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.
Court opinions
Articles
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.
Reversal: Trial court can consider merits of sentence modification motion
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed for a convicted man seeking to modify his sentence, finding that the Elkhart Superior Court erred when it determined that it lacked the statutory authority to consider the merits of his motion.
Appeals court affirms injunction against Clarksville’s Theatre X
A Clarksville adult entertainment venue ordered to cease operations due to local ordinance violations lost its appeal of an injunction Wednesday.
COA upholds sentence in domestic battery, tasing case
Sentences totaling more than seven years have been affirmed for an Allen County man who tased a woman he began dating after meeting on Facebook, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Justices vacate habitual offender enhancement after 6-year delay in retrial
A man serving an 80-year sentence for a drug conviction will have his sentence reduced to 50 years after the Indiana Supreme Court ordered that his habitual offender enhancement be vacated.
Opinions Oct. 20, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jordan Allen Temme v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-275
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Jordan Allen Temme’s motion for the Vanderburgh Superior Court to apply the doctrine of “credit for time erroneously at liberty” after he was erroneously released from incarceration. Finds that the Department of Corrections’ inadvertent and quickly discovered error does not operate under the law of the state to cancel any part of Temme’s punishment for the crimes for which he was justly convicted and sentenced. Also finds the trial court did not err in denying Temme’s motion.
COA affirms reincarceration of man erroneously released years early
A man who was erroneously released from prison more than two years early must return to the Department of Correction after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to adopt a doctrine that would award him credit for the time he was free.
Killer’s appeal rejected in rural Dubois Co. stabbing death
A man convicted of stabbing his girlfriend to death in rural Dubois County lost his appeal Tuesday that challenged the evidence admitted and excluded at his trial and the manner in which the jury was instructed.
SCOTUS rejects Indiana sword fight killer’s appeal, 4 other Hoosier cases
The United States Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an Indiana man convicted of killing his great-uncle in a 2009 sword fight that also took the life of the man’s grandmother. The case is one of five Indiana criminal, juvenile justice or post-conviction cases denied certiorari Monday by the high court.
Opinions Oct. 19, 2020
Timothy A. Cooper v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-00855
Criminal. Affirms Timothy Cooper’s Level 5 felony conviction in Tippecanoe Superior Court of failure to register as a sex or violent offender with a prior conviction. Finds the evidence was sufficient and Cooper has not demonstrated that he was harmed by the jury seeing him in shackles and in custody.