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Mass. chief justice to speak at law school

The Indiana Supreme Court Lecture, “Anatomy of Freedom: John Adams on a Global Scale,” will feature as speaker the first female chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The lecture begins at 5 p.m. March 25 at the Wynne Courtroom at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis. Margaret H. Marshall was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1999. Originally from South Africa, she came to the U.S. to pursue her master’s degree at Harvard…

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Court agrees on ID standard, split on ‘injury’

Requiring police identifications to be recorded isn't a standard the Indiana Court of Appeals is willing to adopt at the moment. A three-judge appellate panel agrees on that issue, but in a ruling today those judges disagree on a separate appeal claim about a victim's punch to the face. In Henry Lewis v. State,  No. […]

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Circuit Court finds no age discrimination

A doctor whose job was terminated as part of hospital restructuring didn’t provide enough evidence to show he was let go based on his age, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. In Laverne Tubergen v. St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center, Inc., No. 06-4304, Dr. Tubergen filed a discrimination complaint against St. Vincent under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. In an effort to streamline its operations and become more efficient, the hospital hired James Houser as…

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Former commissioner testifies against judge

A former Marion County commissioner took the stand against the judge she once worked for, hinting at a pattern of disorganization in his courtroom. However, she took most of the blame for an almost two-year delay in releasing a man who had been cleared of rape charges.

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Lawrence sworn in as District Judge

Just days after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Judge William T. Lawrence took the oath Tuesday to become a judge in the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana. Chief Judge David F. Hamilton administered the oath in Judge Lawrence’s courtroom in the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Indianapolis.Judge Lawrence had served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana since November 2002, and is the first magistrate judge in the…

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SCOTUS denies 2 Indiana cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take two Indiana cases, including one that inspired the law requiring child molesters to register their addresses on a public database.In a list of certiorari denials released May 12, the nation’s high court announced it wouldn’t review the Hoosier cases Christopher Stevens v. Ed Buss, No. 07-7745, and Christopher J. Stephens v. Indiana, No. 07-9858. Both had been reviewed at the court’s private conference last week.Stevens is the case that inspired Zachary’s Law. He…

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Court reverses Pelley convictions

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the murder convictions of a Lakeville man accused of murdering his family almost 20 years ago as a teenager.But in doing so, the three-judge panel all but directly asked the Indiana Supreme Court to take on this issue of first impression and clarify an earlier ruling justices made. That ruling specifically refused to dismiss the case on Robert Pelley’s argument that a delay between charging and trial dates conflicted with his due process of…

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Appeals court affirms murder convictions

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s convictions of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and the finding that he is a habitual offender. In Charles D. Boney v. State of Indiana, No. 22A01-0607-CR-310, Boney was connected to the murder of Kim Camm and her two children at home by her husband, David. Boney provided the weapon David used to murder his family and was at the Camm’s home when the murder occurred. Boney raised several issues on appeal following his jury…

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Allen County judge faces misconduct charges

An Allen County judge is facing disciplinary charges for what is being described as misconduct in a fellow jurist’s courtroom that involved verbally berating members of a defendant’s family after a sentencing hearing.Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger has been charged by the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications with four counts of misconduct, filed Tuesday as a formal notice of disciplinary proceedings. The document can be viewed here.The filed complaint states that on Nov. 30, 2007, Judge Scheibenberger suspended his court…

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Courthouse preservation bill, others now law

Bills relating to a courthouse preservation advisory commission, inmate issues, probate, foreclosure notices, domestic violence, and invasion of privacy concerns have been signed into law in the last week.Among the bills that are of interest to the legal community are:SEA 78, regarding probate and trust matters, signed today; HEA 1379, regarding viatical settlements, signed today; SEA 227, regarding the renamed sexual assault victim advocate standards and certification board, signed today; SEA 62, regarding posting notice of foreclosure sales, signed today; SEA…

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High court’s e-ticket wins first place award

The Indiana Supreme Court's electronic Citation and Warning System won first place in the Cygnus 2008 Innovation Award for Software at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego earlier this month, the court announced today.

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U.S. Chief Justice visits Notre Dame

The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court visited students at the Notre Dame Law School this morning for a one-day appointment to the James J. Clynes Visiting Chair at the school.

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COA: Totality of facts support blood seizure

A blood sample seized by the state from an unconscious woman didn’t violate her rights under the Fourth Amendment because all of the circumstances surrounding the car accident involving the woman led to a fair probability she drove a car while drunk, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.In Samara J. Copas v. State of Indiana, No. 33A01-0801-CR-3, Samara Copas appealed the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress a blood sample taken by the state after obtaining a search warrant. Copas…

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Clark Circuit judge appointed

Abraham Navarro will succeed Judge Daniel F. Donahue as judge of the Clark Circuit Court. Judge Donahue is stepping down later this week. Navarro has served as a deputy prosecutor in the Floyd County Prosecutor’s Office since 2002. Prior to working in the prosecutor’s office, Navarro was an Allen Superior Court judicial law clerk from 2001 to 2002. Navarro was admitted to the bar in November 2002. He’s a member of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and the Indiana Criminal Justice…

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Justices asked to take legal malpractice case

The Indiana Supreme Court is being asked to take a legal malpractice case in which an Indianapolis law firm got hit with an $18 million verdict two years ago.Attorneys representing law firm Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe filed a petition for transfer with the state’s highest court Monday in Frederick W. Dennerline III, et al. v. Jim Atterholt, Insurance Commissioner of the State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0610-CV-557. This move comes following the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling in May that upheld the…

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Justices overturn judgment in trampoline case

In a case of first impression involving a trampoline, premises liability, and the attractive-nuisance doctrine, the Indiana Supreme Court today overturned summary judgment that originally had been in favor of the trampoline owners, citing material issues of facts in the case. The high court granted transfer in Beth Palmer Kopczynski, individually and as next friend and parent of Alisha Palmer, and Alisha Palmer v. David Bryan Barger and Peggy Lucas Barger, No. 88S05-0710-CV-423, to determine whether the Bargers were responsible for an…

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COA affirms jail phone commissions

After years of litigation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today that the Marion County Sheriff and the Indiana Department of Administration were allowed to enter into contracts with a phone company that provided commissions to the sheriff and IDOA on phone calls made from the jail and prison facilities. In Chanelle Linet Alexander, et al. v. The Marion County Sheriff and the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration, No. 49A02-0708-CV-716, the plaintiffs are a class of people who have been…

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