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Indiana Supreme Court denies review of Kokomo case

Within hours of hearing oral arguments, the Indiana Supreme Court decided not to grant transfer to review the case involving a Kokomo fire captain ;s demotion to firefighter because of comments made from outside the department. The appeals court had ruled the demotion did not constitute a violation of his First Amendment free-speech rights.The court had not released a decision by early this afternoon, but the City of Kokomo had posted a press release saying the justices did not agree to…

High court asked to intervene in recount

The Indiana Supreme Court is being asked to toss out a trial judge’s order for a Terre Haute mayoral race recount because the petitioner failed to include the winner’s middle initial.Attorney James Bopp Jr. with Terre Haute law firm Bopp Coleson & Bostrom filed an emergency request Thursday afternoon for the justices to intervene in the recount challenge, contending that Vigo Circuit Judge David Bolk didn’t have jurisdiction to order a recount from the Nov. 6 election. Democratic Mayor Kevin Burke…

Justices deny previously granted transfer

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…

Fort Wayne is first for ‘Courts in Classroom’ re-enactment

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…

Court rules on corporate insurance policy issues

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…

Proposed law school info session Wednesday

There will be an information session July 11 for those interested in the Abraham Clark School of Law, a for-profit school proposed for Indianapolis. The session will begin at 6 p.m. at Springhill Suites, 11855 N. Meridian St., Carmel.The law school is being started by Mark Montefiori, a businessman with 13 years of experience in higher education. It’s still early in the planning stages, but the goal is for the school to have an emphasis on teaching business people about the…

Governor names new Lake, Marion judges

Gov. Mitch Daniels today chose a Gary attorney and legal counsel for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources director for a pair of judicial openings in Lake and Marion counties.Gary attorney Calvin Hawkins will take over as Lake Superior judge in September, replacing Judge Robert A. Pete who died in March. Admitted to the Indiana bar in 1971, Hawkins has concentrated his practice in civil and church litigation, as well as bankruptcy, probate, and family law. He earned his law degree…

Chief Justice on panel to study tax assessing, local government

Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard will co-chair a commission designed to find long-term solutions to the state’s property tax crisis, the governor announced today.Along with former Gov. Joe Kernan, the chief justice will lead the Commission on Local Government Reform beginning in early August. One of the questions the commission will look at is whether the township form of government should be abolished.Specifically, questions before the commission will be:- What local government offices might be eliminated to achieve efficiencies and…

Partial residential entry enough for conviction

Whether your whole body, the upper half, or just a hand enters someone else’s home, that’s enough to be considered “entering” under Indiana statute for conviction of residential entry. The Court of Appeals ruled today on the definition of entering a dwelling under the residential entry statute, something the courts haven’t defined in previous cases. In Robert Williams v. State, 49A05-0612-CR-688, Williams appealed his conviction for residential entry, a Class D felony, arguing that only the upper half of his body leaned…

Court opinions, orders online

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…

New trial court management director needed

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…

COA to hear 4 cases; one at Plainfield High School

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…

Court rules on judicial mandates

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…

Judge rules Fishers can annex Geist

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…

S.C. to hear arresting-powers case

The Indiana Supreme Court has granted transfer to a Marion Superior Court case involving an arrest by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer who did not attend the swearing-in ceremony early this year. At issue is whether that arrest should stand. The Indiana Attorney General’s office filed a petition Aug. 27 to bypass the Court of Appeals and transfer the case, State v. Cheryl Oddi-Smith, 49A05-0708-CR-445, directly to the Supreme Court. The state appeals the Aug. 7 ruling by Marion Superior Court…

AG urges court not to review voter ID law

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…

High court will select temporary judge

The Indiana Supreme Court plans to appoint a judge pro tem for Lawrence Circuit Court within days after the local judge was found dead at his home earlier this week.Judge Richard D. McIntyre, 51, of Bedford was discovered in his detached garage Tuesday evening by his wife. The Lawrence County Coroner determined he died of likely self-induced carbon monoxide poisoning, according to an announcement this morning.The Lawrence County native had been the Circuit judge for nearly 20 years, and the county…

Choke hold violated man’s rights, justices rule

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…

Court reverses COA decision in zoning issue

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that both the Board of Zoning Appeals of Evansville-Vanderburgh County and trial court were correct in denying the construction of a cellular tower that would be located too close to a residence under a county zoning code.In St. Charles Tower, Inc. v. Board of Zoning Appeals of Evansville-Vanderburgh County, 82S01-0702-CV-69, the state’s highest court yesterday overturned the Court of Appeals ruling that found the BZA’s decision to deny St. Charles the special-use permit was not supported by…