Court of Appeals of Indiana
Marquis David Young v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-2341
Criminal. Reverses Marquis Young’s conviction of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Finds insufficient evidence to support the convictions. Judge Terry Crone dissents with separate opinion.
In a “seldom” reversal of a murder conviction based on insufficient evidence, the Court of Appeals of Indiana split in a Wednesday decision, with the majority concluding the evidence used to support a defendant’s guilt came “nowhere close to proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Bungled communications by law enforcement officials over whether a polygraph was admissible in court has resulted in the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirming the exclusion of the evidence against a defendant in a child molestation case and sanctions against the state.
A public adjuster who assured an Indiana homeowners association that the way to get a claim for storm damage processed was to play a game of chess with the insurance company, got checkmated when he failed to heed the deadline for filing a lawsuit, prompting the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to make this observation: “Such is the price of gamesmanship.”
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The U.S. Supreme Court keeps secrets. That is, apparently, until Monday evening.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.