Judge: Bid to grant elephants personhood ‘wholly frivolous’
A Connecticut judge has denied a petition by an animal rights group to grant parenthood to three elephants in a traveling petting zoo, calling the request “wholly frivolous.”
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Indiana high court to hear Simon-Starbucks dispute
The Indiana Supreme court will decide whether Starbucks Corp. can close 77 Teavana stores in malls across the country after granting an appeal in Simon Property Group’s case against the coffee giant. The high court asserted its authority to assume jurisdiction in cases it deems an emergency.
Babysitter’s serious neglect convictions, sentence affirmed
A babysitter convicted of inflicting a life-threatening head injury on an infant in her care lost her appeal of her felony convictions and sentence after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined neither court error nor insufficient evidence warranted reversal.
Dog-bite case to proceed after COA reverses judgment for owners
A Brownsburg dog-bite case must proceed to trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the dog owners breached their duty to the man who was attacked and, thus, reversed summary judgment.
District court rules language in Indiana abortion statute void for vagueness
In the most recent decision in a lengthy legal battle over the constitutionality of Indiana’s abortion laws, a district court judge has struck down language that would prohibit the receipt, sale, transfer or acquiring of aborted fetal tissue.
District court to reconsider convicted robber’s sentence
A man convicted in federal court of two armed robberies will get a chance at a more lenient sentence after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent warranted review of the sentence previously imposed on the man.
Court considering charges in 1980 police officer death
A state appeals court is considering whether to throw out the case against a northwestern Indiana man facing murder and other charges in connection with the 1980 shooting death of a police officer killed while working a private security job.
In 2017, IL readers most followed these links
Breaking news and online updates of major legal stories were the most-read articles on TheIndianaLawyer.com in 2017, according to an analysis of pageviews. Here are the IL’s Top 20 most-read online stories of the past year.
Indiana Supreme Court considers eavesdropping case
The Indiana Supreme Court has taken up an eavesdropping case that could result in a new state standard to determine when prosecutorial misconduct is so egregious that a criminal suspect can no longer be made to stand trial.
Top 10 legal stories of 2017 focus on law schools, court changes
The closing of 4-year-old Indiana Tech Law School in Fort Wayne, and the revelation that 138-year-old Valparaiso University Law School faced an uncertain future, made law school troubles the top legal news story of 2017, as determined by the staff of Indiana Lawyer. Changes on the federal and state bench also were among the year’s top stories.
Warrick Superior judge transferred to Circuit Court
A Warrick Superior Court judge has been temporarily transferred to the county’s circuit court while the sitting circuit judge is unavailable to perform his duties.
COA: Traffic stop that led to arrest not a constitutional violation
Though an Indiana trial court erred in admitting a defendant’s statements about prior drug activity, the Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the defendant’s current dealing conviction after finding the officers who arrested him did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights.
7th Circuit upholds denial of environmental insurance claim
A northern Indiana couple cannot seek insurance coverage for pre-existing environmental pollution they discovered on their businesses’ property because the language of their insurance policy unambiguously exempts coverage for known or unknown property damage occurring before their policy began, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Supreme Court raises minimum senior judge days to 15
The Indiana Supreme Court is increasing the minimum number of senior judge service days available to the state’s courts as a means of enabling courts to provide timely justice to litigants.
COA: Officer’s failure to take oath doesn’t nullify charges
A northern Indiana police officer’s stop and subsequent arrest of an impaired driver was valid even though the policeman had not taken his oath of office, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Divided Supreme Court reverses habitual offender enhancement
A divided Indiana Supreme Court reversed a man’s habitual offender enhancement Thursday after determining his two prior Illinois convictions were statutorily considered Level 6 felonies, thus disqualifying the enhancement. The dissenting justice, however, found ambiguity in the statutes at issue.
Justices: 2015 habitual offender law set 10-year limit for past low-level felonies
The 2015 version of Indiana’s habitual offender statute requires an offender to have been released from all lower-level felonies within 10 years to establish a habitual offender enhancement, the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices reversed a trial court that overruled a reversal of a defendant’s objection to his habitual offender charges.
Attorney who claimed improper influence over judges suspended
An attorney who implied to a client that he had the ability to improperly influence judges and suggested his client flee the court’s jurisdiction to avoid criminal prosecution has been suspended for 90 days.
Attorney who claimed improper influence over judges suspended
An attorney who implied to a client that he had the ability to improperly influence judges and suggested his client flee the court’s jurisdiction to avoid criminal prosecution has been suspended for 90 days.
COA allows spoliation claim to proceed
The Indiana Court of Appeals has struck down a claim for a private right of action raised under Indiana’s medical record production statute, but allowed a spoliation claim against a doctor who no longer possesses a patient’s medical records to proceed. However, two judges urged the Indiana Supreme Court to reconsider a 1991 opinion that required them to strike the private right of action claim.