A man’s felony drug convictions were affirmed Thursday, but a trial court’s order requiring him to pay a $250 public defender fee and reimburse a northern Indiana county for his medical expenses were struck down by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions were posted after IL Deadline Tuesday.
Dustin Higgs v. United States Park Police
18-2826, 18-2937
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Civil. Finds the Southern District Court erred in finding that the public interest prevailed over the privacy interests of the individuals involved in evidence for Dustin Higgs’ murder of three women and should have refused disclosure of those documents pursuant to Freedom of Information Act Exemptions 6 and 7(C). Affirms that certain documents were properly withheld under FOIA Exemption 7(D).
A Southern District Court judge’s order that the federal government disclose personal information stemming from a triple murder it had previously refused to turn over has been reversed. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that public interest does not support the information’s disclosure, simultaneously affirming that certain documents were protected by an exception of the Freedom of Information Act.
An excavation company found at fault for the destruction of a new home’s gas line will still have to pay up to the Northern Indiana Public Service Company despite the latter’s assertion that the company could not be held liable for a landscaper’s failure to mark the gas lines.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Monday.
USA v. Lindani Mzembe, et al.
16-4258, 17-1060, 17-1412, 17-2268 & 17-2269
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. Senior Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Criminal. Affirms Ivan Brazier’s 444-month sentence for conviction of kidnapping and making a ransom demand. Reverses and vacates Lindani Mzembe and Derek Fields’ 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) convictions and sentences for discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, remanding their cases for resentencing based on later decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Three men who kidnapped and tortured a South Bend man have received different rulings from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed a 37-year prison sentence for one defendant and vacated 10-year firearm enhancements for the other two.
A mother found driving intoxicated with her three minor children in the car lost her appeal of a determination that they are children in need of services, but won a reversal of a requirement that she submit to random drug screens as part of her parental participation order.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions were posted after IL deadline Thursday.
Rita Boucher v. United States Department of Agriculture, et al.
16-1654
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
Civil. Reverses the district court’s affirmance of the USDA’s final determination that the removal of nine trees in the 1990s by the late David Boucher converted several acres of wetlands into farmlands, rendering the Bouchers’ entire farm ineligible for certain USDA benefits. Finds the final determination was arbitrary and capricious. Remands to the district court to enter judgment and grant appropriate relief to Rita Boucher.
A mother who fought to be reunited with her six minor children secured the Indiana Supreme Court’s favor after justices unanimously affirmed a finding that the termination of her parental rights due to her homelessness was not in the children’s best interests.
Even though none of the businesses disagreed over who contaminated a manufacturing site, the question of who should pay for the cleanup became a fight over claim preclusion that ended with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals offering instructions on how the lawsuit should have been defended.
The Indiana Court of Appeals partially affirmed an insurance company’s first award of judgment in a computer hacking theft but reversed on the second after finding no conflict between the appellant’s deposition testimony and a statement in his affidavit.
A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.
A father who feared his hostile relationship with his children’s grandparent guardians would prevent him from having visitation with his kids won a reversal of an order stating parenting time would be “agreed upon by the parties.”
Judgment for a woman who was sent two debt collection notices by email has been affirmed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the emails did not contain statutorily required disclosures.
The following Indiana Supreme Court decisions were filed Wednesday but were not included in Wednesday’s Indiana Lawyer Daily.
Alberto Baiza Rodriguez v. State of Indiana
18S-CR-143
Criminal. Affirms the Elkhart Superior Court’s judgment that it was not authorized to modify Alberto Baiza Rodriguez’s sentence imposed under his fixed-term plea agreement. Finds the decades-old rule regarding sentence modification — that courts may modify a sentence only if the new sentence would not violate the terms of a valid plea agreement had the new sentence been originally imposed — remains undisturbed. Also finds the Legislature’s amendments to Indiana Code § 35-38-1-17 statute did not alter the settled law of Pannarale v. State, 638 N.E.2d 1247 (Ind. 1994), and its progeny.
The estate of a murdered teenage boy could not convince the Indiana Supreme Court that his school was negligent for his death. Instead, justices found the estate’s claims to be barred under contributory negligence law.
A pro se prisoner and serial litigator has been barred from making additional civil filings in the Southern District of Indiana unless he pays nearly $5,000 in filing fees. A judge also raised the possibility of a perjury referral for any future violations.
In upholding a decades-old rule recently codified through a legislative amendment, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in companion cases that trial courts can only modify a sentence entered as part of a fixed-plea agreement if the modified sentence would not have violated the plea agreement at the time the sentence was originally imposed.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday.
Eric Mapes v. State of Indiana
19-1384
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Civil. Affirms the Southern District Court’s refusal to recruit pro bono counsel for Eric Mapes. Finds the district judge did not abuse her discretion when she denied Mapes request for pro bono counsel, provided an opportunity to amend, and offered instructions on how best to do so without a lawyer.
A judge sitting on a medical malpractice case who denied for-cause challenges to six jurors did not abuse his discretion in denying the challenges, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, pointing to the “substantial discretion” trial court judges have over voir dire.