COA rejects evidentiary challenges, upholds murder conviction
With the dying words of his victim and cellphone records against him, an Indiana murderer failed to get his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeals of Indiana on Thursday.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Grant of PCR petition upheld after lawyer withheld disciplinary actions
Despite being “caught at the scene of the crimes,” the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed post-conviction relief for a man who pleaded guilty to burglary based on the advice of an attorney who was hiding the fact that he was planning to resign from the Indiana bar for disciplinary reasons.
COA upholds involuntary mental health commitment
A man who challenged his involuntary mental health commitment after he had already been released failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that he shouldn’t have been held against his will.
Judge’s comment doesn’t require reversal of 15-year sentencing enhancement, COA rules
Despite a judge’s comment that a defendant “dodged a bullet” in avoiding a murder conviction, the St. Joseph County man cannot avoid a 15-year sentencing enhancement on his conviction of reckless homicide with the use of a firearm, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded.
COA: Volunteered evidence shouldn’t be suppressed despite officer’s Miranda violation
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed an order to suppress drug evidence found after a Miranda violation, finding state and federal constitutions don’t require suppression of the physical fruits of evidence obtained through the violation after the suspect volunteered the information.
Armed robber loses appeal of conviction, sentence
A man convicted of one armed robbery based in part on his ties to another potential robbery has failed to secure relief from either his conviction or sentence.
COA reverses mother’s neglect conviction after 13-year-old was left alone for weekend
A mother convicted of neglect of a dependent after she left her son home alone for the weekend did not actually commit that crime, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in a Friday reversal.
Justices split, find ‘jurisdictional gap’ in child molesting offense committed by minor who is now an adult
Neither the juvenile court nor the criminal court has jurisdiction over a man who allegedly committed child molesting while still a minor but whom the state did not attempt to criminally charge until he was over 21, creating a “jurisdictional gap” in cases where an offender ages out of the juvenile system, according to the Indiana Supreme Court. But the court’s majority holding was challenged by two dissenting justices, who argued the Indiana Legislature “would never have intended” for the alleged criminal act to go unpunished.
Inmate sanctioned by COA for continued filing of frivolous lawsuits
Fed up with the increasing burden an Indiana inmate has placed on the courts with frivolous lawsuits, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has instructed trial courts to not put up with the prisoner’s misconduct any longer.
Indiana justices reverse ruling permitting deposition of child sex abuse victims
The Indiana Supreme Court has swiped at a Court of Appeals of Indiana ruling that allowed a defendant accused of child sex crimes to take the deposition of his accuser, concluding that a disputed state statute preventing such depositions does not conflict with the Indiana Trial Rules.
COA reverses new trial order, reinstates jury verdict against YMCA in personal injury case
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed the grant of a new trial in a personal injury case involving a local YMCA and has reinstated a jury verdict against the YMCA after it determined the trial court abused its discretion.
COA upholds dismissal of trucking company’s suit against employee in deadly crash
A Kentucky trucking company whose employee died in a fiery explosion while driving through Indiana cannot bring back to life its suit against the man and his wife, who was also in the crash, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Medical billing software provider negligent in failing to preserve contracted product in spoliation suit, COA affirms
A complaint brought by a now-defunct medical billing business against a company it hired to craft a software program was properly dismissed as a sanction for spoliation of evidence, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
COA affirms juvenile’s placement in DOC following exhaustion of ‘all reasonable efforts’
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the placement of a Porter County juvenile in the Indiana Department of Correction following the failure of numerous and intensive rehabilitation efforts and lesser restrictive placements.
Reversal: Danville officer violated woman’s Fourth Amendment rights during traffic stop
A Danville police officer who conducted a dog sniff during a traffic stop violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded, reversing the denial of her motion to suppress.
Indiana Court Decisions: June 2-15, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
COA awards additional attorney fees to tenants who countersued landlord
House renters who argued their landlord who sued them should be held responsible for all attorney fees have secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana and will walk away with nearly $4,000 more in fees.
COA reverses felony escape charge, finds woman didn’t have home detention order
A Clark County woman who let her ankle monitor die was wrongfully charged with Level 6 felony escape, as she never had a home detention order to begin with, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded.
COA: GAL wrongly appointed in grandparent visitation dispute
A guardian ad litem should not have been appointed in a visitation dispute between a mother and her child’s grandfather after he was denied more than a year’s worth of visitations, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled, remanding to determine if a modification of the parties’ agreement is in the child’s best interests.
Indiana Supreme Court relies on COA analysis in ruling for insurer in drunken driving case
Adopting the efficient and predominant cause analysis, the Indiana Supreme Court has found an insurance company did not have a duty to defend two Kokomo bars and their owner who are alleged to have continued serving alcohol to an inebriated patron who subsequently got into a drunken driving accident.