Pence counsel seeks email secrecy
Attorneys argue to the Court of Appeals whether the state’s Access to Public Records Act should exempt governor from disclosure.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Man must continue to pay child support for son he claimed was his, court holds
A divided Court of Appeals panel has affirmed an order requiring a non-biological father to pay child support for his wife’s child, finding that because the man supported the child throughout his life, he is legally estopped from challenging the child support order.
Errors lead to reversal of veteran’s involuntary commitment
A trial court’s order mandating the involuntary commitment of a veteran has been vacated after the Indiana Court of Appeals found that the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to follow proper legal protocol in serving documents and did not prove that the veteran posed a risk to himself or others.
Lack of jurisdiction keeps cemetery case in court
A woman’s fight to bury her mother in a burial site that she had purchased but that was mistakenly resold will continue after the Indiana Court of Appeals found that a small claims court did not have jurisdiction to grant her injunctive relief.
VA worker’s protective order against Marine reversed
A woman who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs who obtained a protective order against a patient after he left four notes on her car didn’t prove that the Marine had stalked her and threatened her safety, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
‘Moorish national’ loses appeal of house-squatting conviction
A man who identifies as a "Moorish National" sovereign citizen immune from state and federal law had no luck persuading the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn his convictions arising from his occupancy of an Indianapolis house that was being prepared for sale after foreclosure.
Pence attorney argues public-records law shouldn’t apply to emails
An attorney for Gov. Mike Pence argued Monday that Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act should not apply to a governor’s emails, prompting the plaintiff seeking those records to call the position chilling and reminiscent of the administration of President Richard Nixon.
Indiana man cites religious freedom law for not paying taxes
Attorneys for an Indianapolis man have argued before a state appellate court that Indiana's religious freedom law protects him from paying taxes.
COA: Officers don’t have to relay specifics of their ‘reasonable suspicions’
Deciding that police officers do not have to relay the specific details of their reasons for being suspicious of a person before an officer stops and detains that person, the Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected a man’s argument that evidence of his possession of a handgun was improperly admitted.
Judges decline to consider mother’s actions in med-mal case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected a doctor’s argument that a patient’s mother served as an intervening cause to the loss of the patient’s kidney and instead upheld the rule that a parent’s alleged contributory negligence may not be imputed to a child’s medical malpractice claim.
Tow company that seized, sold cars loses injunction appeal
An Indianapolis towing company whose owner worked with bankruptcy lawyers to take possession of cars when a buyer defaulted and then resell dozens of them lost its appeal of an injunction blocking the practice and ordering the cars be returned to the lienholder.
Felony conviction affirmed based on ‘into’ definition
A bullet that pierces a home’s siding is considered to be “into” the dwelling, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided Thursday in upholding a South Bend man’s criminal recklessness conviction.
Tow company that seized, sold cars loses injunction appeal
An Indianapolis towing company whose owner worked with bankruptcy lawyers to take possession of cars when a buyer defaulted and then resell dozens of them lost its appeal of an injunction blocking the practice and ordering the cars be returned to the lienholder.
COA: Incest age defense can’t win post-conviction relief
A man convicted of incest for a consensual sexual relationship with his biological aunt couldn’t persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals that he was entitled to post-conviction relief. The man claimed ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to argue in his defense that the man’s aunt was older than 31.
COA dismisses request to make trial court order final
The Indiana Court of Appeals has dismissed a mother’s request to characterize an order ending her parent-child relationship as a final order, writing that she still had to option of appealing the trial court’s decision through interlocutory appeal.
COA upholds murder conviction after rejecting involuntary manslaughter appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a man’s murder conviction after rejecting his claim that the jury should have been instructed on an involuntary manslaughter charge because he did not intend to kill his victim when he was beating her.
COA says golf cart use is par for the course during the game
A man’s negligence claim against a golf teammate who struck the back of his golf cart cannot succeed because driving a golf cart is normal behavior for participants in the sport.
Hill wins AG race as voters retain 4 appellate judges
Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis T. Hill Jr. sailed to a resounding victory in the Indiana attorney general race Nov. 8, and voters retained four Court of Appeals judges by wide margins.
Judges must balance timeliness rules with discretion
Recent decisions from the Indiana Court of Appeals have demonstrated the divide between statutory requirements and judicial discretion when it comes to motions filed after deadline.
Rejecting challenge of search, COA affirms cocaine conviction
Deciding that the “community caretaker role” exception to the Fourth Amendment can be extended beyond questions regarding seizures of a vehicle, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s cocaine conviction Monday after finding that evidence of the cocaine was not admitted in violation of his constitutional rights.