New lawyers welcomed to profession at admission ceremony
At the Indiana Supreme Court Admission Ceremony, Indiana Justice Steven David reminded the newest admittees to the profession of law this was the day they had long been working towards.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Marion County inmate discharged after reversal of misdemeanor conviction for jailhouse incident
A Marion County inmate has been discharged after an appellate panel concluded he was wrongly convicted of Class A misdemeanor battery against the facility’s mail clerk.
Justices: Burglar who armed himself after entering residence committed Level 2 felony
The Indiana Supreme Court has concluded that a man who stole a handgun from a partially-paralyzed victim during a burglary and threatened him with it should have his felony conviction enhanced even though he didn’t possess the firearm when he entered the victim’s home.
Parents fail to sway COA in medical malpractice case over infant son’s death
Parents who sued several health care providers that treated their infant son just days before his death did not sway the Court of Appeals of Indiana to rule in their favor, as the judges concluded that a medical review panel’s process must wrap up before their claims can be adjudicated.
Reversal: Divorce court violated parents’ 1st Amendment rights via ‘non-disparagement clause’
A non-disparagement clause drafted into a couple’s divorce order to prevent the parents from talking badly about each other even outside of the presence of their child was an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in a partial reversal.
COA: Out-of-state sex offender registration requirement does not violate Indiana Constitution
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld a finding that the retroactive application of the state’s sex offender registration requirements does not violate the Indiana Constitution’s ex post facto clause.
Indiana Supreme Court grants transfer to wage dispute case, 2 other cases
A dispute between a dentist and her former employer, which split the Court of Appeals over the award of damages, is now headed for the Indiana Supreme Court.
New trial denied for man convicted in fatal Gary shooting
Despite allegations of prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments, a man convicted of murder could not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana to grant him a new trial.
Split appellate panel reverses murder conviction in Gary shooting for insufficient evidence
In a “seldom” reversal of a murder conviction based on insufficient evidence, the Court of Appeals of Indiana split in a Wednesday decision, with the majority concluding the evidence used to support a defendant’s guilt came “nowhere close to proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
COA has ‘little doubt’ state violated discovery rule in child molesting case
Bungled communications by law enforcement officials over whether a polygraph was admissible in court has resulted in the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirming the exclusion of the evidence against a defendant in a child molestation case and sanctions against the state.
People behind the precedents: New book on Court of Appeals of Indiana tells stories of judges who have served
A new book documents the history of Indiana’s Court of Appeals by telling the story through the men and women who have served as judges. Just published this spring, the book, “The Court of Appeals of Indiana,” is a compilation of profiles of the roughly 120 judges who have sat on the appellate bench through its 131-year history.
Indiana Court Decisions – April 21-May 4, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Misdemeanor convictions withstand appeal over timing of jury instructions
A Marion County woman who apparently demanded a jury trial after being charged with misdemeanors failed to get her convictions overturned after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found trial courts can choose when to instruct the jury.
IN justices to consider discovery case involving ‘problematic’ precedent
Indiana Supreme Court justices this month will hear oral arguments on petition to transfer in a case in which the Court of Appeals of Indiana, despite “problematic” precedent, upheld the denial of a defendant’s motion to compel evidence of unredacted copies of the police report in his case.
COA: Trial court had ‘good cause’ for failing to meet 120-day deadline in CHINS case
Because a mother remained quiet in a CHINS hearing, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed that the trial court had good cause for failing to hold a factfinding hearing within the statutorily required 120-day time frame.
COA allows rape case to proceed 35 years after incident
A Lake County man charged with multiple rapes 35 years after they occurred failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that his due process rights were violated and that the decadeslong delay was unjustified.
IN Supreme Court: Father’s substantive rights not violated in OWI case involving minor child
A father who was convicted of driving under the influence while his young daughter was in the car will not have his sentence reversed by the Indiana Supreme Court on allocution violation grounds.
Reversal: Same name not sufficient evidence for serious violent felon conviction
A Decatur County man facing an aggregate sentence of 30 years had his Level 4 felony conviction overturned after the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled that a defendant having the same name as a person convicted in a previous drug case was not enough to sustain a conviction as a serious violent felon.
Split COA affirms denial of minor’s gender-marker change, calls on Supreme Court for help
Making an about-face, a sharply divided panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the denial of a mother’s second request to change her transgender child’s birth certificate gender marker. But noting its own conflicting precedent, the COA called on the Indiana Supreme Court to help resolve the issue.
COA upholds admission of subsequent bad acts in domestic violence case
A trial court didn’t abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence of subsequent bad acts committed by a Fort Wayne man who continued to abuse his girlfriend after his arrest, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.