Indiana Court Decisions – Sept. 9-22, 2021
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Man loses argument that COVID-19 shouldn’t have delayed his trial
A man accused of murder, who argued his right to a speedy trial was violated when the Morgan Superior Court delayed his hearing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, wasn’t able to get himself discharged from jail after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the public health emergency was sufficient to uphold the postponement.
COA: Reasonable probability phone belonged to Indy man in drive-by shooting case
The admission of a cellphone confiscated at the same time an Indianapolis man was arrested for aiding a criminal in a drive-by shooting was not an error, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in affirming his felony conviction.
COA: Trial court failed to meet pretrial risk assessment requirements
A trial court abused its discretion when it denied an Elkhart County man’s motion to reduce bail because it failed to order and consider the results of a pretrial risk assessment report, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
COA finds juvenile court has jurisdiction over 8-year-old child molestation accusation
The Indiana Court of Appeals was able to forgo having to choose a side in a knotty policy argument by citing state statute which gave the juvenile court jurisdiction in a case of alleged child molestation that didn’t come to light until the accused offender was over 18 years of age.
COA tosses Level 2 felony because burglar was unarmed at time of entry
The Court of Appeals has partially overturned a Madison County man’s criminal conviction, finding that even though he threatened his partially-paralyzed victim with a handgun, he did not commit a Level 2 felony of burglary while armed because he did not have the weapon when he broke into the home.
Amended statute of limitations helps, hurts man charged with sexual misconduct with a minor
A man charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct with a minor has successfully appealed for the dismissal of some of those charges — but only as it relates to alleged offenses that fell outside a statute of limitations period that was changed before the charges were filed.
Parents with physical, mental, legal troubles lose appeal of CHINS ruling
A mother who was twice banned from the hospitals where her son was being treated and a father who was found passed out and drunk on the lawn of their temporary housing failed in their challenge to the adjudication of the severely ill son as a child in need of services.
COA says defendant has to pursue claims through post-conviction proceedings
A man who represented himself at his probation revocation hearing for driving without a license hit a roadblock when he tried to go directly to the Indiana Court of Appeals and argue he did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his right to counsel.
COA Judge Kirsch honored at retirement ceremony
On Thursday, a retirement ceremony was held for retiring Indiana Court of Appeals Judge James Kirsch in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.
COA: Genuine issues of material fact in indemnification dispute with Steak ‘n Shake contractor
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed in favor of a popular Indiana-based restaurant chain in an indemnification clause dispute with a waste removal company it contracted with.
Trial court violated South Bend man’s constitutional rights by excluding him from trial, COA rules
The St. Joseph Superior Court violated the constitutional rights of a South Bend man when it excluded him from his jury trial after failing multiple pretrial drug tests, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
In ‘catastrophic’ motorcycle crash case, justices rule for Tyson Foods, adopt bright-line rule
In adopting a bright-line rule Tuesday, Indiana Supreme Court justices ruled that a meat plant accused of contributing to a serious crash owed no duty to the motoring public because the tall grass at issue was confined to the plant’s property.
COA reverses summary judgment for defendants in teen shooting accident, cites contemporaneous writing rule
A young man who was shot and seriously injured while working on a southern Indiana farm and then signed a series of releases protecting the defendants from liability in exchange for $5,000 will get a new day in court after the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a grant of summary judgment.
Indiana Supreme Court to consider Duke Energy rate increase
The Indiana Supreme Court is delving into a dispute over Duke Energy’s request to raise rates to recover funds spent on coal ash remediation.
COA partially reverses for inmate in credit time dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially reversed for a man with three simultaneously pending cases on the calculation of his credit time, finding the trial court prolonged the time until the sentence in his first case could be satisfied.
COA: Lack of ‘breaking’ evidence in liquor store burglary leads to reversal
Evidence was sufficient to identify a Huntington man as the perpetrator of a liquor store robbery, but there wasn’t enough proof to sustain his conviction for breaking and entering in the same crime, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a Monday reversal.
Retirement ceremony planned for COA Judge Kirsch
Retiring Indiana Court of Appeals Judge James S. Kirsch will be honored for his 25 years on the appellate bench, and nearly half-century career in law, later this week.
COA: Granddaughter fails to show she did not unduly influence sick grandfather
A granddaughter who acquired her grandfather’s home free of charge through a quit claim deed executed about a week before the elderly relative died of brain cancer has lost the house after the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed she procured the property through undue influence.
Appellate court affirms custody modification to father
A juvenile court acted within its discretion when it awarded sole custody of a couple’s children to the father after the mother was arrested for multiple alcohol-related incidents and provided questionable living arrangements, the Court of Appeals has ruled.