COA rejects murderer’s ineffective counsel arguments
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the denial of a murderer’s post-conviction relief petition, finding neither his trial nor his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance.
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Divided Supreme Court reverses habitual offender enhancement
A divided Indiana Supreme Court reversed a man’s habitual offender enhancement Thursday after determining his two prior Illinois convictions were statutorily considered Level 6 felonies, thus disqualifying the enhancement. The dissenting justice, however, found ambiguity in the statutes at issue.
Justices: 2015 habitual offender law set 10-year limit for past low-level felonies
The 2015 version of Indiana’s habitual offender statute requires an offender to have been released from all lower-level felonies within 10 years to establish a habitual offender enhancement, the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices reversed a trial court that overruled a reversal of a defendant’s objection to his habitual offender charges.
School district cleared after teacher convicted of child seduction
A northern Indiana school corporation has been cleared of legal wrongdoing in the events leading up to the arrest of a high school teacher who was having a sexual relationship with a student. A district court judge granted the school district’s motions for summary judgment on Thursday.
COA reduces contempt sentence from 910 days to 6 months
The Marion Superior Court must reduce a man’s sentence for criminal contempt of court to six months in order to comply with his Sixth Amendment rights and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
High Court reverses Tax Court ruling in Goff’s first opinion
In the first opinion written by Indiana’s newest Supreme Court justice, the high court struck down Wednesday a Tax Court ruling that found an Indianapolis food freezing company did not engage in direct production of new tangible personal property.
7th Circuit upholds Armed Career Criminal Act sentence
An Indiana man sentenced to 15 years under the Armed Criminal Career Act has lost his appeal of his sentence after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he met the requirements of three prior violent offenses to warrant the Act’s mandatory 15-year minimum.
COA vacates carrying a handgun without a license adjudication
A juvenile adjudicated as a delinquent for two handgun-related offenses will have one of those adjudications vacated after the Indiana Court of Appeals found a lack of statutory authority to support the adjudication.
Law school graduate’s case won’t be heard
A federal judge has reaffirmed his decision not to hear a law school graduate’s case against the members of the Indiana Board of Law Examiners, declining to grant a motion for reconsideration based on a finding that the board’s proceedings against him were not in bad faith.
COA reverses directed verdict in OB-GYN’s favor
A northern Indiana trial court must revisit the issue of whether a doctor adequately informed his patient of the risks associated with having a natural birth after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a grant of a directed verdict in the doctor’s favor on the issue of informed consent.
Justices to review who can waive rights of mentally ill
The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether trial courts have authority to waive respondents’ rights to be present at their mental health commitment hearings after granting transfer to a case in which a man was not present for his commitment hearing.
District court won’t enter judgment against Cuban government in sexual assault case
A district court judge has declined to enter default judgment against the Republic of Cuba on an Indiana woman’s claim against the foreign nation after finding members of the Cuban National Soccer Team were not acting within the scope of their employment for the country when they sexually assaulted her.
Magistrate judge slams ‘troubling trend’: lawyers ignoring orders
Note to lawyers with cases in the Southern District of Indiana: don’t give the overworked judicial officers cause to call you out for missing deadlines or shrugging off orders. Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker did just that in a blistering two-page order issued Friday.
COA grants summary judgment to contractors protected by subrogation waiver
An insurance company cannot seek reimbursement from two contractors on a claim it paid on behalf of its insured because the insured’s contract with the contractors contained a subrogation waiver that bars the insurer’s negligence claim, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
RV-delivery driver rightly qualified for unemployment, COA affirms
A woman who provided “driveaway” services delivering recreational vehicles from manufacturers to dealerships was rightly classified as an employee entitled to unemployment insurance after her job ended, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Carmel annexation upheld in long-running dispute
Carmel’s annexation of territory in southern Hamilton County that some landowners have been fighting for more than a dozen years was upheld Tuesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which previously reversed the trial court’s approval of the annexation.
Ind. Supreme Court to decide if evidence errors mean drug convictions should be tossed
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether errors in the admission of certain evidence during a man’s drug trial warrant reversal of the man’s multiple drug convictions.
Workforce Development entitled to summary judgment on claim against penalties
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development complied with the relevant statutes when issuing a letter informing a citizen of a determination against the agency and, thus, was entitled to summary judgment on the citizen’s claims against the penalties outlined in the letter, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
COA tosses two convictions against man who drove into gas pumps
A man who intentionally drove a vehicle into gas pumps during an argument with his son will have two of his convictions thrown out after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined those convictions were based on the same evidence as other similar convictions and, thus, violated double jeopardy.
COA: Illinois and Indiana aggravated battery statutes not substantially similar
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s felony conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon after determining the Illinois aggravated battery statute used to establish the man as a serious violent felon is not substantially similar to the same statute in Indiana.