COA rejects developer’s private pond argument
An Evansville developer’s argument that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management does not have jurisdiction over private ponds did not hold water with the Indiana Court of Appeals.
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Senior judge appointed to temporarily replace retiring Posey County jurist
A senior judge has been appointed to continue operations in a Posey County court once the sitting judge retires from the bench next week. Robert R. Aylsworth will temporarily serve on the Posey Superior Court bench as a senior judge, effective March 1.
David, Goff publish dissent after justices let stand parents’ reimbursement order
Two Indiana Supreme Court justices have once again published a dissent from a 3-2 transfer ruling, which this time let stand a monthly reimbursement order for the parents of an adjudicated teen despite their alleged struggle to meet the payment requirements. Justices Steven David and Christopher Goff argued the trial court should have conducted a specific inquiry into the parents’ ability to pay the ordered reimbursement.
Judge orders Roger Stone to court over Instagram post
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Roger Stone to appear in court to consider whether to revoke his bail after the longtime Donald Trump confidant posted a photo on Instagram of the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs of a gun.
Northern District seeks comments on amended local rules
Public comment is sought on proposed revisions of several local rules for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
COA affirms vengeful brother’s intent to commit battery
A man who tried to avenge his sister by beating up her boyfriend who allegedly threatened to hit her failed to convince appellate judges that the boyfriend did not suffer serious bodily injuries from the attack carried out during a burglary.
US Supreme Court rules out death penalty for Texas inmate
A long legal fight over whether a Texas death row inmate could be executed ended Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 59-year-old man is intellectually disabled and thus cannot be put to death.
Justices deny transfer in 23 cases, splitting on 3
The Indiana Supreme Court denied 23 transfer requests last week, splitting on three of those cases.
In 9-0 ruling, SCOTUS rejects Indiana excessive civil forfeiture
The Eighth Amendment’s protection against excessive fines has been incorporated to the states via the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States has unanimously ruled in deciding an Indiana civil forfeiture case that posed the question.
Lawsuit: Elkhart shares responsibility for crash that killed 3
A lawsuit says the northern Indiana city of Elkhart shares responsibility for a crash that killed two children and a man who were walking along a sidewalk.
Man accused in 4 killings loses fight to avoid death penalty
A northeastern Indiana judge has rejected efforts by a man awaiting trial in four slayings to avoid a possible death penalty in the case.
Senate Republicans strip hate crimes bill of victim categories
The Republican-majority Senate stripped a hate crimes bill Tuesday of language that specified the types of crimes it would apply to — those motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and other categories — despite emotional pleas by Democrats to leave the bill as written.
Indiana’s abortion cert petition relisted for 5th time
The petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a law restricting abortions in Indiana has been distributed for a fifth conference with the justices. Now the petition has been scheduled for consideration Feb. 22.
Indiana agrees to provide Hepatitis C drugs to more Medicaid recipients
An agreement reached in federal court in February will allow Indiana Medicaid recipients infected with Hepatitis C to receive direct-acting antiviral medications, or DAAs, sooner rather than having to wait until the disease has significantly damaged their livers.
COA upholds Vectren energy efficiency plan that allows nearly $55M in lost revenue recovery
An energy efficiency plan that allows Vectren to recover nearly $55 million in lost revenue was not erroneously approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Appellate court: Termination of father’s parental rights not erroneous
A Marion County father has lost his appeal of the termination of his parental rights after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the termination was not clearly erroneous.
Headbutting ram’s owner must face premises liability claim, COA rules
A woman who was headbutted by a ram while tending to another woman's animals can continue to pursue her premises liability claim against the ram’s owner, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Judge allows ‘extremely narrow’ failure to accommodate claim to proceed against IPS
A disability discrimination claim brought against Indianapolis Public Schools by a former bus attendant who says the school district failed to accommodate her medical conditions will continue on “extremely narrow” grounds, a federal judge has ruled.
SCOTUS rejects appeal of Lake Michigan public access case
The Supreme Court of the United States will not hear an appeal that sought to restrict public access to the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan. Justices let stand an Indiana Supreme Court decision that found a public access right to the state’s 45 miles of Great Lakes beaches.
Indiana Court Decisions — Jan. 31-Feb. 13, 2019
Read Indiana appellate decisions from the most recent reporting period.