A convicted murderer sentenced as a teen to more than 200 years will have his sentence reduced to 135 years, although one Court of Appeals of Indiana judge would uphold the 220-year term.
A grandmother who filed her grandparent visitation petition before her grandchild was adopted had standing to bring the action under the state’s Grandparent Visitation Act, the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed Tuesday.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Desmond Banks v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-896
Criminal. Affirms and reverses in part Desmond Banks’ convictions in a quadruple murder and his de facto life sentence. Finds the Marion Superior Court properly denied Banks’ motion for mistrial based on Critical Emergency Response Team members approaching and standing behind him as jurors filed out of the courtroom. Also finds three of the four robbery convictions should be vacated due to insufficient evidence. Finally, finds Desmond’s convictions for the murder and Level 2 felony robbery of Marcel Wills constitute double jeopardy, and his 220-year sentence is inappropriate. Reduces his sentence to 135 years. Remands with instructions for the trial court to enter conviction for Level 5 felony robbery. Judge Cale Bradford concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.
The state’s Dram Shop Act modified, but did not eliminate, common law liability for entities that serve alcohol, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Monday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Lela Jo Boucher v. Dennis J. Doyle
23A-DN-1534
Domestic relations without children. Affirms the Delaware Circuit Court’s order dividing the marital estate in favor of Dennis Doyle. Finds Lela Jo Boucher failed to demonstrate that the trial court’s deviation from the presumptive equal split of the marital estate was clearly erroneous.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
James T. Morgan v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-1489
Criminal. Affirms the Montgomery Superior Court’s judgment ordering the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department to retain the seized firearms and ammunition of James Morgan in relation to the state’s “Red Flag Law.” Finds the trial court did not err in admitting a deputy’s testimony and that the state established a probability that Morgan presented a risk of personal injury to himself or to another individual in the future.
Indiana Supreme Court
State ex rel. Richard Allen v. Carroll Circuit Court and the Honorable Frances C. Gull, Special Judge
23S-OR-311
Original action. Grants Richard Allen’s request to reinstate Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi as his counsel but denies his request for an order for his trial to begin within 70 days and for a new judge. Finds the trial court did not find that Baldwin and Rozzi’s disqualification was a necessary last resort after weighing the prejudice to Allen. Also finds Allen did not make his 70-day trial request in trial court. Finally, finds Allen did not overcome the presumption of impartiality. Justice Geoffrey Slaughters concurs and dissents in part with separate opinion.
The Indiana Supreme Court is explaining its reasoning for reinstating the defense team of the man accused in the 2017 Delphi murder case, crafting a new rule for determining when a judge can remove a court-appointed attorney.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Donald L. Barriger, Jr., and Dianne Barriger v. The Brown County Board of Health and the Brown County Health Officer (mem. dec.)
22A-PL-2944
Civil plenary. Affirms the Brown Circuit Court’s determination that a second order requiring Dianne and Donald Barriger to clean and repair a piece of real estate in Nashville superseded the first order, was lawfully issued and is therefore enforceable. Finds the Barrigers’ claims are either waived or without merit.
The Indiana Supreme Court will be holding four oral arguments this month in cases ranging from ballot access to the seizure of evidence.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Mandale Hamilton v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-818
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Mandale Hamilton’s motion to suppress. Finds the Hendricks Circuit Court did not err in finding that Officer David Shedrow had “legal authority” to pull over the driver of a Cadillac. Also finds the use of a K-9 for an open-air sniff cannot be said to have prolonged the traffic stop, so it did not implicate the Fourth Amendment or Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Finally, finds that Officer Mark Christian’s removal of four screws to lower a panel on the dash to retrieve a gun that the officers knew was located in a “tight space” rendered the seizure of the gun unreasonable under Article 1, Section 11.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Estate of Gerald Everett Goldsberry v. Drake Air, LLC, by its member Brent L. Drake
23A-MI-1987
Miscellaneous. Affirms Morgan Superior Court’s judgment for Drake Air, LLC, by its member Brent L. Drake, for $50,000 following a bench trial. Finds the trial court correctly concluded that Bill Myrtle’s and Brad Huddle’s access to the helicopter on the day of the crash did not destroy the bailment between Drake Air and Gerald Goldsberry. Also finds that the trial court did not err when it concluded that the Goldsberry estate failed to demonstrate that the loss of the helicopter was not Goldsberry’s fault.
A new trial has been ordered in a Warrick County custody dispute after the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined that a successor judge abused her discretion when ruling based only on a review of prior transcripts.
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed declaratory judgment entered in favor of a law enforcement officer facing discipline following his arrest, even though that arrest was expunged.
A man convicted of murder failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that the absence of a full competency hearing and the admission of certain evidence undermined his conviction.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Willow Haven on 106th Street, LLC v. Hari Nagireddy and Saranya Nagireddy
22A-PL-2931
Civil plenary. Affirms the preliminary injunction enjoining Willow Haven on 106th Street LLC from completing construction of a home on a lot next to where Hari and Saranya Nagireddy reside. Finds the Nagireddys were not required to exhaust administrative remedies before pursuing injunctive relief with the Hamilton Superior Court. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in entering a preliminary injunction in favor of the Nagireddys. Judge Leanna Weissmann dissents with separate opinion.
Construction of a proposed senior group home in Carmel cannot move forward after a split panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed a preliminary injunction challenging the underlying building permit.
A credit union’s “persistent disavowal” of the arguments it raised on rehearing led the Indiana Supreme Court to reaffirm its prior ruling that the credit union cannot compel arbitration in a customer’s class-action.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
J.G. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-JV-113
Juvenile. Affirms and reverses in part J.G.’s adjudication as a delinquent for what would be Level 4 felony child molesting, Level 5 felony criminal confinement and Level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors if committed by an adult. Finds the admission of hearsay testimony was harmless. Also finds insufficient evidence supports the Marion Superior Court’s true finding on the Level 6 felony. Finally, finds the scrivener’s error should be corrected. Remands with instructions to correct the scrivener’s error.
A CHINS adjudication was not erroneous, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled, but a contempt finding against a father was.