The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed convictions and sentences in a wide-ranging challenge to a drug conspiracy case, affirming against the 10 defendants in all instances except one sentencing challenge. That one reversal prompted a dissent.
While the Court of Appeals of Indiana agreed with the state that the withholding of evidence about a witness was “negligible, at best” in a trial that ended with a murder conviction, it admonished the prosecutors for failing to disclose.
A Marion County man convicted of abusing his infant son failed to get a nurse’s testimony thrown out as hearsay.
A repeat uninsured motorist from Illinois who sued for damages after a Lake County car accident can continue to pursue noneconomic damages, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed.
In a dispute between the mayor of East Chicago and the local firefighters union that opposes him, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the city violated the firefighters’ First Amendment rights.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Michael Bass Chatman v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-934
Criminal. Affirms Michael Bass Chatman’s conviction of Level 3 felony aggravated battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old. Finds the testimony by the pediatric nurse practitioner was not inadmissible hearsay under Indiana Evidence Rule 703.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
Can a Hoosier change his or her birth certificate to reflect his or her preferred gender marker? Depends on which Court of Appeals of Indiana judge you ask.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has prevailed before the Court of Appeals of Indiana in a dispute with a woman whose spousal support order increased the amount of Medicaid funding her incapacitated husband received.
Indiana justices granted transfer to one case last week, handing down an opinion while declining to review six other petitions for transfer.
Kalanu Carter v. Ryan Carter
21A-DC-2395
Domestic relations with children. Affirms the Miami Superior Court’s grant of father Ryan Carter’s motion to reopen evidence after the final hearing in a dissolution action and the award of primary physical custody of minor child to Ryan. Reverses the trial court’s order that mother Kalanu Carter, as the noncustodial parent, pay $20 per week in child support. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it granted Ryan’s motion to reopen evidence or when it awarded him primary physical custody, but did abuse its discretion when it ordered Kalanu to pay $20 a week in child support. Remands with instructions for the trial court to enter an order that Kalanu is not required to pay child support because the adjustments to her child support obligation exceed the obligation.
If a party objects to holding a remote hearing, a trial court can’t deny the motion by simply citing COVID-19 without further elaboration.
The former Wabash Township trustee who was convicted of 21 counts of felony theft after she bought a camper and worked remotely across the country has had her convictions overturned by the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
A Mooresville couple requesting a land easement of necessity for easier access to their pole barn will not be granted any such relief from the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
The U.S. Supreme Court is restoring another pre-pandemic tradition, announcing decisions in a public session in the courtroom.
A dispute between a divorced husband and wife that became more inflamed when the arbitrator submitted, and the trial court adopted, an erroneous report caused a split in the Indiana Supreme Court over the decision not to grant transfer.
A trial judge must reissue its expungement order for a defendant who successfully argued that the court’s original order improperly omitted statutory language, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Indiana Supreme Court
Marquis David Young v. State of Indiana
22S-CR-306
Criminal. Affirms Marquis David Young’s convictions of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Finds a reasonable inference that Young was guilty as charged may be drawn from the whole picture of the evidence in this case.
A “veteran attorney” who signed as the guarantor of a $600,000 loan is obligated to cover the debt after the borrower defaulted and the Court of Appeals of Indiana found modifications to the loan agreement did not alter his financial responsibility.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Thomas M. Shoaff v. First Merchants Bank
22A-PL-514
Civil plenary. Affirms the grant of summary judgment in favor of First Merchants Bank on its action seeking to hold Thomas Shoaff to his responsibilities under a signed guaranty agreement, but reverses the Allen Superior Court’s damages award with respect to its calculation of interest, late fees and attorney fees. Finds the trial court did not err when it granted summary judgment to First Merchants but did err with respect to its award of interest, late fees and attorney fees. Remands for further proceedings.