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Update: Confirmation doesn’t stop court business

Business is going on as usual this morning for the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, despite a historic moment that’s happened in the court.The U.S. Senate voted unanimously about 5 p.m. Thursday to confirm Magistrate Judge William T. Lawrence as a federal judge, meaning he’ll be the Southern District’s first-ever magistrate to be elevated to the constitutionally established Article III judge status.Senators took a break from discussion on wiretapping to talk about judicial nominations, and held a roll-call vote…

COA: Mortgage lien holder has priority

The Indiana Court of Appeals determined today that two contractors with mechanic's liens did not have priority over the mortgage lien held by the bank in a foreclosure action, discussing a law in a ruling for only the second time since it was enacted in 1999.

Valpo law lecture series starts Sept. 16

Valparaiso University School of Law's fall lecture series "Scholars and Advocates in Residence: Shaping the Public Dialogue" kicks off Sept. 16 with a presentation from a senior lecturer in law from Ireland.

Tax fraud lands attorney in prison

An Indianapolis personal injury lawyer will spend time in prison for committing tax fraud by underreporting his income.U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney of the Southern District’s Indianapolis Division sentenced Robert E. Lehman to eight months in prison and six months of home detention after he pleaded guilty to making a false federal income tax return.Lehman filed false personal income tax returns with the IRS in 2002, 2003, and 2004, by understating his business income. When he paid his clients from…

Deputy Allen County prosecutor dies

A deputy Allen County prosecutor died suddenly March 16 after a short illness. John William Archer was 58. Archer, a lifelong Hoosier, was born in Hartford City and earned his bachelor’s degree at Wabash College. He earned his J.D. at Valparaiso University School of Law. He spent 20 years in the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and served as section head of the misdemeanor court. Prior to that, he owned Ruby Red Hot Records, a reflection of his love of music. He is survived…

High court transfer filed in early-voting case

The plaintiffs in a suit challenging Lake County early-voting satellite locations are appealing a special judge's order to keep the locations open to the Indiana Supreme Court.

Mental health, criminal justice training set

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Indiana is hosting later this month its Mental Health and Criminal Justice Training program, which is geared toward attorneys, judges, correctional officers, mental-health providers, and others to educate them about mental illness.Session topics include “Categories of Mental Illness,” “The View from Inside,” and “Interacting and Communicating with Persons with a Mental Illness.” Speakers include Dr. George Parker, medical director of the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions, and Timothy Lines, Ph.D., chief psychologist and…

UPDATE: SCOTUS limits pro se rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that a state may require a criminal defendant who suffers from a mental illness to have a lawyer rather than allowing that person to act as his or her own defense counsel, even when the individual is competent to be tried.Vacating an Indiana Supreme Court ruling from more than a year ago, the nation’s highest court today issued its 7-2 ruling in Indiana v. Ahmad Edwards, No. 07-208. Justices remanded the case to Marion Superior Court…

SCOTUS quiet on money-laundering case

The nation’s highest court hasn’t yet ruled on an East Chicago case involving money laundering, but that could be because justices are waiting to hear a similar case before making a decision.Indianapolis attorney Todd Vare with Barnes & Thornburg argued before the Supreme Court of the United States Oct. 3, but so far the court hasn’t issued a decision on U.S. v. Efrain Santos, No. 06-1005.Ten of the 14 cases argued that month have been ruled on, as well as other…

Man can’t challenge motion after guilty plea

A defendant who pleaded guilty to a drug charge can no longer challenge the trial court denial of his pretrial motion to suppress, affirmed the Indiana Court of Appeals today.

Parties can’t pick certain provisions to enforce

The Indiana Court of Appeals addressed an issue of first impression today regarding whether a person could seek to enforce rights under a vehicle purchasing agreement he didn't sign but then disavow other provisions set forth in the same document.

Baker & Daniels cuts operational staff

Tough economic times are causing law firms across the country to consider staff cuts as a way to trim costs, and the Indiana legal market isn't an exception.

Court rules on ‘nude in front yard’ case

Though the front yard of your home may not be considered a “public place,” state law prohibits you from standing there naked because that nudity would be visible from a public street or sidewalk, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In Chad A. Weideman v. State of Indiana, No. 87A01-0801-CR-51, a unanimous three-judge panel determined that Indiana’s public nudity statute, Indiana Code Section 35-45-4-1.5(c), is not unconstitutionally vague, but the state failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that a Warrick County…

Court: Nontestimonial statements allowed at trial

Statements to police made by a woman who accused a defendant of hitting her should have been admissible during the defendant’s trial, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled April 25.The appellate court determined statements made by Keyona Brooks, in which she said defendant Tracey Lamont Martin struck her in the face while they were fighting in the car before he drove off with her children, should have been considered nontestimonial, and thus admissible at trial.Brooks was not available to testify at Martin’s trial…

State can’t cross-appeal sentence under rule

The state may not cross-appeal a sentence for an abuse of discretion or inappropriateness unless the defendant appeals his or her sentence in the appellant’s brief, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today. The issue of the state filing a cross-appeal of a sentence is a matter of first impression. In Steven McCullough v. State of Indiana, No. 49A02-0711-CR-931, Steven McCullough filed an appeal of his convictions of two counts of criminal confinement, battery, and the finding he was a habitual offender….

Court: Attorney mistake ‘inexcusable neglect’

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a woman’s appeal following the denial of Social Security benefits because the woman’s attorney failed to file the appeal in time under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.In Janet L. McCarty v. Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, No. 07-2104, Janet McCarty’s application for disability insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income was denied by the Social Security Administration and an administrative law judge.She appealed to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of…

Attorney, ex-appellate clerk dies suddenly

A Fort Wayne and Indianapolis health-care law attorney who’d previously served as the governor’s counsel and as state appellate clerk in the 1990s died suddenly Tuesday night.John Okeson, 43, died at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne after suffering from a short flu-like illness during the past week; he was admitted to the hospital late Sunday or Monday, according to his legal colleagues. The county coroner’s office told media that Okeson had been sick and admitted to the hospital, where staff determined…

Court affirms dismissal of default judgment

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court finding that a mother had a valid excuse for not showing up to a child-support modification hearing because neither she nor her attorney received proper notice of the hearing. In Jason D. Bunch v. Katherine R. Himm, 64A04-0705-CV-262, Bunch and Himm divorced, leaving Bunch with physical custody of their two children. Himm moved from northern Indiana to South Carolina and joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves. Their divorce decree was finalized…

COA affirms joint legal custody

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a dissolution court's decision to grant joint legal custody of two minor children to the parents, finding the lower court followed Indiana statute in granting the custody.

High court to hear 3 arguments Thursday

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday in three cases involving different issues – the cleanup of hazardous material, a defendant sentenced to death, and a child-custody dispute. In the arguments scheduled at 9 a.m., the justices will hear The Indiana Department of Environmental Management v. Raybestos Products Co., No. 49A02-0609-CV-782, in which the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Marion Superior Court decision granting summary judgment for Raybestos on the issue of breach of contract against IDEM. Raybestos filed a…