Indiana Court Decisions – Aug. 28-Sept. 11, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Articles
Ex-trooper Camm’s civil suit linked to wife’s slaying trials revived
Ex-Indiana State Police trooper David Camm, who was convicted then cleared of murdering his wife and young children in multiple trials, partially won an appeal for a new civil trial after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor on some of his claims for damages.
Indiana Court Decisions – Aug. 15-27, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
7th Circuit reinstates Ford discriminatory hiring class-action
Ford Motor Co. and other defendants must face a class-action lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices at a Chicago-area assembly plant. Plaintiffs convinced a federal appeals court to let proceed their claims that hiring practices at the plant could negatively impact Hispanic workers in northwestern Indiana and elsewhere hoping to land a job there.
7th Circuit: Indiana voter purge provision violates federal law
In a ruling that reminded Indiana of the need to protect the integrity of the voting process, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the state from kicking individuals off the voter rolls based solely on a match in the Crosscheck database.
7th Circuit upholds firearms convictions, sentence despite evidence error
Though the district court erred in admitting certain evidence without allowing a defendant to cross-examine the related witnesses, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals still upheld that defendant’s firearms convictions and sentence Tuesday.
Ban on Indiana abortion parental notification law upheld
A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction blocking a 2017 Indiana law that would have required parental notification for mature minors seeking an abortion. One member of the three-judge panel dissented, however, and would have allowed the law to take effect.
7th Circuit blocks Indiana voter purge law
A federal appeals court has confirmed that Indiana’s attempt to cleanse its voter rolls by using the controversial Crosscheck database violates the National Voter Registration Act. The ruling upholds a lower court ruling in a suit brought by a national public-interest group.
Dealer’s conviction for machine gun, laser sight sales upheld
A Pennsylvania gun dealer who was convicted of multiple federal counts after he conspired with Lake County law enforcement officers to procure machine guns and laser sights lost his appeal Friday.
7th Circuit affirms CERCLA ruling in Beech Grove lead cleanup
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s ruling against a Beech Grove manufacturing company over who should bear the costs of cleaning up a contaminated lead smelter site.
South Bend abortion clinic can open, but only as ‘provisionally licensed’
A preliminary injunction issued to allow the doors of a South Bend abortion clinic to open has been affirmed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the appellate court narrowed the injunction and struck a compromise between the parties’ dueling views of Indiana’s licensing system.
Justices grant transfer, allow PCR case from second appeal
A man convicted of murder may proceed in his second pursuit of post-conviction relief now that the Indiana Supreme Court has concluded his petition addressed only the grounds arising from his second appeal and was therefore not considered a second or successive petition.
Court tosses ex-Fishers executive’s wire fraud appeal
A man who pleaded guilty to fraudulently wiring money from his Fishers employer to his personal bank account couldn’t convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that his circumstances presented a due process exception to the rule that most written appeal waivers are effective.
Indiana Court decisions – Aug. 1-14, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Rental repairs licensing requirement poses no burden to interstate commerce, 7th Circuit affirms
An Illinois man who owns rental property in Hammond failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that a city licensing ordinance requiring he obtain a license to make repairs to his properties was discriminatory.
7th Circuit rules against inmate’s FOIA requests in triple-murder
A Southern District Court judge’s order that the federal government disclose personal information stemming from a triple murder it had previously refused to turn over has been reversed. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that public interest does not support the information’s disclosure, simultaneously affirming that certain documents were protected by an exception of the Freedom of Information Act.
Woman jailed over pursuit of debt wins partial judgment
A woman arrested for failing to pay off a health club debt she thought had been discharged nearly 10 years earlier partially won a judgment against the law firm that pursued collection on the debt.
7th Circuit reverses, remands two kidnapping enhancements
Three men who kidnapped and tortured a South Bend man have received different rulings from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed a 37-year prison sentence for one defendant and vacated 10-year firearm enhancements for the other two.
In contamination case, 7th Circuit cleans up messy preclusion fight
Even though none of the businesses disagreed over who contaminated a manufacturing site, the question of who should pay for the cleanup became a fight over claim preclusion that ended with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals offering instructions on how the lawsuit should have been defended.
Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious
A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.