Senior Judge Shepard to chair national task force on legal education
Randall Shepard has been selected as chairman of an American Bar Association presidential commission examining the state of legal education in America.
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Judges uphold 11-year-old’s reckless homicide adjudication
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a Morgan County boy’s adjudication for shooting his younger brother while the two were home alone. The 11-year-old claimed that the juvenile court abused its discretion in admitting his statement to the investigating officer at the evidentiary hearing.
Sullivan departs bench, joins I.U. McKinney School of Law
Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. has departed the Indiana Supreme Court and officially joined the faculty of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.
Divided court affirms life without parole for 17-year-old who killed younger brother
A 3-2 decision of the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a sentence of life without parole for a 17-year-old who killed his 10-year-old brother while babysitting and later dumped his body near a school in Rising Sun.
Justices reduce caregiver’s sentence in child’s killing
The Indiana Supreme Court reduced the sentence of a woman who, along with her boyfriend, was convicted in the events that led to the murder of the woman’s 2-year-old cousin while in her care.
Zoeller: Parts of immigration law can’t stand
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Tuesday a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down most of a tough Arizona law will impact a similar immigration law signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2011.
Private parties liable for attorney fees in open records disputes
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s ruling that held a private party liable for attorney fees in an Access to Public Records Act claim.
Justices reject jurisdiction in ‘bizarre’ fatal helicopter crash
The family of a man killed by a falling helicopter that crashed in British Columbia will not have their case heard in Indiana where the helicopter engine was built, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Divided justices reject opposing summary judgments in church split
Neither the trial court nor the Court of Appeals got it right in a dispute between an Evansville Presbyterian church and its former denomination when the church left over simmering disagreements on abortion and other matters of doctrine, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a 3-2 decision.
Appeals court clears hotel in guest’s death outside
The family of a hotel guest who died after falling and hitting his head outside on a cold night may not proceed with a wrongful death suit against the hotel, the Court of Appeals held in a ruling Tuesday.
Worker’s disability denial affirmed at 7th Circuit
A former worker whose degenerating discs and spondylolisthesis caused her to no longer be able to work as a sales rep for AstraZeneca was not improperly deprived of benefits when the insurer terminated them.
Justices: Ex-wife must agree to lower sales price
The Indiana Supreme Court unanimously held that a trial court had no authority to modify a property agreement made by ex-spouses and that the ex-wife is entitled by law to refuse to waive a provision that neither party had to accept a sale that was below specified minimums.
Supreme Court divided on whether man’s claims against bank can proceed
Two Indiana justices believed that a man’s actual fraud and tortious interference with contract claims against Old National Bank should go to trial, an opposite conclusion reached by their fellow justices.
Supreme Court knocks down habitual-offender enhancement
The Indiana Supreme Court found a habitual-offender enhancement tacked onto the 20-year sentence of a serious violent felon was an “impermissible double enhancement.”
Pirates on trial – mock trial, that is
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law professor George Edwards posed the question, “What would you do if a pirate were to appear as a piracy defendant in your courtroom?” to a group of Indiana judges this summer.
Inbox: Group advocates for court reporter to be used in pilot project
The Indiana Shorthand Reporters Association explains its concerns with a recently announced pilot project in courts involving video transcripts.
Disciplinary Actions – 8/3/12
See who’s been suspended and who’s resigned from the Indiana bar.
Indianapolis attorney facing fraud charges released from jail
Lawyer William F. Conour had been held in a Decatur County Jail since July 25 on a contempt of court charge until a judge on Monday ordered his release. Conour is accused of defrauding clients of $2.5 million.
Justices take Fort Wayne hospital race discrimination appeal
The Indiana Supreme Court will take a race discrimination case involving a Fort Wayne hospital as one of three cases unanimously granted transfer for the week ending July 27. Justices denied transfer in 23 cases.
Ruling for IBM likely first act in legal epic
A ruling that ordered the state to pay more than $52 million to IBM due to cancellation of its contract to privatize social service claims processing certainly will have a second, and most likely a third, act.