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The Fourth Amendment doesn’t prohibit a warrantless search of an operational car found in a public place if police have probable cause to believe the car contains evidence of a crime, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The Indiana Supreme Court has given state casinos a double win, strengthening their rights by saying they can exclude card-counters and that problem gamblers can’t recover damages stemming from gambling losses as long as the casinos are following state regulations.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has sided with former Columbus, Ind., banker Will Miller in an estate battle launched by his older brother, Hugh.
The Indiana Supreme Court has given casinos a double win today, saying the businesses can ban card-counting and also that state statute doesn’t allow patrons to recover for losses they might incur because of problem gambling.
Justice Theodore R. Boehm marked his departure from the Indiana Supreme Court today with a celebratory retirement ceremony, using that event to announce that he’ll not only be senior judging at the appellate and trial levels but that he’s joining Van Winkle Baten Rimstidt Dispute Resolution in Indianapolis as an arbitrator and mediator.
The attorney for a man challenging the inclusion of a Lake County judicial prospect’s name on the general election ballot will seek an expedited hearing with the Indiana Court of Appeals after justices Wednesday denied a second emergency request for transfer.
Indiana Supreme Court posted no opinions before IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In Re: The General Power of Attorney of Xenia S. Miller, et al. v. William Irwin Miller and Sarla Kalsi
03A01-0912-CV-586
Civil. Affirms the trial court in most of its findings: that it properly accepted the accountings, released the attorneys-in-fact from all liability, and declined Hugh Miller’s attorney-fee request. Concludes the attorneys-in-fact are not entitled to their attorney fees, and reverses the judgment to that extent only.
Cincinnati Insurance Co. v. Anita G. Adkins and Wayne Adkins
29A02-0912-CV-1270
Civil. Reverses trial court’s grant of summary judgment for Anita and Wayne Adkins. Cincinnati argues the trial court erred in determining Adkins did not breach the terms of her insurance policy when she settled with a tortfeasor without notice to or consent of Cincinnati.
Joshua Konopasek v. State of Indiana
25A03-1003-CR-155
Criminal. Affirms conviction of battery causing serious bodily injury, a Class C felony. Rules that while evidence about Konopasek’s criminal record should not have been admitted, any error was harmless, and the state’s evidence was sufficient to prove battery and disprove Konopasek’s claim of self-defense.
William Long v. State of Indiana
41A04-0912-CR-743
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony theft.
Leon Williams v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1003-CR-306
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
Daniel R. Fuquay, Sr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
82A01-0906-PC-270
Post-conviction. Reverses and remands denial of post-conviction motion to set aside guilty plea to Class D felony possession of cocaine on grounds that the plea was involuntary and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel.
Joseph M. Shortridge v. Alice Shortridge (NFP)
55A01-0912-CV-595
Civil. Affirms ex parte protective order Alice Shortridge obtained while Alice and Joseph Shortridge were in the process of dissolving their marriage.
Chad Delphia v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1002-CR-149
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation and trial court’s decision to terminate Delphia’s in-house detention.
Bonnie Elaine Rock v. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. (NFP)
50A03-0911-CV-534
Civil. Affirms judgment awarding damages to Easterday Construction Co., Inc. and trial court’s determination that a contract existed between the parties.
Marc Stults v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-0902-PC-166
Post-conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Karl J. Griffin v. State of Indiana (NFP)
79A04-1002-CR-154
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class A felony attempted child molesting.
Robert Hrezo, et al. v. City of Lawrenceburg, et al.
15A01-0907-CV-338
Civil. Affirms trial court’s grant of the city’s motion for summary judgment on Hrezo’s breach-of-contract claim, and reverses the trial court’s denial of the city’s motion for summary judgment on Hrezo’s promissory estoppel claim.
Carmelita Woods v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1002-CR-387
Criminal. Affirms convictions of battery and criminal trespass, both as Class A misdemeanors.
Craig Britt v. State of Indiana (NFP)
37A04-1001-CR-86
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B battery.
T.K. v. Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development, Unemployment Insurance Review Board, and Tippecanoe County (NFP)
93A02-1003-EX-404
Civil. Affirms Indiana Department of Workforce Development Unemployment Insurance Review Board’s denial of unemployment benefits.
Jennifer Bealmear v. State of Indiana (NFP)
84A01-1003-CR-101
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class C felony battery by means of a deadly weapon.
Calcar Quarries v. Dennis Bledsoe (NFP)
93A02-1004-EX-397
Civil. Affirms decision of the Worker’s Compensation Board to award Bledsoe worker’s compensation benefits and remands because Bledsoe is entitled only to the statutory 5 percent increase in his award.
Jacobo Sanchez-Venegas v. State of Indiana (NFP)
09A05-1001-CR-107
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s revocation of probation.
Shawn Davis v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1002-CR-70
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy.
Thomas Williams and Sanford Kelsey v. Kelly Eugene Tharp and Papa John’s U.S.A., Inc.
29A02-1003-CT-283
Civil. Reverses and remands trial court’s denial of appellants‘ motion for relief from judgment. Concludes that the injustice suffered by appellants far outweighs any interests that appellees and society might have in the finality of litigation.
Paternity of R.W.B. IV; K.K. v. R.W.B. III (NFP)
78A01-1001-JP-79
Juvenile. Affirms trial court’s judgment granting father’s petition for custody modification.
The Osler Institute, Inc. v. Richard C. Miller, et al. (NFP)
84A05-1003-PL-237
Civil. Affirms trial court’s dismissal of Osler’s complaint.
Indiana Tax Court posted no opinions before IL deadlin
The trial court didn’t err in allowing a victim’s pre-trial identification of his attacker, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today in a matter of first impression.
Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. James G. Lucas
91A05-1003-CR-247
Criminal. Reverses and remands Lucas’s motion to suppress results from a Datamaster chemical breath test in jail, following two failed portable breath tests in the field. Rules a portable breath test mouthpiece is not a foreign substance that will act to invalidate the results of a Datamaster.
In a matter of first impression, a portable breath test mouthpiece isn’t a foreign substance that will act to invalidate the results of a blood alcohol content Datamaster chemical breath test, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.
An Indianapolis lawyer has gotten approval to become the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, ending a three-year gap since last time a U.S. Senate confirmed leader held that post.
The Indiana Supreme Court overturned a Fulton County man’s murder sentence because a detective continued with the interview even after the man invoked his right to counsel several times.
If you’ve wanted to print walking-tour brochures or create an oral history of your county’s courthouse, there’s now a grant that can help you achieve that goal.
Indianapolis attorney Joe Hogsett has gotten approval from the full Senate to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
Today’s opinions
Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Craig Cooper
49S02-1004-PC-220
Post conviction. Reverses grant of relief by the post-conviction court. The reading of the charge and the Indianapolis police officer’s statements that he works in Indianapolis and saw Cooper at an Indianapolis address coupled with Cooper’s acknowledgement of those statements constituted a sufficient demonstration that the events happened in Marion County in 1999. Directs that the conviction be reinstated.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Capital Drywall Supply, Inc. and Old Fort Building Supply Co., Inc. v. Jai Jagdish, Inc. and Ranjan Amin
71A03-1004-PL-189
Civil plenary. Affirms grant of the cross-motion of summary judgment filed by Jai Jagdish Inc. and Ranjan Amin on Capital Drywall and Old Fort’s cross-claims to foreclose on mechanic’s liens. Any error in the trial court’s ruling that limited the admissibility of the affidavit of Pamela Hartman was harmless because the lien claimants didn’t comply or substantially comply with the mechanic’s lien statute. The lien claimants didn’t perfect their liens because they both used an incorrect owner’s name in their notices of intent to hold a lien; and the lien claimants didn’t substantially comply with the mechanic’s lien statute when they listed an incorrect owner’s name on their lien notices, even if such information was obtained by telephone from the public office designated by statute.
Gregory A. Jones v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1002-CR-212
Criminal. Affirms conviction of possession of cocaine as a Class D felony.
Phillip Lawton v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A04-1004-CR-267
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony rape.
Michael O. Branch v. State of Indiana (NFP)
84A05-1004-CR-259
Criminal. Affirms conviction of and sentence for Class D felony theft.
Terry R. Twitty, Sr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
32A01-1001-PC-19
Post conviction. Affirms post-conviction court didn’t err by denying claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel or by not appointing counsel for Twitty’s post-conviction relief proceedings and subsequent re-sentencing. The post-conviction court erred by granting Twitty relief and by re-sentencing him under Blakely. Remands with instructions to restore his original sentence.
Rudolph V. Williams v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A05-1004-CR-147
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony robbery.
Lafayette Caldwell v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1003-PC-156
Post conviction. Affirms denial of successive petition for post-conviction relief.
David Reynolds v. State of Indiana (NFP)
06A01-0802-PC-67
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Supreme Court
Efren R. Diaz v. State of Indiana
20S05-0911-PC-521
Post conviction. Refusing to admit the chart on grounds of hearsay was an error. It was prepared by an expert witness of Diaz on the misinterpretations between what the court said in English and what the translator told Diaz in Spanish, and the witness’ expertise was hindered by its exclusion. The evidence before the post-conviction court doesn’t reveal whether Diaz was provided with accurate interpreting. Directs the trial court to commission its own translation of the plea hearing and the sentencing hearing to rehear such evidence to answer whether Diaz’s plea was voluntary and intelligent.
The Indiana Supreme Court held that employer-provided health-insurance benefits constitute an asset once they have vested in a party to the marriage, and addressed for the first time the possible methods of valuing these benefits in marriage dissolution. This conclusion led one justice to dissent because it disrupts existing dissolution property division law.
A man’s challenge to the finding that he is a sexually violent predator failed because the invited error doctrine precludes consideration of his claims on appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled today.
A Terre Haute attorney wants the nation’s highest court to review two appellate cases out of Indiana and Wisconsin that uphold judicial canons and pose free speech questions about what judicial candidates can say or do when campaigning for office.
The Indiana Supreme Court ordered the post-conviction court to hold a new hearing for a Mexican man who claimed he didn’t mean to plead guilty to two felonies and did so only because of faulty interpreting in court.