Anderson woman pleads guilty in 12-year-old girl’s death
An Anderson woman has pleaded guilty in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl who was fatally injured by a lawnmower.
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Indiana woman uses religious objections law in abuse defense
The attorney for a woman charged with child abuse for allegedly beating her son with a coat hanger says Indiana's religious objections law gives her the right to discipline her children according to her evangelical Christian beliefs.
Man who parked car on I-94 must face OWI causing death charge
Criminal charges against a man who prosecutors say was drunk and parked his car in an interstate lane in the early morning hours, leading to the death of truck driver, will move forward after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the denial of the driver’s motions to dismiss and suppress evidence.
7th Circuit rejects government’s position of inmate self-defense
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to hold, as the district court did, that an inmate can only use force in self-defense against a correctional officer if the inmate faces death or serious bodily harm.
Man entitled to serve sentence in jail, not DOC
The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a trial court to resentence a man under the statute in place when he was sentenced, even though he committed the crime before the date noted in the statute. As a result, he is entitled to serve his Level 6 felony in jail instead of the Department of Correction.
Man’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim fails in 7th Circuit
The habeas corpus petition by a prisoner at the Miami Correctional Facility was correctly denied in federal court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Monday. The man argued his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel regarding his habitual offender adjudication.
Man’s sentence for body armor possession upheld
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the sentence for a convicted felon who was found wearing body armor after police pulled him over for traffic violations and fleeing officers.
Feds: Charleston church shooting suspect ‘self-radicalized’
A white man charged with the shooting deaths of nine black churchgoers in Charleston "self-radicalized" in the months before the attack and grew more entrenched in his beliefs in white supremacy, according to court papers prosecutors filed this week in federal court.
Nurse to face criminal charges for prescriptions issued at drug clinic
A registered nurse at a Wayne County clinic that treated those with addictions will face criminal charges for her role in handing out prescriptions prepared outside the usual course of professional medical practice. The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of those charges that was based on the fact she was not a doctor.
COA affirms conviction of man who used lawyer’s identity in jail
Whether someone used another person’s identity for a lawful purpose is an affirmative defense to the crime of identity deception and not a material element of the crime, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a first impression matter.
Man loses challenge to robbery being a violent felony under ACCA
A man serving 15 years for drug and gun charges thanks to three prior convictions of robbery in Indiana could not convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that robbery under Indiana law involving only the fear element isn’t a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Man pleads guilty in church school’s paddling incidents
A former southern Indiana church employee has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors after being accused of paddling children at the church's boarding school.
Rare conviction made in shooting by Virginia police officer
Prosecutors in Portsmouth, Virginia, won a rare conviction of a white former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen suspected of shoplifting.
New charges against Indiana officer in detective’s shooting
An Indianapolis police officer facing attempted murder and other charges for allegedly shooting a fellow officer was suicidal afterward and told a witness, "I shot my friend," an affidavit released Thursday shows.
Evansville woman accused of beating man into false confession
Southwestern Indiana police say a woman allegedly beat a man with a metal pipe into falsely confessing he was involved in the disappearance of a severely disabled woman.
COA: Intimidation statute doesn’t require detailed timeline of threat
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s intimidation conviction, finding it was reasonable for the jury to conclude that the defendant threatened the victim for interrupting an argument.
‘Chop shop’ operator’s convictions upheld by 7th Circuit
An Indianapolis man who ran a modern-day “chop shop” in which he stole cars, altered identification numbers and resold them was unable to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that his convictions and sentence require reversal.
4 Circuit judges want new trial in polygraph denial case
Four 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judges believed that a man who had evidence admitted at trial of his refusal to take a polygraph test deserves a new trial. The 7th Circuit Thursday denied rehearing David Resnick’s case en banc.
Judge: Man should be civilly committed, not incarcerated
Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Paul Mathias again used an opinion to highlight problems he sees in the criminal justice system when dealing with defendants with mental health issues.
7th Circuit: Court needs permission to revise supervised release conditions once appealed
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overrule recent precedents in a man’s appeal involving his supervised release conditions and instead adopted a rule of practice for the Circuit.