Indiana Court decisions – Feb. 1-14, 2018
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
Indiana Supreme Court
Articles
Court celebrates Indiana community in marking Black History Month
Lyles Station, a community along the Patoka River in southwest Indiana, is long past its heyday of 800 residents working their farms, practicing their trades and educating their children. But as the only historic rural black settlement still standing in Indiana, its unique history is being celebrated.
Texas attorney reinstated to Indiana bar
A Texas-based attorney who was reciprocally suspended in Indiana has been reinstated to the practice of law in the Hoosier state.
Supreme Court upholds conviction against woman who violated pastor’s protective order
A Greene County woman convicted of violating a protective order obtained by her former pastor has lost her appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, which found sufficient evidence to support her third invasion of privacy conviction on Friday.
Supreme Court upholds standalone voluntary manslaughter charge, conviction
In an unusual case involving a voluntary manslaughter charge being brought without a related murder charge, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that voluntary manslaughter can be brought as a standalone charge, and a Marion County man’s conviction on that charge was proper.
Supreme Court considers whether to revise ‘illegal’ sentence
The central issue the Indiana Court of Appeals identified in its decision to reverse a man’s attempted residential entry conviction didn’t come up much during the case’s oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday.
Justices hear police officer sexual assault cases
Two cases from opposite ends of the state jointly came before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday for guidance on the same question: if a police officer sexually assaults a citizen while on duty, should municipalities be held liable for the officer’s actions as the employer?
Supreme Court upholds LWOP for execution-style murder
A southern Indiana man convicted of murder in the shooting death of a man at a power plant will spend the rest of his life in prison after the Indiana Supreme Court upheld his sentence of life without parole.
Supreme Court upholds DOC’s lethal injection protocols
The Indiana Department of Correction can alter its lethal injection protocols without going through a rule-making process because such protocols are internal procedures without the effect of law, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a decision affirming the dismissal of a death row inmate’s challenge to Indiana’s lethal injection cocktail.
Senate panel advances bill to narrowly define out-of-state felonies
A bill that would more narrowly define how out-of-state felonies are treated in Indiana sentencing matters passed its first hurdle in the Indiana Senate.
Sex offender statute to come before Supreme Court
A sex offender convicted in 2010 must make his case to the Indiana Supreme Court as to why a 2015 law should not bar him from attending his son’s school events after the high court granted the state’s petition to transfer the case last week.
Warrick, LaPorte judges certified as senior judges
The Indiana Supreme Court has certified two new senior judges to serve in Indiana’s trial courts.
New judge pro tem appointed in Lawrence County
A new judge pro tempore will begin serving in the Lawrence Superior Court this month after the current judge pro tem announced he would no longer be able to fulfill his duties.
Justices consider pre-mortem family settlement agreements
The Indiana Supreme Court must decide whether pre-mortem settlement agreements addressing the division of an estate’s assets are enforceable after hearing oral arguments Thursday in a probate dispute between two siblings.
COA upholds dismissal of claim against construction company
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a White County woman’s fraud and damages claim against the construction company that built her home, finding the woman’s claims were barred by the doctrine of res judicata based upon an earlier small claims judgment.
Indiana Court Decisions — Jan. 17-31, 2018
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
Disciplinary Actions — 2/7/2018
Read who has been suspended from the practice of law recently.
Panel recommends 6-day suspension for Blackford judge
A state panel has recommended that an Indiana trial court judge be suspended for six days without pay, following charges filed by the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission pertaining to a dispute with the former county clerk.
Probate question to come before Supreme Court
Oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court this week will focus on the question of when family members can enter into settlement agreements regarding the distribution of an estate’s assets.
Ex-trooper Camm’s $30 million lawsuit dismissed
A $30 million lawsuit brought by former Indiana State Police trooper David Camm was dismissed Monday by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in New Albany. Camm was twice convicted, but ultimately found not guilty of the murder of his wife and children in a third trial.