Reversal: Drugs found in sock not admissible
Three Clark County drug convictions were overturned Thursday after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined drug evidence found in a suspect’s sock should not have been admitted.
Court opinions
Articles
COA: Court disregarded procedures in PCR case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s denied petition for relief from what he alleged as conspiracy to wrongfully convict and confine him, among other things, after finding a post-conviction court erred in the procedure it used to dispose of his petition.
Indianapolis’ Oaktree Apartments demolition order affirmed
A demolition order for a northeast-side Indianapolis apartment complex vacant for more than five years was affirmed Thursday by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which stopped short of ordering the dilapidated property’s owners in England to pay the city’s legal fees in long-running nuisance litigation.
Receiver for million-dollar Corvette affirmed but bond required
Long-running litigation over the fate of a legendary Corvette racecar appears slightly closer to the finish line, as an appeals court Thursday gave the green flag to a receivership appointed to sell the car. However, the appellate panel instructed the trial court to require the receiver be bonded as required by law.
Felony drug conviction affirmed, but public defender fee reversed
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.
Opinions Aug. 14, 2019
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).
7th Circuit rules against inmate’s FOIA requests in triple-murder
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.
NIPSCO loses appeal in damaged gas line small-claims suit
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.
Opinions Aug. 13, 2019
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.
7th Circuit reverses, remands two kidnapping enhancements
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.
Random drug screen requirement reversed for mom in CHINS case
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.
Opinions Aug. 9, 2019
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.
Justices affirm parental rights for homeless mother of six
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.
In contamination case, 7th Circuit cleans up messy preclusion fight
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.
Ruling for insurer in $78K hacking case reversed in part
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.
Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious
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.
Order enabling grandparents to determine father’s visitation reversed
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.”
Ruling affirmed for woman in emailed debt collection notice case
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.
Opinions Aug. 8, 2019
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.
Justices reject wrongful death claims against IPS in student’s murder
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.