Justices to review day care couple’s manslaughter convictions
The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether a couple convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a child died in their home-based Fishers day care should get new trials.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Officer’s internal statement not allowed in criminal trial
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a Fort Wayne police officer that a statement he gave as part of an internal affairs investigation into his role in a break-in of a foreclosed home should not be allowed at his criminal trial.
Deed allows owners to make wells deeper, court rules
A family that sold mineral rights to a company but reserved the rights to oil and gas from certain producing wells was not restricted by the deed from making the reserved wells deeper, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday.
State performed due diligence charging man in 25-year-old attack
In a matter of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that state employees met the due diligence requirement of I.C. 35-41-4-2 regarding the statute of limitations in charging a man in 2013 for an attack on a 10-year-old girl in 1988.
Court erred in not considering subsequent property settlement agreements
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a ruling in favor of a woman on her claim that her ex-husband owed her more than $2.4 million based on a 1997 property settlement agreement. The judges found the trial court should have considered subsequent property settlement agreements the two entered into without the court’s approval.
Reversal reinstates negligence claim in fall on snowy hotel lot
A trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of hotel defendants on a negligence claim arising after a guest slipped, fell and was injured in a parking lot covered by a dusting of snow.
Cocaine dealing conviction affirmed over jury instruction challenge
A man convicted of dealing cocaine failed to persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals to reverse due to what he claimed was an erroneous jury instruction.
Remonstrators’ victories are short-lived
In a string of reversals from the Indiana Court of Appeals, the judiciary seems to be saying that if a municipality indicates it will need the additional territory at some point in the future, then that is enough to allow an annexation to move forward.
Insurance policy v. public policy
A starkly divided Indiana Court of Appeals opinion over whether insurance should be in play after a bicyclist was killed by an unauthorized motorist may be appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Rogue nurse prompts call to revisit privacy rulings
Noting technology is advancing faster that privacy law, an Indiana Court of Appeals judge is urging the Indiana Supreme Court to revisit precedent regarding invasion of privacy claims.
Longest-serving COA judge dies Thursday
Patrick D. Sullivan, the longest-serving Indiana Court of Appeals judge in the court’s history, died Thursday after a brief illness, the court announced. He was 83.
Lawsuit continues on railroad crossing accident case
A woman involved in a fatal car versus train accident in Boone County will be allowed to go to trial on just one of her claims: whether the railroad company failed to provide an unobstructed view at the crossing because of lack of vegetation control.
Court ordered to reconsider expungement petition
An illegible handwritten note next to a docket entry in a 1976 conviction is not enough to support the trial court’s decision to deny a man’s expungement petition because he had not paid $37 in court costs. The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to reconsider the man’s petition.
Sentence upheld, but restitution order needs a second look
The man ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to his ex-wife following misdemeanor convictions of invasion of privacy and criminal mischief will get a new hearing on the matter after the Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court.
COA: Case belongs in Tax Court
A company owner seeking relief from a tax judgment should not have filed in county court, but with the Indiana Tax Court, the Court of Appeals concluded Wednesday. It ordered the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
Absent agreement, man can’t be ordered to pay restitution if not convicted
A man who pleaded guilty to one count of theft for stealing grain, but admitted to stealing from the victim on other occasions, had his restitution amount reduced from nearly $150,000 to just around $28,000.
COA divided over denial of deposition request
The Indiana Court of Appeals was split in a decision Wednesday regarding whether a man on trial for a drug charge should have been allowed to depose two witnesses prior to trial. The judges didn’t agree as to which caselaw is controlling in the matter.
New prosecutor renders defendant’s request moot
A defendant’s request to disqualify the entire LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office from his voluntary manslaughter case because several in the office viewed his conversation with his attorney recorded during a police interrogation is moot because there is a new prosecutor in office, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Court: Man participated in meth manufacturing
A man’s conviction in Whitley County for dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing was upheld by the Court of Appeals Wednesday. There is evidence that the man knowingly or intentionally aided an acquaintance in making methamphetamine in the home the defendant shared with his girlfriend.
COA splits over terminating parental rights to twins
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the decision to terminate the parental rights of a mother to her twin daughters based on insufficient evidence, although one judge believed the termination should have been upheld. The court unanimously affirmed the decision to end her parental rights to her son.