COA affirms teens’ robbery charges
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the denial of two teens’ motions to dismiss their felony robbery charges after they allegedly stole from a mini mart and battered an employee who tried to stop them.
Court opinions
Articles
Opinions Nov. 1, 2019
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Guardianship of: Irma Elisabeth Avila Luis, Ramiro Velasquez Avila
19A-GU-1276
Guardianship. Reverses a Jackson Circuit Court’s order which failed to make findings as to whether reunification between Irma Elisabeth Avila Luis and her parents is viable and refused to make findings regarding whether it is in Luis’ best interests to remain in the United States. Finds it is not in the best interest for Luis to return to Guatemala. Orders the trial court to include the Indiana Court of Appeals’ findings, verbatim, and to enter the order within one business day of the certification of the appeal.
Muncie woman gets 6 years for dousing guest with hot grease
A Muncie woman who pleaded guilty to dousing a house guest with a pan of hot grease has been sentenced to six years in prison. She told police she scalded her guest after accusing her of stealing deodorant.
‘Irritated’ judge again ordered to make immigration findings for teen girl
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a southern Indiana judge for the second time to make required findings regarding the immigration status of a teen girl originally from Guatemala, this time spelling out those findings for the jurist who refused to do so.
Opinions Oct. 31, 2019
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday:
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc. v. Kristina Box, et al.
17-2428
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Civil. Denies the defendants-appellants’ petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc. Judges Joel Flaum, Michael Kanne, Amy Coney Barrett, Michael Brennan and Michael Scudder vote to grant the petition for rehearing en banc. Judges Ilana Rovner and David Hamilton vote to deny panel rehearing, while Judge Kanne voted to grant panel rehearing. Judge Frank Easterbrook concurs with separate opinion, joined by Judge Diane Sykes. Judge Kanne dissents with separate opinion, joined by judges Flaum, Barrett, Brennan and Scudder.
Justices reject Fifth Amendment appeal of sex offender treatment
The Indiana Supreme Court has found no constitutional violation against a father who refused to participate in a sex offender treatment program that he argued would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Divided appeals court reverses habitual offender adjudication
A split Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s habitual offender adjudication after finding the state failed to bring him to trial within Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C)’s one-year statutory deadline.
Reversal: Father’s due process rights violated in TPR case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed the termination of a father’s parent-child relationship after concluding his due process rights had been violated. The Department of Child Services, the appellate court found, did not make reasonable efforts to reunify the father and child.
COA orders new criminal recklessness trial after jury instruction error
A mother who backed over her aunt with a vehicle before fleeing the scene with her child in the car has won a new trial on a criminal recklessness conviction, though the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to overturn her related conviction of resisting law enforcement.
Divided COA tosses suit against lawyers over tax sale proceeds as untimely
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a lawsuit against two lawyers filed by their opposing party in long-running litigation, the current case over proceeds from a tax sale that the lawyers distributed to their clients. The majority ruled that the lawsuit — filed one day outside the two-year statute of limitations — should be dismissed.
Abortion parental notification law possibly headed for SCOTUS after 7th Circuit denial
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will not revisit a prior ruling that upheld an injunction on an Indiana law requiring “mature minors” to notify their parents before they have an abortion, setting the case up for a possible trip to the United States Supreme Court.
Opinions Oct. 30, 2019
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kathy Salyer v. Washington Regular Baptist Church Cemetery, and Kristy Sams
19A-PL-243
Civil plenary. Affirms the Ripley Circuit Court’s order awarding Kathy Salyer an open gravesite at the Washington Regular Baptist Church Cemetery after the cemetery resold the gravesite she had purchased and another individual was buried there. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in fashioning a remedy that required the cemetery to “correct” its mistake by giving Salyer an open, adjacent burial site free of charge. Judge James Kirsch dissents with separate opinion.
Reasonable suspicion of drug activity prompts reversal in suppression case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed suppression of drug evidence in a man’s parole violation case that was found during a search of a rented storage unit.
Divided COA lets man stay in disputed final resting place
A man mistakenly buried at a gravesite that had already been sold to another individual will continue to rest in peace after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to order the cemetery to exhume the man and relocate his grave. A dissenting judge, however, said Indiana statute and legal principles require the cemetery to correct the “wrongful entombment.”
Indiana Court Decisions – Oct. 10-23, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Opinions Oct. 29, 2019
Indiana Court of Appeals
Natoami Riley, et al. v. St. Mary’s Medical Center of Evansville, Inc.
19A-CT-844
Civil tort. Reverses the Vanderburgh Circuit Court’s grant of summary judgment to St. Mary’s Medical Center of Evansville Inc. on a medical malpractice claim brought by Natoami and Frank Riley. Finds a radiologic technician who wrote an affidavit on behalf of the Rileys is qualified to render an expert opinion on proximate causation, and that a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding that issue. Remands for further proceedings.
Woman with nerve damage wins reversal in med-mal case against hospital
A woman who suffers from nerve damage after dye was negligently injected into her arm for a medical scan has won a reversal against the southern Indiana hospital that administered the procedure.
Opinions Oct. 28, 2019
Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Tyson Timbs
27S04-1702-MI-70
Miscellaneous. Vacates and remands for the Grant Superior Court to determine, based on the Indiana Supreme Court’s framework, whether Tyson Timbs has cleared the hurdle of establishing gross disproportionality in the civil forfeiture of his Land Rover. Finds a use-based in rem fine is excessive if (1) the property was not an instrumentality of the underlying crimes, or (2) the property was an instrumentality, but the harshness of the punishment would be grossly disproportional to the gravity of the underlying offenses and the owner’s culpability for the property’s misuse. Also finds that Timbs’ Land Rover was an instrumentality of the underlying offense of drug dealing. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter dissents with separate opinion.
Tax Court reversal: Low-income apartments qualify for charitable exemption
The Indiana Tax Court on Monday reversed an Indiana Board of Tax Review’s final determination that concluded a low-income apartment complex owner failed to prove it qualified for a charitable purposes exemption.
COA grants mom partial victory in irregular child support dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has found a father in contempt for failing to pay years’ worth of irregular child support, reversing a lower court’s denial of his ex-wife’s petition to show cause for his failure to pay.