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SCOTUS won’t hear free-speech cases

The Supreme Court of the United States has decided against taking two Indiana cases that involve free-speech issues.At its conference last week when the high court decided to examine Indiana’s two-year-old voter identification law, justices also declined to hear James G. Gilles v. Bryan K. Blanchard, et al., 06-1617, and Deborah A. Mayer v. Monroe County Community School Corp., et al., 06-1993. The court posted an order denying the cases Monday.The denials mean the previous decisions from the 7th Circuit Court…

Judge examines definition of ‘sexual activity’

A federal judge in northern Indiana has refused to acquit or order a retrial for a man convicted of using the Internet to expose himself to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl, even though it’s unclear whether the man actually committed a crime as defined by federal statute.In a 15-page order released today in U.S. v. Donald L. Cochran, No. 2:06-CR-161 PS, U.S. District Judge Philip Simon in Hammond denied the motions by defendant Cochran, whose online actions in July…

GAL/CASA program teams with retired educators

Children in the Indiana court system are about to have many more allies thanks to the Indiana Retired Teachers Association. The organization announced this morning it has chosen the Indiana Supreme Court’s GAL/CASA program as its new volunteer project. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana Retired Teachers Association Executive Director Ralph Ayers, and others involved in the project were on hand in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom to explain the project and thank the IRTA for becoming involved….

Defendants can speak during allocution before sentencing

Criminal defendants who plead guilty have the right to make statements in allocution prior to sentencing, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.The unanimous opinion authored by Justice Robert D. Rucker came late Wednesday in Nicholas Biddinger v. State of Indiana, No. 49S05-0608-CR-305.Biddinger was arrested and charged with various felonies, including murder, in 2004; he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery during the trial in October that year. The agreement provided that parties could argue positions on sentencing, but the executed range could…

Justices to hear 2 cases Thursday

The Indiana Supreme Court will consider two cases Thursday morning. One looks at the line between estate plans and wills, while the other involves a motorist’s lawsuit against a county for not removing a tree in the road after a storm.Justices will first hear arguments at 9 a.m. in the case In re Guardianship of E.N., Adult, which comes out of the Washington Circuit Court. The trial court approved an estate plan submitted by a protected person’s adult children in their…

Court: Death sentence stands

The Indiana Supreme Court today upheld the death sentence against a man condemned for murdering a college student, though the authoring justice disagreed and his writing could offer a key for another execution to be tossed out.In Michael Dean Overstreet v. State of Indiana, 41S00-0306-PD-249, the court affirmed the post-conviction judgment of Johnson Superior Judge Cynthia Emkes, who’d first sentenced him to death in 2000. The case involves the September 1997 disappearance, rape, and strangulation of Franklin College freshman Kelly Eckart. Overstreet has…

Appeals judges to hear annexation case

The Indiana Court of Appeals will consider a case Tuesday that asks whether a county can establish a special economic development area that includes land a municipality has already started to annex.Arguments are set for 2 p.m. in Brenwick Assoc. et al v. Boone Co. Redevelopment Commission, 06A04-0611-CV-682. The case arose in July 2006, when Whitestown began the process of annexing unincorporated land in Boone County. After the annexation process had started, but before being complete, county officials adopted a resolution…

Court orders damages to Lake County in bail bond case

The Indiana Court of Appeals has remanded a bail bond case it considers filed in bad faith, with instructions that the trial court judge calculate damages for the Lake County sheriff, Superior Court Clerk, and the Criminal Justice Section of the Lake County Bar Association.In Smith and Zacek v. Lake County, et al., the appellate court ruled today that the two bail bondsmen filed a complaint in 1999 alleging that bail statutes included in the Indiana Code were unconstitutional under the…

Justices split on decision to allow a third try for death penalty

 A split decision by the Indiana Supreme Court today allows the state to seek the death penalty a third time against a man convicted of shooting a Gary police officer in a robbery gone bad in 1981.The 3-2 decision came late this afternoon with Justices Theodore Boehm and Robert Rucker dissenting in separate opinions. Justice Frank Sullivan authorized the majority’s 22-page opinion. The ruling in State of Indiana v. Zolo Agona Azania, No. 02S03-0508-PD-364 (http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/05100701fsj.pdf), reverses a trial court decision and…

Law school assistant dean wins award

Jonna Kane MacDougall, assistant dean for advancement at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, has received the IUPUI Nan Bohan Community Engagement Award for her work with Outrun the Sun, a nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2004. The organization was created to help raise awareness about the risks of sun exposure and funds for melanoma education and research. MacDougall was one of two inaugural recipients Sept. 11 of the Bohan award, which was created to recognize “ongoing promotion of a…

Report includes 3 court-specific ideas

Three recommendations made today by the Commission on Local Government Reform focus specifically on courts and the state’s legal community.Court-specific recommendations impacting all Indiana counties include transferring the local court clerk responsibilities to the courts themselves and transferring trial court system funding – including probation and public defenders – to the state. A third recommendation is focused solely on Marion County, where all township small claims courts duties would be transferred to the county’s Superior Courts.Headed by former Gov. Joe Kernan…

Federal judge gives green light to trial

A federal judge in Indianapolis has ruled a lawsuit can proceed to trial over a “very fast, and valuable, race car.”The Not for Publication opinion issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder is Reginald D. “Don” Whittington Jr. v. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation a.k.a. Hall of Fame Museum, No. 1:06-cv-0333-JDT-TAB.Judge Tinder denied motions for summary judgment and determined that a trial is the only likely way to resolve this dispute involving the ownership of a famous Porsche 935 used…

Court orders new sentence for child support nonpayer

An Indiana Court of Appeals panel found itself today determining the legislature’s intent in revising a statute on nonpayment of child support, an issue it describes as having little to no precedent.Though its analysis ended with little answer, the appellate court applied the doctrine of amelioration to conclude a defendant should receive a lower class of felony on nonpayment of about $13,000 in child support from Class C to Class D.The decision released today is Bobby Lee Turner, Jr. v. State…

Court rules on underinsured motorists coverage

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today on when injured claimants in an automobile accident can seek to recover more money under a single Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist policy.In Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. David Eakle, et al., the court used previous cases Allstate Ins Co v. Sanders 644 N.E.2d 884, 887 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994) and Grange Ins. Co v. Graham 843 N.E.2d 597, 599 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) to determine the trial court erred in denying Auto-Owners judgment on the…

Law library closing extended through June

Don’t expect to be able to use the Indiana Supreme Court Law Library as soon as planned.The library on the second floor of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis will be completely closed starting today through June 25 for restorative painting, according to librarian Terri Ross. The library has been open intermittently throughout May for an ongoing building-wide heating and air conditioning renovation, she said.Originally, the plan was for closing between April 30 and June 11; now the closing will continue for…

COA rules on fireworks wholesalers’ challenge

The Court of Appeals ruling today that firework wholesalers have an administrative process to determine whether Indiana Code section 22-11-14-5 requires fireworks wholesalers to obtain certificates of compliance for each location reinforces an earlier Supreme Court decision on the matter. In Roger Johnson, as Indiana State Fire Marshal v. Patriotic Fireworks, Inc. et al., the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of the fire marshal’s motion to dismiss the consolidated complaints of Patriotic Fireworks and other fireworks wholesalers and remanded…

Appeals court upholds arbitration award

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an arbitration award against Citizens Gas & Coke Utility today, ruling the arbitrator did not exceed her power in determining an employee was unjustly terminated and his widow was entitled to his life insurance policy through the collective bargain agreement. In Citizens Gas & Coke Utility v. Local Union No. 1400, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 49A05-0612-CV-751, Citizens appealed the trial court’s denial of its verified complaint and application to vacate arbitration award, or in the…

Governor chooses next Court of Appeals judge

The governor announced today that Marion Superior Judge Cale Bradford will be the newest jurist on the Indiana Court of Appeals.Judge Bradford will replace Judge Patrick D. Sullivan, who is retiring Aug. 1 as a result of reaching mandatory retirement age of 75. He will represent the second judicial district, which encompasses 19 counties in central Indiana.Gov. Mitch Daniels got nominations from the Judicial Nominating Commission May 18 and by law was required to make a decision within 60 days. Judge…

Sheriff’s deputies can hold elected office, court rules

A sheriff’s deputy has the right to hold an elected position and in doing so isn’t violating state law against holding dual, lucrative offices, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In Walter Thompson v. Mark Hays http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06060701mgr.pdf, 72A01-0607-CV-294, the court upheld a Scott County ruling last year dismissing a claim filed by local resident Walter Thompson, who filed a complaint against Mark Hays following the November 2002 general election. Thompson accused Hays of holding the dual offices and sought an order…

Court reverses insurer’s summary judgment

The Indiana Court of Appeals today reversed a summary judgment award in favor of an auto insurance company, holding that an uninsured-motorist claim was not barred by state statute and language of the insurance policy. In Mary Lou Smith, et al. v. Auto-Owners Insurance Co., No. 84A01-0611-CV-516, the appellate court had to decide whether Smith’s claim for uninsured motorist coverage against her policyholder, Auto-Owners, was allowed based on her policy and Indiana Code 27-7-5-4.Smith and several family members were involved in a…