Indiana Court Decisions – April 21-May 4, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
IN justices to consider discovery case involving ‘problematic’ precedent
Indiana Supreme Court justices this month will hear oral arguments on petition to transfer in a case in which the Court of Appeals of Indiana, despite “problematic” precedent, upheld the denial of a defendant’s motion to compel evidence of unredacted copies of the police report in his case.
COA: Trial court had ‘good cause’ for failing to meet 120-day deadline in CHINS case
Because a mother remained quiet in a CHINS hearing, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed that the trial court had good cause for failing to hold a factfinding hearing within the statutorily required 120-day time frame.
What’s next in the investigation of the Supreme Court leak?
Chief Justice John Roberts, in ordering an investigation into an “egregious breach of trust” in the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion, tasked a relatively unknown court official to carry out what could be one of the most high-profile investigations in decades.
Opinions May 4, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Joel Williams, Jr. v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1581
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Joel Williams Jr.’s motion to dismiss charges of two counts each of rape and criminal deviate conduct, all Class A felonies, 35 years after the incidents occurred. Finds Williams has not proven that he will suffer actual and substantial prejudice to his right to a fair trial.
COA allows rape case to proceed 35 years after incident
A Lake County man charged with multiple rapes 35 years after they occurred failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that his due process rights were violated and that the decadeslong delay was unjustified.
Justices’ views on abortion in their own words and votes
When the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a major abortion case from Mississippi in December, it was clear to observers that there was substantial support among the court’s conservative majority for overruling two landmark decisions that established and reaffirmed a woman’s right to an abortion. Even before arguments in the current case, however, the justices themselves have had a lot to say about abortion over the years — in opinions, votes, Senate confirmation testimony and elsewhere.
Opinions May 3, 2022
Indiana Supreme Court
Cole G. Strack v. State of Indiana
22S-CR-137
Criminal. Grants transfer and affirms Cole Strack’s six-year sentence, with two years suspended, for his convictions of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possession of marijuana. Finds Strack was able to exercise both his right to present evidence at sentencing and his right to allocution after pleading guilty. Also finds any error by the Wells Superior Court was harmless and did not affect Strack’s substantive rights such that reversal was warranted.
Tax Court dismisses law firm’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction
The Indiana Tax Court has dismissed an appeal from an Indianapolis law office that was ordered to pay an outstanding liability after it mislabeled withholding tax returns in 2021, finding the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.
IN Supreme Court: Father’s substantive rights not violated in OWI case involving minor child
A father who was convicted of driving under the influence while his young daughter was in the car will not have his sentence reversed by the Indiana Supreme Court on allocution violation grounds.
Court that rarely leaks does so now in biggest case in years
The U.S. Supreme Court keeps secrets. That is, apparently, until Monday evening.
Supreme Court rules against Boston in Christian flag case
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Boston violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist when it refused his request to fly a Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall.
Opinions May 2, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In Re: The Change of Gender of: O.J.G.S., A Minor, S.G.S.
21A-MI-2096
Miscellaneous. Affirms the Allen Circuit Court’s denial of S.G.S’s petition on remand to change the gender marker on her minor transgender daughter’s birth certificate pursuant to Indiana Code § 16-37-2-10. Finds that I.C. 16-37-2-10 has been improperly interpreted and does not grant Indiana courts the authority to order a change of a gender marker on a birth certificate. Urges the Indiana Supreme Court to speak on the matter. Judge L. Mark Bailey concurs in result with separate opinion. Judge Paul D. Mathias dissents with separate opinion.
Reversal: Same name not sufficient evidence for serious violent felon conviction
A Decatur County man facing an aggregate sentence of 30 years had his Level 4 felony conviction overturned after the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled that a defendant having the same name as a person convicted in a previous drug case was not enough to sustain a conviction as a serious violent felon.
Split COA affirms denial of minor’s gender-marker change, calls on Supreme Court for help
Making an about-face, a sharply divided panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the denial of a mother’s second request to change her transgender child’s birth certificate gender marker. But noting its own conflicting precedent, the COA called on the Indiana Supreme Court to help resolve the issue.
COA upholds admission of subsequent bad acts in domestic violence case
A trial court didn’t abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence of subsequent bad acts committed by a Fort Wayne man who continued to abuse his girlfriend after his arrest, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
7th Circuit chastises Northern Indiana District Court for plain error in sentencing
Finding the error in sentencing affected the “fairness, integrity, and public reputation of the proceedings,” the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a judgment and remanded an Indiana man’s sentence on federal drug charges because the district court failed to properly calculate the incarceration time under the First Step Act.
COA reverses intimidation conviction for lack of intent
Despite allowing a Level 6 felony conviction to stand, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed a Level 5 felony intimidation conviction, finding that even though the defendant acknowledged he had threatened to kill his sisters, he did not actually intend to prevent them from calling the police.
Denial of motion to set aside default judgment was error, COA rules
A trial court erroneously denied a motion to set aside default judgment against a building company when it considered that motion just one day after it was filed without giving notice to the defendants, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
COA reverses protective orders, remands classmates’ stalking case for judge’s improper comments
A pair of protective orders issued against two brothers by a classmate have been reversed after the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined the defendants weren’t given an impartial hearing and were denied due process by the Lawrence Circuit Court.