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.
Court opinions
Articles
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.
Justices to weigh Trump census plan to exclude noncitizens
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.
Opinions Oct 16, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Sydney Renner v. Trevor J. Shepard-Bazant
19A-CT-02745
Civil tort. Reverses the Lake Superior Court’s denial of Sydney Renner’s motion to correct error, in which she asked for an increased damages award stemming from a car crash involving Trevor Shepard-Bazant. Finds the trial court’s treatment of Renner’s prior two concussions as separate incidents, rather than as contributing to Renner’s injuries and damages arising from the auto accident, was against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court and resulted in error in the calculation of damages. Remands for a retrial.
COA reverses, remands for retrial on damages in car crash dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded for retrial on the issue of damages in a negligence case brought by a Lake County woman who suffered a concussion stemming from a car crash.
Appeals panel affirms judgment against Miami County in busted water line dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed judgment against Miami County employees who caused more than $100,000 in damages to water lines that supplied the City of Peru during an attempted logjam removal.
Opinions Oct 15, 2020
Indiana Supreme Court
In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.R., J.T.R, J.L.R., & E.R. (Minor Children); A.B. (Mother) and J.R. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
20S-JT-63
Juvenile termination. Affirms Steuben Circuit Court’s decision to admit drug test results, finding the results fit the records of a regularly conducted activity exception pursuant to Indiana Evidence Rule 803(6). Held Forensic Fluid Laboratories which conducted the tests on the parents does depend on the records to operate. Also, determined the records met the other indicia for reliability including they are subject to review, audit or internal check; the precision engendered by the repetition; and the fact that the person furnishing the information has a duty to do it correctly.
Reversal: Shelter must face negligence suit after adopted dog mauls girl
A south side Indianapolis animal shelter must face a lawsuit from an adopter whose child was attacked by a dog with a history of aggression, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reversing a trial court’s grant of summary judgment for the shelter.
COA partly revives injured woman’s claims against chiropractic clinic
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded entry of summary judgment in favor of an Indianapolis chiropractic clinic in a case brought by a woman injured in a car accident.
SCOTUS rejects Floyd County killer’s death sentence appeals
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected appeals from a Floyd County man sentenced to death after he was convicted of two counts of murder for killing two women eight years ago and later confessing to a 2003 slaying.
Opinions Oct. 14, 2020
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday.
Common Cause Indiana et al. v. Connie Lawson et al.
20-2911
Appeal from the United States District Court fort the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Reverses an injunction enjoining enforcement of Indiana law requiring the absentee ballots be received by election officials by noon on Election Day for those votes to be counted. Grants the state’s motion for a stay of the injunction, finding that “(a)s long as it is possible to vote in person, the rules for absentee ballots are constitutionally valid if they are supported by a rational basis and do not discriminate based on a forbidden characteristic such as race or sex.”
Supreme Court halts census in latest twist of 2020 count
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can end census field operations early, in a blow to efforts to make sure minorities and hard-to-enumerate communities are properly counted in the crucial once-a-decade tally.
Indiana Court Decisions — Sept. 24-Oct. 6, 2020
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Opinions Oct. 13, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Clay Kelley v. Kristy Kelley, Deceased, b/n/f Kenneth Todd Scales
20A-MI-679
Miscellaneous. Dismisses Clay Kelly’s appeal of the Warrick Superior Court’s denial of his motions to quash a nonparty subpoena, for contempt and for sanctions, finding Clay was neither a named party nor an intervenor in the trial court and therefore lacked standing to bring the appeal. Denies on cross-appeal Kristy Kelley b/n/f Todd Scales’ request for appellate attorney fees.