A split Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed a child custody switch from mother to father, finding that although the mother had to proceed pro so at the custody hearing, she was not prejudiced by the denial of her motions to continue after her counsel quit.
The Biden administration has sided against the airline industry and urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to uphold a California law that would provide more rest and meal breaks than airline crews are guaranteed under federal rules.
A man facing 41 felony charges will not have his bail reduced after the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined the consequences of his case could prove “severe.”
Since the leak earlier this month of a draft opinion indicating Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will be overturned, U.S. Senate Democrats have failed to codify the right to an abortion. Meanwhile, Republican-led states including Indiana have indicated they are prepared to tighten restrictions once the opinion is published this summer.
“Disappointed,” “stunned” and “saddened” were just a few of the words former and current Indiana appellate justices and judges used to describe how they felt about the recent leak in the nation’s highest court.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline on Monday:
Lamone Lauderdale-El v. Indiana Parole Board
21-1242
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Judge James Patrick Hanlon.
Civil. Affirms the dismissal without prejudice of Lamone Lauderdale-El’s habeas corpus petition for failure to exhaust state remedies. Finds the dismissal was a final, appealable judgment. Overrules the contrary jurisdictional holdings of Gacho v. Butler, 792 F.3d 732 (7th Cir. 2015), and Moore v. Mote, 368 F.3d 754 (7th Cir. 2004). Also finds the appeal is not moot. Finally, finds Lauderdale-El could have pursued his good-time credit restoration claim in state court.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
The City of Bloomington, Indiana, et al. v. Andrew Guenther, et al.
21A-MI-2600
Miscellaneous. Reverses the Monroe Circuit Court’s determination that Andrew Guenther was entitled to the vacant citizen member seat on the City of Bloomington’s Plan Commission and its order for Christopher Cockerham to vacate the seat. Finds the trial court’s decision was clearly erroneous. Also finds Cockerham was validly appointed to the commission and may continue his service.
A Bluffton barbecue joint seeking to set aside a health department order requiring the restaurant’s employees to comply with a face-covering requirement during the height of COVID did not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that its case wasn’t moot.
Noting several times its limited role in reviewing the denial of a request to reduce bail, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed a trial court’s ruling that set bail at $150,000 for an Elkhart County teenager charged in a deadly auto accident.
A northern Indiana woman who applied for Social Security disability benefits shortly after from graduating high school did not convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that an administrative law judge erred in denying her claim.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Charles Grays v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2471
Criminal. Affirms Charles Grays’ convictions of Level 2 felony dealing in cocaine, Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement and Class A misdemeanor operating while suspended, and his sentence of 33 years, with 25 years executed and eight years suspended to probation. Finds the Elkhart Circuit Court didn’t err when it denied Grays’ motions to suppress evidence, or in instructing the jury. Also finds his sentence isn’t inappropriate.
A Marion County inmate has been discharged after an appellate panel concluded he was wrongly convicted of Class A misdemeanor battery against the facility’s mail clerk.
A non-disparagement clause drafted into a couple’s divorce order to prevent the parents from talking badly about each other even outside of the presence of their child was an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in a partial reversal.
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld a finding that the retroactive application of the state’s sex offender registration requirements does not violate the Indiana Constitution’s ex post facto clause.
The Carroll County judge who claimed insurance companies have broken Indiana’s civil litigation system and begged the parties to appeal his ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court has scrubbed his original order of all but two paragraphs that state summary judgment is granted in favor of the defendants.
A dispute between a dentist and her former employer, which split the Court of Appeals over the award of damages, is now headed for the Indiana Supreme Court.
Despite allegations of prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments, a man convicted of murder could not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana to grant him a new trial.
A disabled former Lake County police officer who claimed that his disability pension plan should provide the same cost-of-living increases that nondisabled retirees receive did not sway the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A man convicted of murdering his drug dealer more than a decade ago has again been denied habeas relief after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that the admission of prior testimony from an absent, but key, witness wasn’t done in error.