Indiana Court Decisions — Aug. 29-Sept. 12, 2018
Read Indiana appellate decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Supreme Court
Articles
Justices to hear semi worker wrongful death case
The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to two cases last week, including a decision that found a semi-tractor component manufacturer liable for the death of a construction worker.
Evansville attorney disciplined for lack of diligence
The Indiana Supreme Court privately reprimanded an Evansville attorney Friday after he failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in communicating with clients whose homestead was burned in an act of vandalism that appeared to be racially motivated.
Justices: Evansville, Fort Wayne partly liable for police sex assaults
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed two cities were entitled to summary judgment on the common-carrier theory, but not on the issue of liability under respondeat superior’s scope-of-employment rule in a consolidated civil lawsuit involving two women who were sexually assaulted by on-duty police in Evansville and Fort Wayne.
Absent juvenile did not waive rights, split Supreme Court rules
The Indiana Supreme Court split over whether a juvenile waived his right to be present when he skipped his hearing, but the justices came together in calling for a legislative remedy. Justices in a 3-2 decision reversed the teen’s juvenile delinquency adjudication.
Justices to hear cell location history case in Anderson
The Indiana Supreme Court will travel north to Madison County later this month to hear an oral argument regarding how and when law enforcement may obtain historical cell phone location information in criminal investigations.
Indiana high court to consider city rental registration fee
The Indiana Supreme Court is preparing to review the constitutionality of a 2015 state law targeting the city of Hammond’s rental registration revenue.
Supreme Court: E-filing now covers 90 percent of state
Electronic filing now covers 90 percent of Indiana trial courts and nearly 80 percent of the state’s caseload is now handled through the Odyssey case management system, the Indiana Supreme Court highlighted Monday with the release of its annual report. The annual report includes a broad statistical overview of the work of the court during the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
Hill asks SCOTUS to reinstate death penalty for murderer Baer
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is asking the nation’s highest court to reinstate the death penalty against a man convicted of killing a Madison County woman and her 4-year-old daughter, arguing the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals failed to properly defer to state court rulings when it overturned his death sentence earlier this year.
Judges to mark Constitution Day with school visits this month
Judges across Indiana will mark the 231st anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution on Sept. 17 by visiting schools and sharing with students the importance of the nation’s founding legal document.
Disciplinary Actions
Read who has been suspended from the practice of law in the latest reporting period.
Justices agree to hear jury instruction, non-compete cases
The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to two cases last week, including to a decision that gave a defendant the opportunity for a retrial after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined a jury instruction on “fleeing” law enforcement was fundamentally erroneous.
Indiana Court Decisions — Aug. 16-28, 2018
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the last reporting period.
Private plaintiff taking public access case to SCOTUS?
After a years-long fight, the Indiana Supreme Court in February issued a ruling that affirmed what’s come naturally to generations of Hoosiers: Indiana’s beach on Lake Michigan belongs to the public.
But parties who sued to privatize the beach, whose names are the only plaintiffs listed on filings to the U.S. Supreme Court, don’t own the property. They haven’t for years.
Deadline near to apply for Monroe County, Terre Haute judgeships
Attorneys interested in filling vacancies on the Monroe Circuit Court and Terre Haute City Court have just days remaining to make their interest known. Wednesday, Sept. 5 is the deadline to submit applications for Gov. Eric Holcomb’s appointments to both positions.
JLAP violation reinstates Indy attorney’s suspension
An Indianapolis attorney who violated the terms of her Supreme Court-imposed probation must now serve the full length of her suspended discipline after failing to comply with her Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement.
Ex-prosecutor who withheld recanted testimony suspended
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended a former Porter County deputy prosecutor from the practice of law for 18 months for withholding from the defense evidence that an alleged victim said he had been coached to lie and had recanted allegations of child molestation.
Justices OK resentencing after gang enhancement vacated
An Evansville trial court may resentence a would-be robber for his eight convictions after the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that vacating the defendant’s criminal gang enhancement did not rid the trial court of its resentencing authority.
Lawyer: State not enforcing Lake Michigan public access opinion
An attorney who is part of the legal team that won an Indiana Supreme Court decision preserving public access to the shores of Lake Michigan says state agencies are refusing to enforce the court’s order while private property owners on the lakefront seek a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Justices remove Lake superior judge from retention ballot
The Indiana Supreme Court yanked a Lake Superior Court judge from the Nov. 6 retention ballot following his retirement announcement Friday that came after the court’s office of judicial administration requested a new judge be appointed due to alleged dereliction of duty.