COA affirms award of custody to non-surrogate mother, against father
A father fighting against the award of custody of his child to his ex-wife did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that a mistake had been made.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Interviews for 13 applying to succeed Baker on COA reset for June
Candidates seeking to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Indiana Court of Appeals due to Judge John Baker’s pending retirement will now be interviewed in June, the Indiana Supreme Court announced on Friday.
CHINS ruling upheld despite impermissible phone testimony
A child in need of services adjudication was upheld Thursday by the Indiana Court of Appeals after it found that the admission of testimony by phone from a doctor amounted to harmless error.
COA: K-9 sniff did not prolong traffic stop
A defendant was unable to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that while the police were justified in pulling him over, they violated his constitutional rights by detaining him and conducting a dog sniff after the initial traffic stop had been completed.
Lake County property buyer wins appeal after township altered building
A Lake County court ruling for a township that removed light fixtures and historical artifacts from a building it sold after the property had already been purchased was reversed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday.
Ex-exec loses noncompete appeal, must pay company’s appellate fees
A former co-owner of a Fort Wayne mechanical contracting business who violated noncompete agreements by consulting for a Fishers competitor after he was fired lost his appeal Thursday and was ordered to pay more of his former employer’s legal fees.
COA affirms judgment for Indy car dealership in sale dispute
A consulting company could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law in an Indianapolis car dealership dispute that it lost.
COA partially reverses for father in child expenses dispute
A northern Indiana father failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that child custody and support rulings in his divorce proceedings were erroneous, though the court did agree with his challenges to medical expenses and home equity findings.
Appeals court tosses murder conviction due to lack of jury instruction
A unanimous panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals threw out a man’s murder conviction Monday after finding that the Marion Superior Court abused its discretion in refusing to provide the jury an instruction on reckless homicide.
Justices grant transfer for reconsideration in second PCR petition case
Indiana Supreme Court justices have reversed for reconsideration a case involving a child molester’s petition for post-conviction relief after he asserted that his second PCR petition only raised issues that emerged after his habitual offender conviction was reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Conviction upheld in Elkhart synthetic drug case
A northern Indiana man arrested during a traffic stop could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday that there was insufficient evidence to support his handgun- and drug-related convictions.
Man’s conviction upheld in gang-related murder
An East Chicago man could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday that he shouldn’t be found guilty of murder for his involvement in a gang-related killing.
Jury’s failure to appear verdict affirmed after man claimed intent was unproven
A southern Indiana man whose counsel admitted to a jury that the defendant failed to appear in court on a felony charge, but didn’t do so intentionally, lost his appeal of the jury’s guilty verdict Wednesday.
Indiana Court decisions – March 26-April 8, 2020
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Home again: Elkhart man released after 15 years in prison, but case likely isn’t over
Andrew Royer has been granted a new trial after a special judge determined his 2005 trial was tainted by false evidence and coercive investigative techniques that exploited his mental disability. But the possibility of a retrial remains.
COA affirms murder conviction over challenged letter
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a South Bend murderer’s claim that a letter he purportedly sent from the St. Joseph County Jail implicating another man in the shooting death was wrongly admitted at his trial because it was not properly authenticated.
Reversal: Landowners, not county, responsible for fixing failing dams near Peru
Reversing a trial court that determined Miami County was responsible for fixing six crumbling dams in a lake community housing addition, the Indiana Court of Appeals found the county was responsible only for the roads that crossed the tops of the embankments.
Appeals court affirms $80K damages ruling in logging trespass
A logging company that allegedly fell more than three dozen hardwood trees on a Morgan County property whose owner had warned the contractor to stay off his land was rightly awarded more than $80,000 in damages, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Challenged blood draw in fatal impaired driving crash upheld
A defendant was unable to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals the state was improperly allowed a “do-over” by being able to offer as evidence at trial an analysis of his blood that showed the presence of controlled substances.
Injured wood trimmer operator loses appeal against manufacturer
A Southern Indiana machinery worker’s failure to follow warnings and instructions on a woodcutting machine he was using were the cause of injuries he sustained on the job, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded on Monday. As such, the machinery’s manufacturer couldn’t have reasonably expected the accident.