Court sets drug-court termination requirements
An Indiana Court of Appeals ruling today sets requirements for drug court terminations after a man’s participation was
terminated without minimum due process.
Court opinions
Articles
COA: Breathalyzer certificate is not testimonial
For the first time since the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2009 ruling that found a defendant had a Sixth Amendment
right to confront the analysts who prepared lab certificates certifying the defendant had cocaine, the Indiana Court of Appeals
ruled that a trial court did not violate the defendant’s right to confrontation by allowing the inspection certificate
for a breathalyzer into evidence, even though the certifier of the equipment did not testify at trial.
Justices: No error in declaring mistrial
A trial court's determination to discharge a jury at a defendant's second trial wasn't an abuse of discretion,
the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Justices rule on case about worker’s compensation, damages
Upholding a trial court ruling in a case stemming from a construction site accident, the Indiana Supreme Court has offered
guidance for future trials about how juries should calculate a plaintiff’s already-paid compensation benefits when determining
punitive damage awards.
Court rejects stale trash evidence argument
The Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected an argument that evidence found in a trash search was stale because no other garbage
had been collected in the past two weeks and that seized material could have been too old.
Supreme Court analyzes appellate review rule on sentences
Addressing an issue that’s divided the state’s intermediate appeals judges, the Indiana Supreme Court has held
that review under Appellate Rule 7 may include consideration of a person’s total penal consequences within a trial court
sentence.
Attorneys say ruling confuses discovery regarding expert materials
A liability lawsuit filed by the victims of a water-heater explosion a year after the May 2004 blast has erupted in its own
metaphorical explosion of discovery disputes.
Debate swirls around citations, use of the NFP
Envision a world in which lawyers successfully defended a client on what all parties thought was a significant legal issue,
but future attorneys couldn’t use that case result to help persuade judges in their litigation.
Sexually violent predator petitions must be refiled
The status as a sexually violent predator for two inmates stands for now, but the Indiana Court of Appeals directed the men
to refile their motions to remove that status pursuant to the recently amended statute dealing with this issue.
Judges rule on pre-existing condition case
Highlighting the highly controversial health care debate that’s played out during the past year, the 7th Circuit Court
of Appeals today ruled on a pretty straightforward case about a pre-existing condition clause that denied a man’s claim
for long-term disability benefits.
Justices rule on plea negotiation communications
The Indiana Supreme Court has addressed the scope of privilege for plea negotiations for the first time in 20 years, upholding the conviction and sentence of a man who drove his pickup truck into an Evansville school bus while intoxicated and injured more than a dozen children.
7th Circuit addresses contempt proceedings, judicial safety
A federal appeals judge from Indianapolis penned a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision today that touches on free speech,
judicial safety, and contempt proceedings that stem from a case against a well-known radio personality and infomercial salesman
who promotes natural cures and alternative medicine.
COA upholds 125-year child-molesting sentence
In upholding multiple child-molesting convictions and a 125-year sentence, the Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected a woman’s
argument about why her penalty should be reduced based in part on the very young ages of the victims.
Court: Police shouldn’t have made traffic stop
An appellate decision today in a drunk-driving traffic stop case out of Fort Wayne illustrates how a lack of knowledge about
a particular road’s layout can derail the prosecution of someone who may have been intoxicated behind the wheel.
Indiana justices answer certified question from federal court
The Indiana Supreme Court says that a person or business that buys and later sells a wrecked vehicle must apply for a salvage
title as required by state law, even if that vehicle’s been sold by the time that certificate is received.
COA affirms resisting police conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals was hesitant to rely on an Indiana Supreme Court case’s definition of “forcibly
resist” because that language doesn’t appear to adequately describe the meaning of the phrase as it has been recently
applied.
7th Circuit overrules itself in satellite TV case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled one of its own decisions from 20 years ago, finding that judges have discretion
in whether penalties are imposed on those who steal encrypted television satellite signals or help others take them without
paying for the service
Mom may be liable for daughter’s accident
The Indiana Court of Appeals judges agreed that a mother may possibly be liable for her daughter’s accident in which
she struck a pedestrian with her car after drinking and talking on her cell phone at the time of the accident. The judges
didn’t completely agree as to why the mother may be liable.
No opinions for 3rd day in a row
The Indiana Court of Appeals has not had any published or unpublished opinions posted online since May 6.
Circuit court upholds Section 8 precedent
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declined today to overturn precedent on the due process rights of someone rejected from specific
Section 8 housing.