Indiana Court Decisions — June 20-July 1, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Supreme Court
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Justices amend guidelines for nonlawyer assistants
Independent nonlawyer assistants will no longer be permitted to establish direct relationships with clients to provide legal services, the Indiana Supreme Court has ordered.
Supreme Court corrects Interim Commercial Court Rules
The Indiana Supreme Court has amended its recently adopted interim rules for Indiana Commercial Courts after finding a critical mistake resulting from a missing word.
Murder appeal among 18 rejected by Indiana justices
The Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear almost all of the appeals before it last week, but did accept two medical malpractice cases it consolidated for the clarification of preferred venue.
Lawyer: Judge charged after shot in fight ready for legal process
A southern Indiana judge who faces felony battery charges stemming from a May 1 fight outside a fast-food restaurant in which he and another judge were shot and wounded is “prepared to proceed through the legal process.”
Lawyer: Judge charged after shot in fight ready for legal process
A southern Indiana judge who faces felony battery charges stemming from a May 1 fight outside a fast-food restaurant in which he and another judge were shot and wounded is “prepared to proceed through the legal process.”
Justices suspend 2 Indianapolis attorneys, Tennessee lawyer
Three attorneys licensed to practice law in the Hoosier state were suspended late Friday by the Indiana Supreme Court, including one who was convicted of felony drunken driving.
Kokomo, Vincennes attorneys disciplined for mismanaging trusts
Two Indiana attorneys have been suspended from the practice of law for mismanaging and overdrafting their trust accounts, Indiana Supreme Court justices announced in separate orders.
Civil forfeiture case back before Indiana justices on SCOTUS remand
For the third time in three years, Marion resident Tyson Timbs took his case before a Supreme Court. The man whose name became noted civil forfeiture caselaw said after arguments Friday, “I feel like I stand for something now.”
Judicial Qualifications Commission moves to suspend judge charged in Indianapolis shooting
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications has filed a motion to suspend Clark Circuit Judge Andrew Adams with pay following his Friday indictment on charges related to a downtown Indianapolis shooting he was involved in earlier this year. The commission filed a Notice of Criminal Charges and Request for Suspension seeking Adams’ suspension immediately upon learning of the felony indictment.
Majority of Indiana justices rule for NIPSCO in rate fight
Asserting in a 3-2 decision that allowing a group of angry industrial ratepayers to prevail could cause the lights to go out and the furnace to switch off, a split Indiana Supreme Court has upheld a utility’s petition to raise customers’ electric bills. The NIPSCO Industrial Group had challenged Northern Indiana Public Service Co.’s second […]
Retired Lake County judge certified as senior judge
The Indiana Supreme Court has certified a new senior judge to serve in Indiana courts.
Divided Supreme Court upholds civil forfeiture reimbursement of law enforcement
The practice of diverting civil forfeiture proceeds away from the Common School Fund to reimburse law enforcement costs is constitutional under Article 8, Section 2 of the Indiana Constitution, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled, answering the longstanding question of whether the constitution requires all forfeiture proceeds to go to the Common School Fund.
Justices: Principal office, not agent location, determines venue
A divided Indiana Supreme Court has determined that an organization’s principal office, not the location of its registered agent, is the appropriate preferred venue. The ruling in similar consolidated medical malpractice cases affirms one trial court and reverses another.
Supreme Court rejects DCS ‘piecemeal litigation’ in CHINS cases
In response to the question of whether the Department of Child Services can file successive CHINS petitions based on evidence available at the time of the original petition — a practice that has drawn ire from the Indiana Court of Appeals — the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that such a practice is barred. However, the specifics of the case the court addressed Thursday did not require reversal.
Justices allow seizure, turnover of $60K in alleged drug money
The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the seizure of $60,000 in cash believed to be drug money, finding the officer who intercepted the parcel holding the cash had probable cause to think the package was related to drug trafficking. The unanimous ruling also upholds the turnover of the cash to the federal government, though it doesn’t address whether the money will be forfeited. The Court of Appeals previously had ruled the seizure was unlawful.
IBM awarded post-judgment interest to 2017 in long-running dispute
In its second opinion issued in the years-long dispute between Indiana and IBM Corp. over the failed contract to create a new Hoosier welfare system, the Indiana Supreme Court has allowed IBM to collect post-judgment interest on its $49.5 million damages award. However, that interest will date back only to a 2017 judgment on remand, not the original judgment entered in the company’s favor in 2012, and only serves as an offset to the greater sum IBM owes the state.
Justices uphold $1.3 million judgment for crash victim
A divided Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed an award of $1.3 million to a woman suffering long-lasting injuries resulting from car wreck. The majority held that evidence of a medical expert witness’s professional license status and reasons for his professional discipline may be admissible to challenge his credibility.
Indiana Court Decisions — June 5-19, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Officials remain tight-lipped about judges’ shooting
Since Clark Circuit Judges Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs returned to their southern Indiana homes in mid-May to recuperate from being shot, few updates on their conditions and announcements regarding the prosecution of their case have been provided, leaving some in the community wondering.