A man with chronic neck and back pain who was denied disability benefits will receive a new hearing, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Friday remand. The appellate court found a vocational expert’s testimony regarding potential job options was “entirely unilluminating.”
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kenneth Lavar Lancaster v. State of Indiana
19A-CR-02970
Criminal. Affirms Kenneth Lancaster’s convictions of three counts of murder. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not err by finding that the statement of Lancaster’s brother was admissible as an adoptive admission. Neither did it err in adding the second statement made by Lancaster, which it found to be plainly admissible. Also finds sufficient evidence to support the convictions. Lastly, finds that the trial court did not err in the sentencing process.
A known heroin dealer convicted of murdering one of his buyers and two other individuals did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday that his convictions should be reversed.
The only Native American on federal death row lost a bid Thursday to push back his execution date. Unless Lezmond Mitchell gets relief from another court or is granted clemency, he will be put to death Aug. 26 at the federal prison in Terre Haute where he is being held.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Tyson Daishan Lamonte King v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-6
Criminal. Reverses Tyson King’s conviction in Marshall Superior Court of Class A misdemeanor driving while suspended. Finds in deciding an issue of first impression that King’s driver’s license was not suspended when he was pulled over at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2018, because his suspension expired at 12:01 a.m. that same day.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Culver Community Teachers Association, et al. v. Indiana Education Employment Relations Board
19A-PL-2989
Civil plenary. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s denial of the Culver Community Teachers Association, Decatur County Education Association, Smith-Green Community Schools Classroom Teachers Association, and West Clark Teachers Association’s joint verified petition for judicial review of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions regarding their respective collective bargaining agreements. Finds the trial court erred in denying the Teachers Associations’ petition for judicial review. Remands to the IEERB with instructions to adopt the ratified contracts. Judge Patricia Riley dissents with a separate opinion.
A divided appellate panel Wednesday overturned the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions that three contracts negotiated and ratified by Indiana teachers unions and their respective school employers did not comply with state law.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Susan Mwangi and Joe Mwangi v. Nicholas Bobelinski and Classic Seamless Gutter, Inc. (mem. dec.)
20A-CT-528
Civil tort. Affirms the entry of summary judgment in favor of Nicholas Bobelinski and Classic Seamless Gutter, Inc. against Susan and Joe Mwangi. Finds no abuse of discretion in the St. Joseph Superior Court’s denial of Susan’s requests to continue the trial to secure counsel. Also finds that Susan was not denied her day in court and that the trial court did not clearly err in dismissing the action.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Shannon Murphy v. Indiana State University and Nick D. Pledger
20A-CT-313
Civil tort. Affirms the Vigo Superior Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Indiana State University related to a former student Shannon Murphy’s lawsuit seeking damages over a campus locker room voyeurism case. Finds that Murphy did not substantially comply with the notice requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act and that the trial court properly granted ISU’s motion for summary judgment.
A former Indiana State University volleyball player who sued the university upon learning a campus locker room was being secretly filmed by a fellow student could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that granting ISU’s motion for summary judgment was a mistake.
An appellate panel has reversed a trial court’s order to suppress evidence found in his home during a community corrections compliance check, concluding that law enforcement did not need reasonable suspicion to search his residence.
An appeals court Monday upheld an aggregate 24-year sentence for a man convicted of three counts of rape, but it also found a condition of probation that barred him from visiting “businesses that sell sexual devices or aids” was unconstitutionally broad.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Larry Tabb v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-PC-1364
Post conviction. Affirms the denial of Larry Tab’s petition for post-conviction relief. Finds a majority of Tabb’s issues are waived because he did not make cogent arguments on appeal. Finds Tabb has not demonstrated the Porter Superior Court erred by denying his petition for post-conviction relief.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday.
Karen Vaughn v. Jennifer Walthall
19-1244
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Chief Judge Jane Magnus‐Stinson.
Civil. Reverses a grant of summary judgment and an injunction in favor of Karen Vaughn that required the state of Indiana to pay the costs of her necessary around-the-clock home-based health care not reimbursed by Medicaid. Finds Vaughn is entitled to care only to the extent that, working with the state, she can craft a program that complies with federal and state law and does not deprive Indiana of the ability to receive its share of federal reimbursement through the Medicaid program for services provided. Remands for proceedings.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially reversed the denial of summary judgment to a truck driver involved in a car accident after finding both he and his employer are entitled to protection under the Good Samaritan Law. The case attracted an amicus brief from the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s child molesting conviction after finding that the admission of a forensic interview video played for the jury under Indiana Rule of Evidence 803(5) was not an abuse of discretion.
A quadriplegic woman requiring nearly around-the-clock care was stripped of a federal court ruling permitting her to dictate the terms of her own home health care at the state’s expense. In so ruling, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals asked, “How much state expenditure outside the scope of the Medicaid program may a court command?”
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL Deadline Tuesday:
John Myers v. Ron Neal
19-3158
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James R. Sweeney II.
Civil. Reverses the order granting John Myers’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus and reinstates his murder conviction in the 2000 death of Indiana University student Jill Behrman. Finds that the district court correctly held that Myers’ counsel was deficient, but determines that deficiency was not prejudicial in light of the strength of the state’s case against Myers separate and apart from those errors.
The murder conviction against the man found guilty of killing Indiana University student Jill Behrman has been reinstated after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that his counsel was deficient, but not prejudicial.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.