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The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Monday that states can prevent criminal defendants from pleading insanity without violating their constitutional rights. The decision could prompt states across the country to toughen standards for defendants who wish to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
As courts, law schools and law offices close around the country in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus, Indiana Lawyer wants to know how you’re handling “the new normal” of self-isolation, social distancing and working remotely. Please share your thoughts and photos showing how life has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Indiana Lawyer reporter Katie Stancombe at [email protected].
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions were posted after IL deadline Friday:
Molly Joll v. Valparaiso Community Schools
18-3630
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Magistrate Judge John E. Martin.
Civil. Reverses the grant of summary judgment to Valparaiso Community Schools on Molly Joll’s sex discrimination claim but affirms the grant of summary judgment on Joll’s age discrimination claim. Finds Joll offered evidence that would allow a reasonable jury to find that the school district used hiring procedures tilted in favor of male applicants, applied sex-role stereotypes during the interview process and manipulated the criteria for hiring in ways that were inconsistent except that they always favored male applicants. Remands for trial on the sex discrimination claim. Judge Kenneth Ripple dissents with separate opinion.
After considering a dispute over ownership of a Floyd County criminal justice center, the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday concluded a turnover provision in a lease between the county and the building authority is valid and enforceable. Justices granted title to the county in a long-running dispute.
Two men who robbed and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Indiana Walmart stores could not convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that there was insufficient evidence to support their convictions.
The admission of positive drug test results under the business-records exception was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals in a Monday child in need of services case, despite a father’s argument that admission of the evidence was erroneous.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Monday ordered residents to remain home for two weeks starting Wednesday, except for workers in essential industries or to go outside for groceries and medicine, to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
A would-be high school running coach who says she was passed over for a coaching job in favor of younger male applicants will be able to make her claim for sex discrimination in court after a majority of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for Valparaiso Community Schools.
An Indiana trial court erred in a case over unpaid elevator repair bills by granting the plaintiffs’ motion to correct error after the case already had gone up to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Monday morning said the number of presumptive positive cases for COVID-19 in the state has risen to 259 after the emergence of 58 more cases. Seven people have died in the Hoosier State.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the Senate and raising fears about the further transmission of the virus among Republicans at the Capitol. The deveoplment came as the Senate wrangled overnight Sunday to agree to an emergency economic stimulus package.
A northern Indiana city is weighing spending another $500,000 to defend itself against a lawsuit filed by a man whose attempted murder conviction was thrown out because prosecutors didn’t disclose that the state’s sole eyewitness underwent hypnosis to sharpen his memory.
Prosecutors want a northwestern Indiana judge to reconsider his decision to release a man accused in the fatal shootings of a Gary woman and her 13-year-old son, calling him a “substantial” threat to the public.
The 2020 National Mock Trial Championship scheduled to take place in Evansville this May has been canceled due to coronavirus crisis, leaving event organizers heartbroken and disappointed.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Marlo Harris v. Joe Jones, Jr., and Allstate Insurance Company
19A-CT-1196
Civil tort. Reverses the Lake Superior jury verdict awarding Marlo Harris $10,000 in damages, minus $1,000 in attorney fees the trial court entered against her because the verdict was less than a qualified settlement offer resulting from claims alleging injuries resulting from a car crash. Finds the trial court abused its discretion by issuing an unwarranted jury instruction regarding Harris’ failure to mitigate her damages. Remands for a new trial on damages.
President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to get needed medical supplies on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak and the private sector mobilized against it.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order Thursday that protects Hoosiers from being evicted or foreclosed on during the pandemic, but housing advocates are still pushing for a veto of legislation they say could force low-income families from their homes when the moratorium is lifted.
Indiana’s primary election is being moved from May 5 to June 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic, state officials announced Friday morning.
A driver who a jury awarded just $10,000 on her personal injury claims after an intoxicated driver struck her car from behind won a new trial on damages Friday. The Indiana Court of Appeals found an erroneous jury instruction may have led to a verdict that was less than the driver had been offered to settle the case.
A northeastern Indiana man who pleaded guilty in an October killing told a judge before he was sentenced that a teenage co-defendant played no role in the slaying.