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The Judicial Nominating Commission has started interviewing for a future opening on the Indiana Court of Appeals.This afternoon, the seven-member commission began interviewing eight candidates for the seat currently occupied by Judge Patrick D. Sullivan, who retires in August. Interviews are scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. and will resume with another 12 interviews Tuesday morning.Candidates being interviewed today are Susan E. Boatright, juvenile division supervisor at the Marion County Public Defender Agency; Briane M. House with ProLiance Energy; Marion Superior…

Despite a previous decision to accept a case, the Indiana Supreme Court has decided to revoke its previous order to consider whether Indiana or Illinois law should apply to a dram shop suit.Now, a Court of Appeals decision from March will stand, meaning Indiana law applies to the case.Justices this week vacated its July decision to accept transfer in Rebecca Shaw, Individually, and for the Estate of Kayla Nichole Hughes, and Stephen Hughes v. LDC Enterprises d/b/a I&I Steakhouse, et al., in…

The Indiana Supreme Court will take its educational Courts in the Classroom program on the road for the first time this fall as it celebrates its six-year anniversary.A re-enactment of a historic U.S. Supreme Court case arising out the Fort Wayne area will be the first on the road event Oct. 17 and 18 at the Lincoln Museum. That case, Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866), involved civilians and military tribunals, and the lead defendant, Lambdin Milligan, was from that…

One of the first things you’ll notice about an Indiana Court of Appeals decision issued today is the number of attorneys and parties on the case.The first four pages of the 29-page ruling in Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, et al. v. U.S. Filter Corp., list the parties and respective attorneys. Those include 13 appellant insurance companies and organizations, two appellees-plaintiffs, and three amici curiae parties from Indianapolis; Washington, D.C.; New York, Chicago; and parts of Michigan.Issues addressed in this case…

The Internet is now the main method for getting a look at any opinions, orders, and decisions from Indiana’s appellate courts.Starting today, the appellate clerk’s office hopes to save money and be more environmentally friendly by discontinuing its practice of providing courtesy copies of published orders, opinions, and disciplinary actions. Traditionally, those have been available to media and news outlets free of charge. The office hasn’t calculated the budget savings, but hopes to reduce the paper consumption by about 88,000 sheets…

Someone new will soon be overseeing aspects of Indiana’s trial court management.Colleen O’Brien, who’d served as executive director of trial court management for about a year and been with the Supreme Court’s State Court Administration division for about two years, has taken a position as a staff attorney with the Indiana Court of Appeals.The person chosen for this high-level court position will be responsible for overseeing duties relating to the operation of Indiana’s trial courts, including the administration of a data…

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in four cases next week, including one on the road at Plainfield High School.A three-judge panel will hear arguments Monday in Meridian Insurance v. Cha Cha, Inc., No. 53A01-0608-CV-352, which poses the question of whether the period for restoration of a business damaged by fire in an adjoining building should be decided by the courts or through the appraisal process.The following day two panels will hear afternoon arguments – David Scholtman v. Taza…

Trial judges must work with county officials and share the decision making of how court money is spent, the Indiana Supreme Court has reiterated.A pair of anticipated rulings issued Wednesday shows how the state’s high court will step in when those disputes can’t be managed locally.Justice Frank Sullivan issued both decisions for the unanimous court in Clark County Council and Clark County Auditor v. Daniel F. Donahue, Cecile A. Blau, Vicki Carmichael, and Steven M. Fleece, 10S00-0606-CV-199, and In Re: Order for…

Indiana caselaw is well settled on jurisdiction relating to annexations and incorporations, and a Hamilton Superior judge has determined Fishers should be allowed to proceed with annexing thousands of acres in Geist.Judge Steven Nation ruled today on a high-publicity case involving the proposed annexation by Fishers of 2,200 homes in unincorporated Geist area. At issue was whether the county had jurisdiction over the annexation because of the timeline of petitions filed.In mid-September Fishers had introduced an ordinance to start annexing the…

The nearing 2008 presidential election is a key reason why the Supreme Court of the United States should not accept a challenge to Indiana’s two-year-old voter identification law, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office argues in a brief filed with the nation’s highest court.Even while recognizing that the constitutionality of voter identification laws is a significant question that may eventually need review, the 29-page brief filed this week urges the court to deny a petition for certiorari.This reply follows the July petition…

Police violated a man’s constitutional protection rights when officers grabbed him by the throat and squeezed to stop him from swallowing a plastic baggie of cocaine, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.Justices issued a unanimous opinion Thursday in John Grier v. State of Indiana, No. 49S05-0702-CR-68. The Marion Superior case involved a traffic stop in August 2005, when officers stopped Grier for having an expired license plate. He was gagging after being ordered out of the car, and when he opened…