Indiana Court Decisions – Oct. 7-Oct. 21, 2020
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
Opinions Oct. 27, 2020
Indiana Supreme Court
Indiana Land Trust Company, f/k/a Lake County Trust Company TR #4340 v. XL Investment Properties, LLC and LaPorte County Auditor
20S-MI-62
Miscellaneous. Affirms the LaPorte Superior Court’s denial of Indiana Land Trust Company’s motion to set aside a tax deed related to Trust 4340. Finds that the LaPorte County auditor provided adequate notice and was not required to search its internal records for a better tax sale notice address when the notice sent via certified mail was returned as undeliverable.
LaPorte Co. auditor provided adequate notice of tax sale, Supreme Court rules
Indiana Supreme Court justices have affirmed the denial of a land trust company’s motion to set aside a tax deed for a LaPorte County property, finding an auditor gave adequate notice of the property’s impending tax sale.
Supreme Court arguments set in child neglect case after defendant released from jail
Indiana Supreme Court justices are set to hear oral argument in a neglect and battery case next week, where a man accused of battering a toddler was ordered released from jail earlier this year by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Split COA reverses for Notre Dame in woman’s negligence suit
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday reversed in favor of the University of Notre Dame in a negligence dispute brought by a woman who broke her shoulder after tripping during a basketball game.
Issues important to Trump await Barrett on Supreme Court
Amy Coney Barrett’s first votes on the Supreme Court could include two big topics affecting the man who appointed her.
High court won’t extend Wisconsin’s absentee ballot deadline
The Supreme Court is siding with Republicans to prevent Wisconsin from counting mailed ballots that are received after Election Day.
Opinions Oct. 26, 2020
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was posted after IL deadline Friday.
Common Cause Indiana v. Connie Lawson, et al.
20-2877
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Richard Young.
Civil. Reverses preliminary injunction blocking Indiana from enforcing the 2019 amendments to Indiana Code sections 3-11.7-2, 3-11.7-3 and 3-11.7-4. Finds the amendments that prevent individual voters from petitioning state courts to extending polling hours on Election Day do not unconstitutionally burden Hoosiers’ fundamental right to vote. Rules because Indiana voters still can seek remedy in the courts under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, the amendments do not violate the Supremacy Clause. Holds even if voters have a liberty interest in statutorily established poll hours, the amendments do not deprive them of that interest. Finally, concludes that Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1, 4 (2006) applies to the case at hand.
COA splits in ‘restraint on marriage’ trust dispute
A split appellate panel reversed in a trust dispute between siblings on Monday, concluding that the language in their mother’s trust regarding her son was ultimately a restraint on marriage and therefore void.
Man convicted of rape not denied an impartial jury, COA rules
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a Hancock County man’s conviction for felony rape, finding he was not denied an impartial jury, among other things.
7th Circuit upholds Indiana’s process for extending polling hours
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the amended Indiana election law that prohibits individual voters from asking state courts to extend voting hours on Election Day.
Legal assistant whose hours were reduced rightly entitled to unemployment, COA holds
A legal assistant who was told after more than five years of employment that she may need to seek another job because her hours would be cut by half was rightly awarded unemployment benefits, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Opinions Oct. 23, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Shalee C. Dowell v. State of Indiana
19A-CR-2623
Criminal. Reverses Shalee Dowell’s conviction of Level 6 felony maintaining a common nuisance and remands to the Perry Circuit Court to vacate the conviction and sentence, reducing her aggregate meth-dealing-related sentence from 23 to 21½ years in prison. The evidence was insufficient to support the conviction because the state lacked proof that the vehicle Dowell used in the underlying crime was used in more than one drug transaction.
Maintaining common nuisance conviction reversed
A lack of evidence proving the elements of maintaining a common nuisance means a woman’s conviction on that charge must be vacated and her drug-dealing sentence reduced by 18 months, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Opinions Oct. 22, 2020
The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday:
Timothy J. Brown v. Indiana Department of Environmental Management
20S-MI-609
Miscellaneous. Grants transfer and vacates a portion of the Indiana Court of Appeals’ affirming opinion in Timothy Brown’s case against IDEM, finding that the law-of-the-case doctrine “is applicable only when an appellate court determines a legal issue, not a trial court.” Finds that the COA need not have reached so broad a conclusion to resolve the issue. Otherwise affirms the Marion Superior Court’s conclusion that the law-of-the-case doctrine does not apply in this case’s specific circumstances.
Justices affirm denial of IDEM whistleblower suit, vacate ‘broad’ holding
Indiana Supreme Court justices affirmed Thursday the denial of a fired Indiana Department of Environmental Management chemist’s petition for judicial review, but vacated a portion of an appellate panel’s decision that it considered too broad.
In ‘painful’ case posing ‘terrifying precedent’, COA reverses mom’s TPR, lets dad’s stand
The Indiana Court of Appeals in a decision admonishing the Indiana Department of Child Services has reversed the termination of a mother’s parental rights to her son, while upholding the termination of his father’s parental rights in a separate case.
Opinions Oct. 21, 2020
Indiana Supreme Court
Stanley V. Watson v. State of Indiana
20S-CR-64
Criminal. Reverses the denial of Stanley Watson’s motion to dismiss a retrial of the habitual offender allegation against him for violations of Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C). Finds that although Criminal Rule 4(C) does not apply to a habitual offender retrial, Watson’s constitutional right to a speedy trial in Ripley Circuit Court was violated by the extraordinary six-plus-year delay in beginning his retrial. Remands with instructions to vacate Watson’s habitual offender enhancement. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter concurs except as to Part II.C. without separate opinion.
Casino wins appeal against injured worker awarded $76K
An injured Chinese national awarded more than $76,000 in disability discrimination damages lost those winnings Wednesday as the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed in favor of the southern Indiana casino that had employed her.
Reversal: Disorderly conduct conviction violated Indiana Constitution
A woman convicted of disorderly conduct as police intervened in a neighbor’s domestic dispute secured a reversal Wednesday, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding the woman’s right to free political expression under the state Constitution had been violated.