Articles

Opinions July 6, 2021

Indiana Court of Appeals
Charles William Smith, Jr. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-2311
Criminal. Affirms Charles Smith Jr.’s conviction for Level 2 felony dealing in cocaine. Finds Smith unambiguously waived his right to be free from searches without reasonable suspicion as a condition of his placement in community corrections, so Marion County Community Corrections had Smith’s consent to search his residence. Also finds sufficient evidence to support the conviction.

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Opinions July 1, 2021

The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline on Wednesday:

Kevin Charles Isom v. State of Indiana
45S00-1508-PD-00508
Post conviction. Affirms the post-conviction court’s judgment against Kevin Isom. Finds the post-conviction court was correct to hold Isom to his burden of presenting developed legal theories and establishing the grounds for relief. Finds Isom has not established that the post-conviction court erred on multiple grounds, including in denying his renewed motion for a competency hearing; denying his discovery request for the State’s lethal-injection protocol and finding execution-validity challenge waived; denying his discovery request for juror contact information and finding issue waived; limiting the testimony of two expert witnesses; and finding his challenge to his petition’s filing date waived.

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Opinions June 30, 2021

Indiana Supreme Court
Jeffrey B. Cutchin v. Amy L. Beard
21S-CQ-48
Certified question. Finds the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act applies when a plaintiff alleges that a qualified health care provider treated someone else negligently and that the negligent treatment injured the plaintiff. Declines to answer the question of whether the act prohibits the Patient’s Compensation Fund from contesting the act’s applicability to a claim after the claimant concludes a court-approved settlement with a covered health care provider. Justice Steven David concurs in result with separate opinion.

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Opinions June 29, 2021

Indiana Supreme Court
Russell G. Berg v. Stacey L. Berg
21S-DC-320
Domestic relations with children. Affirms the award of half of Russell Berg’s stock to his ex-wife Stacey Berg. Finds that documents produced in anticipation of mediation fall under the confidentiality requirement of settlement negotiations. Also finds that the Allen Circuit Court erroneously admitted a marital balance sheet prepared for mediation to allow Stacey to avoid the parties’ settlement agreement. Finally, finds the trial court incorrectly determined that fraud, constructive fraud, mutual mistake or representation had occurred, but did not abuse its discretion in finding that Russell breached the warranty clause of the agreement.

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Despite erroneous admission of mediation evidence, high court affirms stock award for ex-wife

Despite the erroneous admission of confidential evidence prepared in anticipation of a divorce mediation, the Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the award of half of a man’s stock to his now-ex-wife due to his breach of the divorce agreement. The high court ruled in the case that documents produced in anticipation of mediation are covered under settlement negotiation confidentiality requirements.

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