Gary woman to be resentenced in fire deaths of 2 children
A Gary woman whose prison sentence was thrown out on appeal in a 2018 apartment fire that killed two of her children will be resentenced this month to no more than 42 years in prison.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Shelbyville man’s corrupt business influence conviction divides COA panel
Indiana Court of Appeals judges split in a decision regarding low-level drug offenses after a Shelbyville man selling meth to someone undercover was convicted of corrupt business influence.
Suspended lawyer handed harsh words from COA for frivolous filings in IU case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has cut off the tap for a suspended attorney who it says has acted as a broken faucet of frivolous filings for far too long concerning injuries he claimed to sustain after falling at Indiana University, despite an earlier dismissal from the court.
COA upholds validity of parents’ consent to adoption, despite protests
Monroe County parents protesting the adoption of four of their 14 children could not sway the Indiana Court of Appeals that they were acting with the kids’ best interests in mind by seeking to withdraw their consents to adoption.
Health care entities win at COA in Notre Dame med-mal dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed judgment in favor of several health care entities that operate a wellness center at the University of Notre Dame, despite a woman’s fight for her husband who was paralyzed soon after being treated there as an employee.
Appellate court upholds 30-year sentence for babysitter in infant’s death
A decades-long sentence will stand for a northeastern Indiana babysitter who lied to police about knowing what caused the fatal injuries to a baby in her care who later died following a brain bleed.
Justices consider failure-to-mitigate defense in car crash damages dispute
A dispute over damages stemming from a high school car accident largely comes down to one question: Did the injured teen make her concussion worse by not following post-concussion “protocols”?
COA upholds child molesting convictions but tosses confinement conviction as double jeopardy
A Marion County man who molested a preteen girl failed to persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals that two of his child molesting convictions violated double jeopardy protections, though the appellate court did agree to vacate a lesser conviction of criminal confinement on double jeopardy grounds.
COA reinstates case alleging Crawford County clerk withheld public records
Rebekah Atkins had filed a complaint alleging the Crawford County clerk was creating fake court records pertaining to Atkins’ identity and, along with the clerk’s office and its employees, was denying Atkins access to records she claimed belonged to her.
Parents’ consent to adoption not required, COA affirms
A mother and father with lengthy criminal records and a history of instability did not have to consent to the adoption of their daughter, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.
Supreme Court to hear arguments in classmates’ personal injury damages dispute
The case involved the amount of damages Sydney Renner was entitled to after a 2016 accident that left her with a concussion.
Son loses appeal of felony battery conviction against mother
The case stems from a physical altercation between Michael McMillen and his mother, Leshia Beers, in their Lafayette home in February 2020.
COA rules for homeowners who argued neighbors’ pole barn violated neighborhood covenants
Morgan County homeowners who challenged a pole barn that violated their neighborhood’s covenants weren’t required to challenge every neighborhood violation to bring their case against the barn, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Counterclaim in Hendricks County CAFO fight tossed by trial court
With a simple “no,” the Hendricks Superior Court uprooted a pair of counterclaims that sprouted from nearly six years of litigation between long-time neighbors over a concentrated animal feeding operation that called into question the constitutionality of Indiana’s Right to Farm Act and asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a review.
Protective order against ‘ruthless’ social media attacker upheld
D.V. filed for a protective order in December 2019, testifying that she’d been forced to change her phone number because of P.D.’s tactics and saying she felt “scared” and “desperate.” The Tippecanoe Superior Court granted the protective order.
COA: Bar in Franklin had duty to protect patron after being told of prior altercation
BoJak’s Bar and Grille owed a duty to a patron who was “sucker punched” by another patron even after warning bar security about tensions between the two men, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
COA candidates field questions on everything from judicial philosophy to pandemic
As in years past, commissioners asked candidates about their judicial philosophies, their thoughts on criminal justice reform and their views on the role of the court in society.
Hendricks County hog-farm fight gets even messier
Plaintiffs assert the defendants are pursuing litigation to retaliate and deter the Hoosier Environmental Council from helping residents of rural communities push back against “the powerful livestock industry” and protect themselves from the pollution caused by factory farms.
COA upholds admission of evidence from challenged pat-down search
A police officer was justified in conducting a search of Christian Jamar Triblet after seeing a bulge on the right side of his pants that was larger than a mobile phone, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, affirming a lower court ruling denying Triblet’s motion to suppress evidence.
Mother who moved son out of state without permission loses custody, contempt appeal
A mother who took her son from Indiana to Virginia without his father’s knowledge or the court’s permission has lost her appeals of orders finding her in contempt and awarding physical custody of her child to his father.