Indiana Court Decisions — Jan. 3-17, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
Recovery home founder gets early prison release in drug case after SCOTIN review
The founder of a drug recovery home for women in southern Indiana has been released from prison just weeks after the state’s high court revised her original 30-year drug-related sentence. Lisa Livingston was released Wednesday from Rockville Correctional Facility after serving nine months.
COA: Sports bar owed duty to man punched by drunk patron
A Lake County sports bar lost its appeal against a patron suing for personal injury when the Indiana Court of Appeals found it was foreseeable to the bar that one of its drunk patron’s was looking for a fight.
Excluded witnesses, admitted photos affirmed in murder trial
A man who murdered a woman in order to rob her of prescription drugs lost an appeal of his convictions when the Indiana Court of Appeals found there was sufficient evidence and that a trial court did not deprive him of a defense.
Daughter’s estate appeal backfires; COA awards fees
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court’s decision to approve an estate administrator’s final account was not clearly erroneous. Instead, it noted that a woman appealing the order acted in procedural bad faith, and thus ordered her to pay appellate attorney fees.
Rush, Goff publish dissent on poverty as probation violation
A split Indiana Supreme Court denied a petition to transfer a homeless man’s probation violation appeal, with two justices writing in a published dissent that the litigant was an indigent man incarcerated for probation violations that resulted from his poverty, not his intentions.
State, community group urge SCOTUS to reject Lake Michigan access case
The state of Indiana and a community group favoring public access to the shore of Lake Michigan have filed briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reject an appeal that could partly privatize the state’s 45 miles of Great Lakes beaches. Briefs filed Friday urge the high court to affirm the Indiana Supreme Court ruling that found the public has a right to walk along the shore of Lake Michigan from the water’s edge to the ordinary high water mark.
Tax Court : Assessor’s petition not untimely, non-compliant
The Indiana Tax Court has denied an Indianapolis business and arts center’s motion to dismiss an assessor’s appeal, finding the assessor’s summons was not untimely or non-compliant.
Majority justices remand drug sentence to determine treatment eligibility
A woman who has yet to receive court-ordered substance abuse treatment may soon receive it after the Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to her case.
State court suit aims to ban Indiana death penalty
A lawsuit naming Gov. Eric Holcomb filed on behalf of a prisoner on Indiana’s death row urges a state court to issue an injunction halting capital punishment and rule that the state’s ultimate criminal penalty violates the Indiana Constitution.
COA finds reasonable suspicion despite errant plate check
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a motion to suppress evidence when it found that despite a motorist proving a vehicle was properly licensed, the police officer who pulled the driver over during a traffic stop still had a reasonable suspicion to do so.
Justices to hear arguments in murder, jurisdiction cases
The Indiana Supreme Court is set to hear argument in several cases this week, including a man’s post-conviction appeal of his three separate sentences for murder in Floyd County.
Indiana Court Decisions — Dec. 19, 2018-Jan. 2, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Appeals court sides with Trump in transgender military case
A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration Friday in a case about the Pentagon’s effort to restrict military service by transgender people, but the ruling won’t change who can serve or enlist at this point.
Divided justices say Grant Co. couple must comply with orders to repair ‘high-hazard’ dam
A Grant County couple must now abide by a Department of Natural Resources order to bring a dam into compliance with the Dam Safety Act following a divided Indiana Supreme Court decision that affirmed the order’s enforcement.
Low-key days at Supreme Court may be ending soon
The Supreme Court began its term with the tumultuous confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, followed by a studied avoidance of drama on the high court bench — especially anything that would divide the five conservatives and four liberals. But when they gather in private on Friday to consider new cases for arguments in April and into next term, the justices will confront a raft of high-profile appeals.
Suit naming Vaidik, appellate clerk, DOC employees tossed
The dismissal of a suit brought against Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, the clerk of Indiana’s appellate courts and two Department of Correction employees has been affirmed, with a panel of the COA finding judicial immunity and insufficient facts bar the case from proceeding.
Sovereign citizen’s prison religion suit may be revisited
An Indiana prisoner and professed sovereign citizen who claimed his religious rights were violated when he was forbidden from fully participating in certain religious services may get another review, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
No malicious intent found in prosecution of debt suit
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a heavy equipment company when it found there was no malicious prosecution of an Indiana quarry and its owner over a debt.
Ruling for insurance producer in licensing case affirmed
A trial court order lifting a regulator’s nonrenewal of an insurance producer’s license stemming from his unauthorized use of funds from his homeowner’s association was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday. The appellate panel agreed that the man’s actions in this case did not warrant such a severe sanction. Jeffrey A. Schumaker’s […]