Woman loses sentence appeal in daughter’s neglect death
A Chesterfield mother who pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in the death of her 23-month old daughter has lost an appeal of her 40-year sentence.
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Reasonable suspicion of drug activity prompts reversal in suppression case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed suppression of drug evidence in a man’s parole violation case that was found during a search of a rented storage unit.
Divided COA lets man stay in disputed final resting place
A man mistakenly buried at a gravesite that had already been sold to another individual will continue to rest in peace after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to order the cemetery to exhume the man and relocate his grave. A dissenting judge, however, said Indiana statute and legal principles require the cemetery to correct the “wrongful entombment.”
Justices decline shot man’s suit against store over gun sale after warning
A man who warned a sporting goods store clerk to never sell a gun to his girlfriend because she would use it to shoot him has no case against the retailer, the Indiana Supreme Court held in rejecting the man’s transfer petition.
‘I wanted to serve’: Justice David says service at core of his time on high court
Justice Steven David was never specifically asked to be on the Indiana Supreme Court. Even so, when Justice Ted Boehm retired, David, now the longest-serving justice, said he decided to take a shot at serving Indiana at the highest judicial level. “I’m not sure how I got here, but I’m here,” David said in an interview with Indiana Lawyer. “I wanted to serve.”
Woman with nerve damage wins reversal in med-mal case against hospital
A woman who suffers from nerve damage after dye was negligently injected into her arm for a medical scan has won a reversal against the southern Indiana hospital that administered the procedure.
Justice Dept. appeals order on Mueller grand jury testimony
The Justice Department on Monday appealed a judge’s order directing the department to provide the House with secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The department also asked Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to put her own order on hold until a federal appeals court has an opportunity to weigh in.
Tax Court reversal: Low-income apartments qualify for charitable exemption
The Indiana Tax Court on Monday reversed an Indiana Board of Tax Review’s final determination that concluded a low-income apartment complex owner failed to prove it qualified for a charitable purposes exemption.
COA grants mom partial victory in irregular child support dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has found a father in contempt for failing to pay years’ worth of irregular child support, reversing a lower court’s denial of his ex-wife’s petition to show cause for his failure to pay.
Purdue student faces rape charges in sex assault at party
Authorities say a college student from New Jersey faces rape charges in the assault of a woman at a fraternity party off Purdue University’s campus.
7th Circuit overturns habeas relief for child molester
A convicted child molester’s 80-year sentence has once again been reinstated after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the grant of a habeas petition. The appellate panel on Thursday reversed habeas relief that had been granted at the district court.
Fired INDOT employee loses appeal claiming political firing
A former Indiana Department of Transportation supervisor who claimed his firing was motivated in part by his defense of a Democratic employee and a letter to the editor that the supervisor’s mother wrote criticizing former Gov. Mike Pence’s immigration policies failed to prove he was discriminated against, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Drug evidence found from drone video admissible, COA rules
Video of suspected drug activity from a drone aircraft a woman found in her yard is admissible in court to try her neighbor on charges including dealing methamphetamine, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Indiana Supreme Court weighs blinded West Virginia delegate’s case
Indiana’s Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up a lawsuit by West Virginia Del. Eric Porterfield over a 2006 parking lot brawl that left him blinded years before he was elected to office.
Southern District posts rule amendments effective Dec. 1
Numerous minor rule changes effective Dec. 1 have been made available by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The rule changes deal with appearances and substitution of counsel, continuances in criminal cases, grand jury processes and other matters.
Indiana Supreme Court declines 11 appeal petitions
The Indiana Supreme Court added no cases to its docket last week, rejecting all 11 transfer petitions justices considered.
Man’s drug convictions tossed for speedy trial rule violation
A man who was convicted of drug-dealing charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison won a reversal Wednesday because his trial was wrongly continued when the state could not timely produce lab results. The appellate court noted a lengthy prosecutorial delay in providing the evidence for lab testing was to blame.
Chew on this: Positive meth test sufficient to affirm possession
A federal offender on supervised release argued that just because he tested positive for meth didn’t mean he had possessed it. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had a bite-sized, easy-to-digest ruling Tuesday.
Judgment for hospital affirmed in blood draw after drunken-driving crash
A man who was seriously injured in a car crash lost his appeal claiming his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when Fort Wayne hospital staff ordered a blood draw that was provided to police, leading to criminal drunken driving charges.
Faegre team’s gerrymandering win vacated by U.S. Supreme Court
The fight over Michigan’s redistricting, litigated in part by a team from the Indianapolis office of Faegre Baker Daniels, ended Monday with an order from the U.S. Supreme Court vacating a lower court’s ruling that gerrymandering based on political affiliation violates the Constitution.