Indiana Court Decisions – Nov. 7-19, 2019
Read Indiana appeallte court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Delinquent adjudication affirmed in child molestation case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a juvenile’s adjudication as a delinquent for felony child molestation despite the juvenile’s claim that evidence of his crime was not sufficiently established.
Demolition order affirmed in hazardous building case
An unsafe building in a northern Indiana lake town will be demolished after the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a demolition order for the vacant structure.
Father who says he didn’t know about adoption loses appeal
A father who claimed to have no notice of the adoption of his child has lost his appeal of a denied motion for relief.
Appeals court rules against father in DCS dispute
A father fighting child welfare investigations that resulted in his son’s removal from his custody has lost his appeals of multiple motions granted by the trial court that damaged his case.
Reversal: COA reinstates default judgment against nursing facilities
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated default judgement against three nursing facilities after concluding the defendants couldn’t explain why their response was so late and that the underlying complaint was not “insufficient.”
Justices to consider ‘de facto life sentence’ against teen convicted of murder
Indiana Supreme Court justices will consider arguments this week in a teen murder case involving a question of whether the boy was denied the effective assistance of counsel such that he should receive a rehearing on his 181-year sentence.
Justices publish dissent to jury admonishment transfer denial
A split Indiana Supreme Court has denied transfer to a case disputing exactly how many times a trial court is required to give admonishments to a jury, but two justices published a dissent to that decision.
COA: 75-25 split of marital estate was proper
A wife who received only 25% of the martial estate in her divorce from her golf pro husband failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that she was entitled to a larger portion, though the appellate court did remand the case for the distribution of an overlooked vehicle’s value.
COA scraps title for flood truck Louisiana says was crushed
Gregory Schneider took a photo of his Ford F-250 truck to court in Terre Haute to show it had not been crushed, despite what the state of Louisiana says. But that wasn’t enough for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Indiana Court of Appeals, which on Friday scrapped a trial court order that Schneider be issued a salvage title.
Med-mal claim reinstated against Bloomington nurse practitioner
A ruling that favored a Bloomington nurse practitioner was reversed Thursday after the Indiana Court of Appeals found a question remained about whether she had provided health care to a patient just days before he suffered from cardiac arrest.
Rehearing: COA improperly applied continuous crime doctrine in rape case
A man’s strangulation conviction associated with a rape conviction in the same case will remain vacated despite an appellate panel’s agreement on rehearing that it improperly applied the continuous crime doctrine to his conviction.
Denial of belated drug-dealing sentence appeal affirmed
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of an Orange County man’s petition to file a belated appeal of his sentence, finding he had waived that right upon agreeing to a plea deal.
COA tosses belated probation revocation appeal
Indiana Supreme Court rulings do not permit a belated appeal of a probation revocation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held in dismissing a man’s appeal in such a case Thursday.
Reversal: Man’s drug convictions again tossed for speedy-trial violation
A Clark County man has again had his drug-related convictions vacated after the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded he was entitled to have them discharged when his request for a speedy trial was not met.
Denial of guardianship for undocumented immigrant’s niece reversed
An Indiana trial court judge who doubted whether he had the authority to grant a guardianship in a case before him involving two undocumented immigrants will get the case back from the Indiana Court of Appeals, which told him in a Wednesday opinion that his ruling was erroneous.
TPR affirmed for father involved with crime, drugs
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of a father’s parental rights to his daughter on Tuesday after concluding his criminal activity and continuing drug abuse posed a threat to her well-being.
Denial of dismissal of delinquency petition against 23-year-old affirmed
The denial of a motion to dismiss a delinquency petition filed against a 23-year-old for an act he committed as a teenager was upheld Monday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
COA: Trustee breached duties by cheaply selling property, paying herself
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Friday that a woman breached her duties as a trustee after she sold several real estate properties from a living trust for less than their fair market value and then paid herself.
Husband intended to defraud wife before divorce, COA rules
A man who conveyed several properties he owned to a family member shortly before divorcing his wife intended to defraud her, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.