COA overturns trust validity case
A redacted copy of a living trust did not stop a woman from challenging and winning her charge that a trial court improperly dismissed her complaint contesting validity of the trust.
Court opinions
Articles
Woman’s self-improvement efforts not enough to change sentence
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a woman’s 36-month sentence for theft after it found the self-improvements she made were not enough to justify a lesser sentence.
Bad publicity not enough to justify preliminary injunction
The Indiana Court of Appeals denied a doctor’s motion for preliminary injunction after it found he did not present enough evidence to justify it because he did not let the disciplinary process at his hospital play out.
Denial of jury instruction was correct, COA rules
The Indiana Court of Appeals said a trial court was right in denying a man’s jury instruction that would have applied mens rea to every element of aggravated battery, saying the severity of an injury is not an element of prohibited conduct, but a result of it.
ADEA does not apply to company who fired 61-year-old employee
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for New Holland Logansport in a wrongful termination suit after it found the company did not meet the definition of employer under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
7th Circuit: Plea agreement not breached by government
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said the government did not breach its plea agreement with a defendant by introducing more victims than were mentioned in the agreement and therefore dismissed his appeal.
Man has to pay back money despite court errors
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a man must pay back $19,486 he stole from another man despite court errors and the fact that the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.
COA denies expungement after man admitted to committing crime
The fact that a man admitted to committing a crime was enough to deny expungement of his records, the Indiana Court of Appeals said, despite the fact he was not convicted of one during his expungement time period.
7th Circuit: cousins conspired to sell heroin; another gets new trial
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said two cousins conspired to distribute heroin, despite the claim from the defendants they were running separate heroin businesses.
Judge’s sentencing process does not violate due process
The United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a judge’s process to sentence a man who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine did not violate the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and may even be a process to be emulated by other judges in the future.
Man can’t appeal piracy conviction
A man who pleaded guilty to piracy for his role in boarding a ship off the coast of Somalia in 2009 was denied a writ of habeas corpus because he waived that right when he pleaded to his crime.
7th Circuit rejects group’s I-69 challenges
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a federal judge’s ruling granting a motion to dismiss some charges and grant summary judgment on others to the United States Department of Transportation after a group opposing I-69 construction in southern Indiana, Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, filed a lawsuit.
Supreme Court upholds attempted obstruction of justice charge
The Indiana Supreme Court said it didn’t matter whether the statements made by a defendant in a letter he wrote to the mother of a child victim he molested were true, the man still was deserving of the attempted obstruction of justice conviction.
COA: man not entitled to relief under firearms statute
The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a man’s request for summary judgment after he was fired for bringing a gun to work and instead granted summary judgment to his ex-employer after it found the man was not entitled to relief under statute or common law.
Supreme Court says statute of repose does not apply in prolonged asbestos cases
The Indiana Supreme Court declared in a split decision Wednesday that the Indiana Product Liability Statute, and specifically its 10-year statute of repose, does not apply to cases where the plaintiffs have had protracted exposure to inherently dangerous foreign substances.
Justices: State RICO law can apply to street-crimes
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that street-level crimes may be prosecuted under the state’s version of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act if the crimes aren’t isolated, affirming an Anderson man’s conviction of corrupt business influence related to a string of robberies.
Court denies summary judgment in excessive force case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said there was enough evidence against two officers accused of excessive force while arresting a Hammond man to create material dispute and therefore reversed summary judgment for the officers. The case was remanded to District Court for further proceedings.
Supreme Court upholds man’s life sentence for murder
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld a man’s murder conviction and sentence of life without parole after it found comments the judge made to the jury did not deprive him of a fair trial.
7th Circuit: Developer’s appeal is frivolous
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a man’s claim that the National Bank of Indianapolis covered up unauthorized transfers is frivolous and said the bank can pursue sanctions against the man because of it.
COA says town didn’t defame employee after audit
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a decision denying a town summary judgment after a former employee claimed defamatory damages when the town fired her after completing an audit.