Articles

Opinions Aug. 9, 2021

The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions were posted after IL deadline on Friday.

USA v. Bryant Love
20-2131, 20-2297
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Philip Simon.

Criminal. Reverses and remands the Indiana Northern District Court’s ruling that only two of Bryant Love’s three prior offenses amounted as predicates under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Finds Love’s 2015 Indiana Class D battery resulting in bodily injury counts as an ACCA predicate and orders for his resentencing on multiple drug counts and a felon-in-possession count.

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Opinions Aug. 6, 2021

Indiana Court of Appeals
Latieka Q. Page v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-90
Criminal. Reverses Latieka Page’s conviction of Level 6 felony possession of a narcotic drug after law enforcement found previously prescribed Oxycodone pills in an unlabeled bottle in her car. Disagrees with the Elkhart Superior Court’s determination that a validly issued prescription becomes invalid for purposes of Indiana Code § 35-48-4-6 upon a person’s failure to take the medicine as prescribed. Finds Page proved by a preponderance of the evidence that she had obtained the pills from previous validly-issued prescriptions.

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Opinions Aug. 3, 2021

Indiana Court of Appeals
Montel Ray Brooks v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-83
Criminal. Affirms Montel Brooks’ conviction of murder and an enhancement for the use of a firearm in the offense. Finds the Lake Superior Court did not clearly abuse its discretion in admitting challenged testimony, and any error in the admission of the testimony was harmless. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Brooks’ motions for a mistrial, and any such error would be harmless.

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Opinions August 2, 2021

The following Indiana Tax Court opinion was posted after IL deadline on Friday.

Eric S. Morris v. Hamilton County Assessor
20T-TA-00019
Tax. Affirms the Indiana Board of Tax Review’s final determination that dismissed Eric Morris’ case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Finds Morris has not demonstrated to the Indiana Tax Court that the Indiana Board’s dismissal of his administrative appeals is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of its discretion, or contrary to law. Finds Morris has not demonstrated that the tax court has subject matter jurisdiction over his appeals.

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Opinions July 30, 2021

7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Keenan Rollerson
20-2258
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James P. Hanlon.
Criminal. Affirms Keenan Rollerson’s 23-year sentence for drug and firearm convictions. Finds his uncharged buys and acquitted drug amounts were relevant to his heroin conviction and proven with sufficiently reliable information.

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Opinions July 29, 2021

Indiana Court of Appeals

State of Indiana v. Aaron L. Riggs, II
20A-CR-2144
Criminal. Affirms the Daviess Superior Court’s order holding that Indiana Code § 35-40-5-11.5 was unenforceable because it conflicts with the trial rules, and granting defendant Aaron L. Riggs II’s request to depose the alleged child victim in his child molesting case. Finds that any substantive provisions of the child deposition statute do not exempt the procedural provisions of the statute from the general rule that Indiana Trial Rules supersede conflicting procedural statutes. Also finds that the procedural provisions of the statute conflict with the trial rules, so the procedural provisions are unenforceable.

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