Indiana Court Decisions: June 16-28, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Supreme Court
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Disciplinary Actions: March 29-June 30, 2022
Read a summary of disciplinary actions handed down by the Indiana Supreme Court during the second quarter of 2022.
Going for distance: Indiana Supreme Court lifts remote CLE caps
The recent red strikethroughs scattered throughout the three-page Indiana Supreme Court order amending Admission and Discipline Rules 28 and 29 will impact all Hoosier lawyers and judges.On June 6, the Supreme Court permanently amended continuing legal education rules to lift limits on distance education.
Three Indianapolis attorneys disciplined
The Indiana Supreme Court has has suspended two attorneys from the practice of law in Indiana for noncooperation and a third Hoosier lawyer indefinitely.
Justices split on whether unruly defendants must be told they can return to court if they behave
A split Indiana Supreme Court has denied transfer in a case involving an unruly defendant, disagreeing on whether trial courts are required to inform disruptive individuals who have been removed from the courtroom that they can reclaim their right to be present if they behave.
Former St. Joseph Co. referee admonished for suspending parenting time based on unauthorized ex parte information
A former St. Joseph County referee has avoided formal discipline after she temporarily suspended a father’s parenting time based on notes she received from a guardian ad litem that she later refused to share with the father and his counsel.
Justice David honored during final Supreme Court oral argument in Boone Co.
Leaving the grandeur of its Statehouse courtroom, the Indiana Supreme Court took to the road Thursday for a special traveling event in honor of Justice Steven David’s final oral argument. The high court ventured to Boone County, David’s former judicial home of more than 15 years, for his final oral argument as a member of the Supreme Court.
Justices grapple with church autonomy in fight over firing of Cathedral teacher
During the June 28 oral arguments in the dispute between the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the former Cathedral High School teacher who was fired for being in a same-sex marriage, the Indiana Supreme Court wrestled with a central question: When can civil government exercise authority over church matters?
Split Supreme Court reinstates convictions based on invited error
Finding no fundamental error, a split Indiana Supreme Court has reinstated a man’s multiple convictions that resulted in a nearly 50-year sentence.
Transfer granted in six child sex abuse deposition cases
Indiana Supreme Court justices granted transfer in six cases last week all addressing whether child sex abuse victims can be ordered for deposition in light of a state statute the Court of Appeals of Indiana has repeatedly held violates the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure.
Justices split, find ‘jurisdictional gap’ in child molesting offense committed by minor who is now an adult
Neither the juvenile court nor the criminal court has jurisdiction over a man who allegedly committed child molesting while still a minor but whom the state did not attempt to criminally charge until he was over 21, creating a “jurisdictional gap” in cases where an offender ages out of the juvenile system, according to the Indiana Supreme Court. But the court’s majority holding was challenged by two dissenting justices, who argued the Indiana Legislature “would never have intended” for the alleged criminal act to go unpunished.
Indiana justices reverse ruling permitting deposition of child sex abuse victims
The Indiana Supreme Court has swiped at a Court of Appeals of Indiana ruling that allowed a defendant accused of child sex crimes to take the deposition of his accuser, concluding that a disputed state statute preventing such depositions does not conflict with the Indiana Trial Rules.
Indiana Court Decisions: June 2-15, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Soon-to-be justice: Molter picked by governor to fill Indiana Supreme Court opening
Humble, caring and collaborative is how soon-to-be Indiana Supreme Court Justice Derek Molter was described by colleagues and friends. On June 10, at the Indiana Statehouse, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that Molter, currently the most junior judge on the Court of Appeals of Indiana, will join the state’s highest bench as the 111th justice.
Indiana Supreme Court relies on COA analysis in ruling for insurer in drunken driving case
Adopting the efficient and predominant cause analysis, the Indiana Supreme Court has found an insurance company did not have a duty to defend two Kokomo bars and their owner who are alleged to have continued serving alcohol to an inebriated patron who subsequently got into a drunken driving accident.
Justices permanently lift distance education limits for CLE, CJE
Following changes made to accommodate social distancing beginning in 2020, the Indiana Supreme Court has permanently amended continuing education rules to lift limits on distance education.
Seymour attorney disciplined by IN Supreme Court after 7th Circuit suspension
A Seymour attorney suspended by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for misconduct has been hit with reciprocal discipline from the Indiana Supreme Court.
Justices reinstate judgment for loan broker, reject ‘fraud’ finding
A loan brokerage company will be permitted to collect a roughly $3,000 consultant’s fee from a client that rejected its financing offer, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled, overturning a lower court’s finding that the broker asked the client to commit fraud in order to obtain financing.
Justices remand appeal of moot commitment order, clarify precedent on public-interest exception in commitment cases
Despite her involuntary commitment order having long since expired, a woman will be permitted to challenge the order at the Court of Appeals of Indiana after the Indiana Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying its precedent on how appellate courts should review involuntary commitment cases that have become moot. A dissenting justice, however, repeated previous concerns about the majority’s approach to the public-interest mootness exception.
Former casino general counsel Keeler’s law license suspended after guilty plea
Following his guilty plea to tax fraud in April, former casino executive and state lawmaker John Keeler has been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana.