A parolee’s Fourth Amendment rights weren’t violated when police extracted data from his cellphone, which contained child pornography, after discovering methamphetamine hidden behind the back cover of the phone’s case, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of K.W. and R.W. (Children in Need of Services) and D.W. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
21A-JC-598
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the determination that father D.W.’s children, K.W. and R.W., are children in need of services. Finds the fact-finding hearing and dispositional hearing were continued for good cause pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 53.5. Also finds the evidence supports the Marion Superior Court’s conclusion that the children are CHINS.
The Marion Superior Court, Juvenile Division had good cause when it delayed a pair of hearings in a recent child in need of services case, and the evidence against a father of two supported the trial court’s conclusion that his kids are CHINS, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Gerald Pinkston v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-2216
Criminal. Affirms Gerald Pinkston’s convictions of three counts of murder and one count of criminal recklessness, and his sentence to an aggregate of 166 years. Finds Pinkston failed to demonstrate reversible error resulting from the admission of a .40 caliber handgun and testimony by a detective, the Allen Superior Court’s accomplice liability instructions or the deputy prosecutor’s conduct. Also finds the state proved the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt and that Pinkston’s sentence is not inappropriate considering his offenses and character.
A home improvement retailer wasn’t at fault when a sink fell out of a defective box and injured a customer inside one if its stores, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Richard Allen Byrd v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-637
Criminal. Affirms the Howard Circuit Court’s sentencing of Richard Allen Byrd to an aggregate of five years, with three years suspended to supervised probation, for his convictions of Level 6 felony sexual battery. Finds Byrd’s guilty plea isn’t substantially mitigating as he gained a benefit by having Level 4 felony child molesting charges exchanged for Level 6 felony battery convictions. Also finds the executed portion of his sentencing appropriate.
An Indianapolis man who did not challenge the sufficiency of the charging information at his trial and then argued to the Indiana Court of Appeals that the lower court committed a fundamental error by holding a trial was told in a six-page opinion that his argument was unavailing.
The Indiana attorney general’s office has asked the state’s highest court to take up a case involving a former couple accused of abandoning their adopted daughter.
The Biden administration said Friday it will turn next to the U.S. Supreme Court in another attempt to halt a Texas law that has banned most abortions since September.
A northern Indiana school district and its contract psychologist have secured partial victories in a lawsuit brought by the mother of a child with special needs who alleged her child was not given proper educational services.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of Ad.W., An.W., I.W., and M.W., and M.G. (Mother) and D.W. (Father), M.G. (Mother) and D.W. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
21A-JT-691
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of mother M.G. and Father D.W.’s parental rights to their four children. Finds the Lake Superior Court did not err when it concluded there is a reasonable probability that the conditions resulting in the children’s removal will not be remedied, or that termination is in the children’s best interests.
Texas can continue banning most abortions after a federal appeals court rejected the Biden administration’s latest attempt to stop a novel law that has become the nation’s biggest curb to abortion in nearly 50 years.
A federal judge whose delayed opinion could have been “catastrophic” for a litigant has been reprimanded by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which cautioned other district judges not to follow suit.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
The Supreme Court has recently issued opinions! Many of the cases involve criminal law.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of I.L., O.L., V.N., and M.P.N. (Minor Children) and S.T. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
21A-JT-418
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the denial of mother S.T.’s parental rights following a remote final hearing. Finds the minor technological and logistical issues that arose during the hearing were quickly addressed by the court and do not amount to a due process violation. Also finds the evidence was sufficient to terminate S.T.’s parental rights.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Mark Anthony Fuller v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-597
Criminal. Affirms the order for Mark Fuller to execute a portion of his previously suspended sentence and that his probation be extended as a result of a probation violation. Finds the Dearborn Superior Court didn’t abuse its discretion in imposing sanctions.
In a 3-2 split, the Indiana Supreme Court has reinstated a murder conviction against a northern Indiana teen convicted in relation to the shooting death of a South Bend toddler. The dissent, however, would have granted post-conviction relief based on deficient counsel performance.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Landis Reynolds v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-PC-2374
Post-conviction. Affirms the Howard Superior Court’s denial of a petition for post-conviction relief for convicted murderer Landis Reynolds. Finds Reynolds has not shown that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to investigate Jonathan Clark and Timothy Spencer. Also finds Reynolds has not shown that the defense of abandonment was a viable one, and his counsel adequately presented as a defense that Jonathon Heath had actually committed the crime. Finally, finds Reynolds has not demonstrated that the outcome of his trial would have been different had his counsel objected to Cpt. Michael Wheeler’s testimony that cellphone records are unreliable.
A Bloomington woman who took her ex-boyfriend’s Snapchat password from his computer without permission and posted nude images sent to him by another woman committed computer trespassing, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.