Indiana Court Decisions: July 28-Aug. 10, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
COA rejects Lake County residents’ suit against East Chicago’s ‘welcoming ordinance’
Northern Indiana residents have failed in another attempt to do away with a local city “welcoming ordinance” — this time in the city of East Chicago — after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found that, like another attempt to remove such an ordinance in Gary, the plaintiffs ultimately lacked standing to bring their claim.
7th Circuits splits in affirming habeas corpus relief to Elkhart man convicted of murder
A split 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an Elkhart man’s granted habeas corpus petition, finding that the Court of Appeals of Indiana applied a rule contradicting Supreme Court precedent in refusing him relief, leaving its decision not entitled to deference under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
12 Indiana judges, lawyers apply for Molter’s upcoming COA vacancy
Twelve Hoosier lawyers and judges have applied to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Court of Appeals of Indiana that will be left by Judge Derek Molter when he joins the Indiana Supreme Court next month.
COA affirms dismissal of appeal from inmate with ‘penchant for litigation’
A South Bend man with a history of filing dozens of “meritless actions” has once again failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that he was wronged by the justice system, drawing it to further tighten the boundaries of his filing abilities.
COA dismisses appeal of denied PCR petition
A convicted murderer will not be able to appeal the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief after the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined a trial court erred in granting him permission to file a belated appeal.
COA denies appeal, cross-appeal in stepdad’s child molesting case
A convicted child molester has failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that a mistrial should’ve been granted in his case due to an errant PowerPoint slide and the replaying of his victim’s testimony to the jury. However, the appellate court also denied a cross-appeal by the state challenging the denial of its request to classify the man as a credit-restricted felon.
Murder conviction, sentence upheld for Lake County man in woman’s disappearance
A Lake County man accused of killing a mother of three after they attended a concert in Chicago cannot be rid of his murder conviction, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Rokita encourages IN Supreme Court to take birth certificate gender marker case
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is advocating for the Indiana Supreme Court to grant transfer to a case concerning transgender Hoosiers’ birth certificates, requesting justices clear up confusion on the matter by ruling the judiciary has no authority to order a change of “sex” on the legal documents.
COA: Deferred pension distribution not an error, but trial court should’ve protected wife’s portion until ex’s retirement
A trial court did not err in deferring the distribution of a man’s pension to his ex-wife until he retires, but it did err in failing to protect the ex-wife’s portion of the pension, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Autistic child can sue parents’ employer for denied therapy coverage, 7th Circuit affirms
A Hoosier child diagnosed with an autism disorder who was denied coverage for related therapy through his parents’ health plan may proceed with his suit against the parents’ employer, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed.
COA: Duke Energy didn’t ‘take’ land when instructing builder to comply with utility regulations
A Bloomington landowner that had to build a smaller warehouse than anticipated due to longstanding utility regulations failed to prove that Duke Energy engaged in a taking of its property by enforcing the regulations, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Indiana Court Decisions – July 13-27, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
COA: Intimidation statute not vague
Even though a man waived his challenge to the Indiana intimidation statute, the Court of Appeals of Indiana still addressed his arguments and found the law was not vague under the facts and circumstances of his case.
Evidence found in Michigan that tied defendant to Indiana case properly admitted in Hoosier trial, COA rules
A man whose backpack was searched in Michigan and revealed evidence linking him to another crime in Indiana did not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that the evidence should have been suppressed in his Indiana trial.
Father wins reversal on parenting time, child support orders, but child will remain with grandparents
A father whose child will remain in the custody of her grandparents has secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana after it found the trial court abused its discretion in determining both his parenting time and child support obligations.
COA affirms machine gun adjudication for teen who had pistol with ‘Glock switch,’ reverses 2nd adjudication for double jeopardy
A teen arrested for possession of a modified pistol will not shake his machine gun adjudication but has convinced the Court of Appeals of Indiana that a juvenile court violated double jeopardy principles when it also tacked on a possession-of-a-dangerous-firearm offense.
COA: Contract only requires one side in construction dispute to arbitrate
The owners of a construction project will not be forced to take their complaint against their project’s general contractor to arbitration, but the contractor will need to arbitrate its counterclaims if the claims aren’t resolved, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
COA: Evidentiary issue not yet ripe for appeal
An Indiana man who wanted the jury to know about a trial court’s order tossing a CHINS petition has been told by the Court of Appeals of Indiana to come back after his case has been tried.
Justices decline to hear IRT’s COVID coverage case but agree to revisit criminal case decisions
The Indiana Supreme Court has brought the curtain down on the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s push to get its insurance company to cover losses incurred when the pandemic forced the show to close in the spring of 2020.