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Contributions from a railroad company to a federal disability fund cannot be used to reduce the amount of a plaintiff’s recovery, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed today.In a 30-page decision in CSX Transportation Inc. v. Robert D. Gardner, No. 49A02-0610-CV-917, the court affirmed a trial judge’s decision to not allow the railroad company to use its $35,000 annual contributions to a disability and retirement fund to lower the jury-imposed amount of $605,500 in damages for Gardner’s injuries.He was working as…

The Supreme Court of the United States has asked for more information before deciding whether to accept a case involving a former Bloomington elementary school teacher fired over comments she made about the Iraq war during class.Deborah A. Mayer, who now teaches at an elementary school in Florida, lost her job after making comments to elementary students in early 2003 – just prior to the war’s beginning – that she would “honk for peace” when passing war protests. Some parents later…

Every so often, judges find they must recuse themselves in certain cases. That’s happening in Vanderburgh County, where all the superior judges have been recused from a case involving the child support matters of a magistrate’s son.Suzanne Hebert Hamilton is waging the child support legal battle against her ex-husband, Richard Hamilton, who is son of Vanderburgh Superior Magistrate Allen Hamilton. The couple separated in 2005 and finalized a divorce early last year. She lives in Florida with the couple’s two children…

The federal District Court in Indianapolis should have dismissed a suit challenging Indiana’s prerecorded telephone messages statute because a state court was already considering the issue and could have provided an adequate legal remedy, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today.The three-judge appellate panel also chastised U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney for concluding last October that the then-approaching 2006 congressional election was a reason for urgent attention on this issue.The 7th Circuit decision came in FreeEats.com, Inc. v. State of…

Parents can be ordered to pay medical expenses for college students as part of child support obligations, even past age 21, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled today.All five justices agreed in Michael Cubel v. Debra Cubel, 32S04-0707-CV-283, which is authored by Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard and involves two conflicting rulings from the state’s appellate court on this issue.The Hendricks County case involves the two parents who divorced in 2005, but have a daughter attending college in the state. She is currently…

Ten more public defenders are coming soon to St. Joseph County.The county council on Tuesday approved hiring the additional defenders for the second half of the year. Circuit Judge Michael Gotsch had asked council members for the changes described as a “revolutionary change” to the county system late last month.Judge Gotsch says the 10 public defenders are needed to keep up with increasing caseloads that are at higher levels than the state standard allows. The measures also establish a chief deputy…

Eight counties are receiving grants from the Indiana Supreme Court to address the needs of families with multiple court cases.The high court announced Friday that the eight counties will receive a total $74,000 in grants, with amounts ranging from $2,000 to $19,000. Money can be used for numerous programs such as information sharing, facilitation and pre-trial conferencing, or affordable alternative dispute resolution. The funding is considered “seed money” and courts are expected to eventually become self-funding.Grant recipients are: Allen County $14,000,…

The Indiana Supreme Court is playing a key part in doing away with delays between police-issued tickets and that information arriving in the hands of courts and prosecutors.Indiana is receiving more than $2.4 million in federal grants to launch the system known as eCWS or the electronic Citation and Warning System. The system will give officers the ability to produce e-tickets in the field and relay that information to a central location for law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts to access -…

The candidacy of a Cass Circuit judge is now going before the Indiana Supreme Court – even though the candidate in question has been a sitting judge for this entire year.Justices have granted transfer in J. Bradley King, et al. v. Leo T. Burns, et al., 09A02-0610-CV-847, which questioned the candidacy of judicial office-seeker Leo Burns in last year’s primary and general election.Burns, who was selected to fill the vacancy in the November 2006 ballot after the May primary, was not certified…

U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder in Indianapolis will face the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 25 for his confirmation hearing for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.The 2:30 p.m. hearing in Washington, D.C., will be webcast at the Senate committee’s Web site. The federal judge from the Southern District of Indiana received word from the White House in July that President George W. Bush nominated him for the job. If confirmed, Judge Tinder would be the first Hoosier jurist appointed to…

The Indiana Supreme Court has granted three transfers in three civil cases this week.Transfers come in Michael M. Cubel v. Debra A. Cubel, No. 32A04-0605-CV-268, American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Direction in Design Inc., et al., No. 29A05-0511-CV-681, and Rebecca Shaw v. LDC Enterprises, et al., No. 29A05-0511-CV-681.The Cubel appeal stems from a Hendricks County marriage dissolution case involving spousal maintenance and child support for college. In a memorandum opinion issued April 30, the Court of Appeals didn’t find the…

Indiana’s highest court says the phrase “reasonably believes” in the state’s self-defense statute requires a person to have subjective belief that force was necessary to prevent serious bodily injury and that actual belief was one any reasonable person would have had under the circumstances.The Indiana Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision Wednesday afternoon in Philip Littler v. State of Indiana, No. 71S03-0704-CR-151, reversing a ruling by St. Joseph Superior Judge Roland Chamblee Jr.The case involves a gun and knife fight between…