State’s parenthood laws ruled unconstitutional
Indiana’s married lesbian parents win the right to be listed on their child’s birth certificate.
Court opinions
Articles
‘Unprecedented’ law blocked, Planned Parenthood takes aim again
After a federal judge on June 30 blocked a restrictive new Indiana abortion law from taking effect, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana vowed to take aim at other recent enactments that might infringe on the constitutional right. A week later, a fresh federal lawsuit targeted another Indiana abortion law passed this year.
7th Circuit tosses legal fees suit arising from bankruptcy case
An unsecured creditor’s lawsuit against two law firms over legal fees collected for services provided to a bankrupt Fort Wayne company’s estate should not have proceeded, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Plea agreement provision ‘constitutionally suspect,’ COA finds
A man who had taken steps to prepare for home detention but was committed for mental health reasons when he was to report to community corrections should not have been ordered to serve his sentence in the Department of Correction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Lack of evidence divides judges on false claims suit
Based on the evidence presented before it on a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a labor union, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to affirm summary judgment in favor of the union member’s company. But the dissenting judge believed the record required remand for a trial.
Continuous crime doctrine requires reversal of 2 domestic battery convictions
Because the evidence showed a man’s acts of domestic violence against his now ex-wife constituted a single transaction for purposes of the continuing crime doctrine, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed two of the man’s three convictions.
Lawyer loses appeals over Indy skyline photo
An Indianapolis lawyer who defendants call a copyright troll lost his appeals against three people who successfully defended against his suits over use of one of his photos.
Robber’s use of debit card is forgery, COA affirms
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a defendant’s claim that he couldn’t be convicted of forgery under Indiana law because using his robbery victims’ ATM cards did not qualify as “uttering a written instrument.”
COA reverses lifetime sex offender registration, upholds ban from school property
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a man challenging his lifetime registration as a sex offender that the law as applied to him violates the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition against ex post facto laws. But he lost a similar challenge to the unlawful-entry statute that prohibits him from entering school property.
Stricken Indiana abortion law ‘unprecedented,’ opponents say
Indiana’s strict anti-abortion legislation that Gov. Mike Pence signed this year was “unprecedented” in scope and in its rejection of long-established federal law, said opponents who succeeded in blocking the law from taking effect.
COA majority rules dog sniff did not prolong stop
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a woman’s motion to suppress evidence found at a traffic stop in a 2-1 decision after the court ruled the stop was not extended by an officer’s check of the car with his dog.
Evidence found during arrest for public intox is admissible, COA rules
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s misdemeanor cocaine possession conviction after it held the search an officer conducted after finding the man asleep in his car did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights and thus the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the cocaine found during the search.
Majority: 2 shoplifting charges not RICO violations
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision the state went too far when it convicted a man who committed two acts of shoplifting under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and reversed his conviction for corrupt business influence.
COA: Failure to give breath test sample was refusal to take test
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a woman refused a chemical breath test, noting the officer giving the test followed all the proper procedures and was within his rights to determine she refused the test after she failed to give a valid sample three times.
COA: Minors’ malpractice suit can continue
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by minor children can continue after it found the suit was not untimely filed. The children were in the correct age range to trigger an exception in the Medical Malpractice Act.
COA: Death during robbery is felony murder
The Indiana Court of Appeals found evidence was sufficient to uphold a robber’s conviction of felony murder after one of his accomplices was killed in a fight with a robbery victim.
7th Circuit affirms judgment for employee on ADA claim
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed judgment for an employee who claimed the city of Anderson did not accommodate his disability when it fired him for not having a commercial driver’s license he could no longer get because of his diabetes.
COA: Testimony would have restricted jury’s ability to decide
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s conviction of voluntary manslaughter after it found the trial court did not err in restricting the testimony of an expert witness for the defense.
COA: CVRA damages are distinct from punitive damages
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a damages award pursuant to the Crime Victim Relief Act after the court found in its second hearing of a case that CVRA damages are distinct from common law punitive damages.
Supreme Court extends Charlie White’s suspension
Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White may never be allowed to practice law again, the Indiana Supreme Court suggested Tuesday in extending his suspension another two years without automatic reinstatement.