Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for religious schools to obtain public funds, upholding a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling.
Court opinions
Articles
Opinions June 29, 2020
Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Wesley Ryder
20S-CR-435
Criminal. Reverses an order of the Marion Superior Court suppressing evidence of a blood draw from an off-duty police trainee who was charged with multiple offenses including operating while intoxicated following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 465 in Indianapolis. Finds that the judge who authorized the warrant for the blood draw certified probable cause contemporaneously and in writing, and that even if she had not, the warrant was still valid under Indiana’s substantial compliance filing doctrine. Remands for proceedings. Justice Slaughter concurs in part without separate opinion.
New and improved PACER system unveiled
The electronic PACER federal court records system is sporting a new look and improved functions as part of its first major upgrade in a decade. New features are touted as enabling users to more easily navigate the system, more quickly find what they are seeking, and get better access on their mobile devices. The upgrade also is designed to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
SCOTUS upholds prostitution pledge for groups getting AIDS funding
The US Supreme Court has upheld a provision of federal law that requires foreign affiliates of U.S.-based health organizations to denounce prostitution as a condition of receiving taxpayer money to fight AIDS around the world.
Supreme Court refuses to block upcoming federal executions
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday refused to block the execution of four federal prison inmates who are scheduled to be put to death in July and August. The executions, if permitted to proceed after further expected court challenges, would mark the first use of the death penalty on the federal level since 2003.
Divided appeals panel finds for restaurant in slip-and-fall case
An Indianapolis restaurant that appealed the denial of summary judgment in a woman’s slip-and-fall case won a divided ruling Monday when two of three members of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel sided with the eatery.
Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law
A divided Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era.
Police-trainee’s blood-draw suppression in 2015 crash case reversed
A former police trainee accused of causing a drunken-driving crash on Interstate 465 five summers ago will go back to court with more evidence against him. The Indiana Supreme Court on Monday ruled that results of a blood draw after he refused a breath test were wrongly suppressed in Marion Superior Court.
7th Circuit halts deportation of crime victim, allows immigration judges to close cases
An Indianapolis man who came to the United States as a child and subsequently qualified for a limited visa as a victim of crime who cooperated with law enforcement was wrongly ordered deported, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The decision also rejected caselaw that limited immigration judges’ ability to administratively close cases when warranted.
Legal malpractice claim was far beyond statute of limitations, 7th Circuit affirms
A woman who filed a legal malpractice claim in a matter that began more than 20 years ago failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that her complaint over the distribution of a trust was timely.
Justices order new attempted murder trial after jury instruction ‘dilutes’ self-defense standard
The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of attempted murder and handgun charges, finding an erroneous jury instruction diluted the standard for claiming self-defense.
Justices boost Trump administration’s power in asylum cases
The Supreme Court on Thursday strengthened the Trump administration’s ability to deport people seeking asylum without allowing them to make their case to a federal judge.
Opinions June 26, 2020
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Thursday.
Carmine Greene v. Westfield Insurance Company
19-2260
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. Judge Philip P. Simon.
Civil. Affirms summary judgment for Westfield Insurance in a lawsuit brought by Carmine Greene and neighbors of the VIM Recycling property in Elkhart, seeking an order that Westfield pay a $50.56 million environmental pollution damages judgment entered against VIM. Finds that summary judgment for Westfield was proper because two coverage exceptions in the insurance policy apply.
$479K judgment against Crown Point grocer in slip-and-fall case upheld
A jury verdict for a woman who was seriously injured in a fall on a snow-covered sidewalk outside a Crown Point grocery store was upheld Friday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Appeals court puts Indiana Grand horseman’s negligence case out to pasture
A horseman who claims he was injured after another rider’s horse got loose during training exercises at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino didn’t win, place or show Friday at the Indiana Court of Appeals.
COA rules trial court erred in grandparent visitation case
The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a ruling that had prevented a couple from seeing their grandchild, finding the trial court’s grant of the mother’s petition to dismiss the paternity cause after the grandparents had intervened would likely extinguish their right to visitation.
Divided COA panel finds for woman wrongly told hepatitis test was negative
A woman who learned years after she had been told that a hepatitis test was negative that in fact the test had come back positive had her case reinstated Friday by the majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel. Two of three judges found a clinic fraudulently concealed the woman’s positive test result.
COA dismisses long-running suit from deaf litigant denied sign interpreter
A deaf man’s lawsuit that challenged the denial of a request for a sign language interpreter in a court-ordered family law modest means mediation was dismissed on appeal Friday.
Insurer owes no coverage in $50M Elkhart damages ruling, 7th Circuit affirms
A federal court ruling in favor of the insurer of a wood processing facility in Elkhart that was the subject of years of environmental litigation brought by neighbors was affirmed Thursday. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Westfield Insurance owed no duty to cover its insured against an environmental damages award of more than $50 million.
Opinions June 25, 2020
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL daily deadline Wednesday.
David L. Day, Jr. v. United States of America
18-2398
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division
Judge Tanya Walton Pratt
Criminal. Vacates the denial of David Day’s pro se motion for relief from his 92-month sentence under 28 U.S.C § 2255. Rules the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana erred by denying the motion without an evidentiary hearing to hear Day’s arguments that his private attorneys were constitutionally ineffective for advising him to reject a favorable plea offer. Notes that to have his motion granted, Day will have to show a “reasonable probability” that he would have received a sentence lower than 92 months. Remands for an evidentiary hearing.