COA to hear insanity murder case at Batesville High School
A traveling panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals will head southeast this week to hear oral argument in a murder case that considers Indiana’s legal standard for insanity.
Criminal Case
Articles
Majority justices remand Land Rover forfeiture case for excessiveness analysis
An Indiana civil forfeiture case that made its way to the United States Supreme Court will now return to the Grant Superior Court after the Indiana Supreme Court developed a framework for determining if the forfeiture of property is excessive under the Eighth Amendment.
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.
Suspended Indianapolis priest charged with sex crimes
A suspended Catholic priest in Indiana is facing charges alleging he sexually abused a child in 2016. The Rev. David Marcotte of Indianapolis is charged in Hamilton County with child solicitation, vicarious sexual gratification and dissemination of matter harmful to minors.
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.
Doctor who kept fetuses vilified in life and death
Dr. Ulrich Klopfer competed so avidly in the 1970s to perform the most abortions each day at a Chicago clinic that it was said he would set his coffee aside, jump to his feet in the break room and rush to the operating table whenever his chief rival walked by.
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.
Supreme Court reaffirms death sentence in ‘brutal’ 2012, 2003 murders
The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday reaffirmed the conviction and death sentence imposed on a Floyd County man convicted of two counts of murder in the 2012 strangulations of two women, as well as his 65-year sentence for a 2003 murder he confessed to after his arrest seven years ago.
Suspended attorney indicted on tax charges
Schererville attorney Raymond Gupta, whose law license was suspended in June, has been indicted for tax evasion and failing to file federal tax returns, with the federal government claiming he owes nearly $2 million to the Internal Revenue Service.
Indiana man charged with murder, rape in 1988 cold case
FBI agents have arrested a Merrillville man in the 1988 rape and killing of a mother of four whose body was found in an abandoned home.
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.
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.
Georgia DA arrests Indiana inmate in 1991 fatal stabbing
A district attorney in Marietta, Georgia, credits her cold case unit for the arrest of a convicted burglar in Indiana in the stabbing of a Georgia woman back in 1991.
Federal grant fueling project to lower recidivism in Marion County
With more a third of the individuals from Marion County returning to incarceration within a year of being released, the city of Indianapolis is using a $1 million federal grant to launch a new three-year project to reduce the recidivism rate and improve outcomes.
Man who killed officer in hit-and-run loses appeal for driver’s license
A Lake County man convicted in a hit-and-run that killed a correctional officer and injured three others in 2012 will not be getting his driver’s license back anytime soon, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Convicted molester loses appeal over barred internet search history
A man convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting his 11-year-old daughter failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that evidence of sexual internet searches he attributed to the victim was wrongly excluded from his trial.
Purdue prof, wife plead guilty in research fund scheme
A Purdue University professor and his wife have pleaded guilty to using more that $1 million in federal research funds for their own personal expenses.
SVF conviction upheld over search, prior felony objections
A man’s conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon will stand after the Indiana Court of Appeals found a warrantless search of the vehicle he was riding in at the time of his arrest did not violate federal or state constitutional protections.