Justices block Alabama court order in lesbian adoption case
The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a lesbian mother who wants to see her adopted children, blocking an Alabama court's order that declared the adoption invalid.
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Articles
High court rejects LA appeal over $5.7M jury award to felon
The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that upheld the award to Robert Contreras, who was left paralyzed after police shot him multiple times when he fled the scene of a drive-by shooting in 2005.
Speeding ticket tossed because of invalid Carmel ordinance
“Carmel’s wholesale adoption of chapters of Indiana Code resulted in its ordinance being nothing more than a ‘duplicate’ of already existing State law,” Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May wrote.
Court divided over drug sentence
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s convictions for making and delivering methamphetamine, but the judges did not agree that the 32-year sentence imposed by the trial court was appropriate.
Lawyer loses fee appeal against defunct Stewart & Irwin
A lawyer who claimed his former law firm and its shareholders wrongly withheld fees he was contractually owed lost his appeal of a judgment in the firm's favor Thursday.
Court: It’s risky to take justice into your own hands
Affirming an award of treble damages and remanding for appellate attorney fees, the Indiana Court of Appeals warned in a criminal conversion case Thursday that self-help remedies are perilous and potentially expensive, and it’s best to not take justice into your own hands.
Circuit court without jurisdiction to grant father’s child support relief
Madison Circuit Court 5 did not have jurisdiction to rule on a man’s motion for relief from a child support decision entered by Madison Circuit Court 2, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded Thursday.
Company not entitled to relief from mortgage foreclosure judgment
An Indiana trial court incorrectly ruled a company was entitled to relief under Indiana Trial Rule 60(B)(6) after deciding a mortgage foreclosure action was void based on who owned interests in the mortgage.
7th Circuit affirms city blocking strip club plans
Plans to open a strip club called “Showgirl” in Angola have been blocked for more than three years, but the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the city and courts were within their rights to do so.
Fort Wayne businessman’s statements not defamatory per se
The former chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne who filed lawsuits after he was required to retire at the age of 65 could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that statements in a private letter about him constituted defamation per se.
COA upholds vehicle search despite noncompliance with protocol
Even though two Indianapolis police officers did not follow the department’s general order on towing and impounding vehicles after a traffic stop, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s drug convictions.
7th Circuit reverses benefits denial; judge chastises process
Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner had harsh words for the Social Security Disability Office regarding vocational expert testimony: clean up your act.
DNA evidence properly excluded in rape trial
A trial court was correct in not allowing evidence in a rape trial that DNA of an unknown male was collected from the victim two days after the incident, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.
Woman breached settlement in trail construction dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that a Yorktown resident breached the terms of a settlement she reached with the town over easements to construct storm sewers and a residential trail when she declined to donate the easement for the trail unless other conditions were met.
COA affirms dismissal of will contest
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a man’s will contest action involving his siblings, but for a different reason than the trial court.
Insurance agents denied summary judgment in lawsuit filed after fire
A man’s lawsuit will continue against an insurance agent and his agency after they insured his rental property but then denied coverage after a fire, alleging the man misrepresented the property’s condition.
Judge wants harsher sentence for attack on ex-fiancee
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed there were no double jeopardy violations following a man’s open plea agreement to strangling, confining and battering his ex-fiancee, but one judge believed the man deserved more time in the Department of Correction based on the seriousness of the incident.
Judge grants preliminary injunction banning Nativity scene
A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction banning a northern Indiana school district from including a live Nativity scene as part of its annual Christmas show.
Monarch keeps up fight to overturn state alcohol sales law
The largest beer and wine wholesaler in Indiana is asking a state appeals court to find a law unconstitutional that prohibits beer wholesalers from seeking a permit to also distribute liquor.
Justices disbar lawyer for theft of $150K from clients, ‘brazenness’
An Indianapolis lawyer has been disbarred for stealing about $150,000 from his clients, “disclosing client confidences for purposes of both retaliation and amusement, threatening and intimidating his office staff (and) lying pervasively to all comers,” according to the Indiana Supreme Court.