni reception.
The Court Alcohol and Drug Program Advisory Committee and the Problem-Solving Courts Committee of the Judicial Conference of Indiana are seeking public comment on the new rules governing problem-solving courts and amendments to the court-administered drug and alcohol programs.
It’s official: Indiana’s judicial canons are constitutional and the rules don’t infringe upon a judge or candidate’s free speech rights.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. David Lee Runyan
10-3400
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, Judge James T. Moody.
Criminal. Affirms 63-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Runyan argued the District Court sentenced him without considering the care he gave his then-terminally ill father, but his argument rested on past caregiving rather than present caregiving and the District Court didn’t need to address it. Also finds the District Court’s commentary at sentencing to not be impermissibly one-sided.
Indiana Supreme Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. C.D.
55A01-1007-JV-342
Juvenile. Reverses grant of C.D.’s motion to suppress evidence. C.D. was not undergoing custodial interrogation when he answered a police officer’s questions and made an incriminating admission while in the principal’s office on suspicion of being impaired. He was not deprived of his right to meaningful conversation with his parents when the officer examined him. It was also reasonable for the principal to check C.D.’s backpack for marijuana or paraphernalia after it was believed C.D. was under the influence of marijuana. Remands for further proceedings.
Term. of Parent-Child Rel. of S.S.; I.S. v. IDCS (NFP)
29A05-1010-JT-646
Juvenile. Affirms involuntary termination of parental rights.
Sean Boylan v. Horvath Communications Inc., et al. (NFP)
71A04-1012-PL-776
Civil plenary. Affirms summary judgment for Horvath Communications and Jacqueline Horvath in Sean Boylan’s action alleging breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment.
Edward Shaffer v. Wells Fargo Bank (NFP)
49A05-1007-MF-452
Mortgage foreclosure. Affirms summary judgment for Wells Fargo Bank after Edward Shaffer defaulted on mortgage payments. Affirms ordering of a $75,000 bond to stay the eviction proceedings.
C.B. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1009-JV-1089
Juvenile. Affirms adjudication for committing what would be Class B felony robbery and Class A misdemeanor battery if committed by an adult.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted one transfer and denied two cases for the week ending April 29.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. David Lee Runyan
10-3400
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division, Judge James T. Moody.
Criminal. Affirms 63-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Runyan argued the District Court sentenced him without considering the care he gave his then-terminally ill father, but his argument rested on past caregiving rather than present caregiving and the District Court didn’t need to address it. Also finds the District Court’s commentary at sentencing to not be impermissibly one-sided.
The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly ended on schedule despite the weeks-long walkout by House Democrats. Now, bills impacting Indiana’s courts and legal community make their way to the governor’s desk.
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard is dealing with a painful pinched nerve in his neck but is working on managing the pain and has not been hospitalized as a result of the condition, said Supreme Court Public Information Officer Kathryn Dolan.
The Supreme Court of the United States has refused to take a case asking whether Indiana’s judicial canons constitutionally infringe on the free speech rights of those on or vying for seats on the bench.
For the first time, the Indiana Court of Appeals addressed an issue involving express contracts and equitable remedies and decided that the existence of a contract, in and of itself, doesn’t preclude equitable relief which isn’t inconsistent with the contract.
Until Friday, Indiana courts had never specifically addressed the application of the in loco parentis doctrine in the context of a private club sport that isn’t affiliated with a school. The Indiana Court of Appeals addressed the issue in a lawsuit against a private club volleyball coach and the volleyball club following the injury of a minor player while on private property.