Scrap over old Indiana gay marriage ban derails popular bill
A potential fight over whether to repeal Indiana’s obsolete ban on same-sex marriages has sidetracked a widely supported proposal to raise the state’s minimum age for getting married.
Juvenile Case
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Teen who planned school shooting rightly deemed delinquent, COA rules
A homeschooled teen who threatened to shoot students at northern Indiana high school did not convince an Indiana Court of Appeals panel that there wasn’t enough evidence to support his delinquency adjudication.
Bill mandating harsher penalties for juveniles passes Senate committee
A bill increasing the penalties for juvenile offenders passed a Senate committee Tuesday night despite more than an hour of testimony from judges, attorneys, social workers, pastors and former inmates who all voiced strong and sometimes emotional opposition.
Indiana measure looks to limit marriage for those under 18
Indiana lawmakers could make it more difficult for anyone younger than 18 to get married. A bill moving through the General Assembly would increase the current minimum age for matrimony from 15.
Bill allowing 12-year-olds to be charged as adults headed to Senate committee
A bill mandating tougher penalties for juvenile defendants, including allowing 12-year-olds to be waived to adult court for attempted murder, is scheduled to be heard in a legislative committee Tuesday, but already strong opposition is mounting with both state and national organizations warning of the consequences.
Juvenile molestation finding reversed over faulty rights waiver
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed a 12-year-old boy’s delinquency adjudication for what would be Level 4 felony child molestation, finding he lacked maturity to knowingly and voluntarily waive his rights and that evidence of a police interrogation should not have been admitted.
COA: Order committing juvenile to DOC until age 18 must be corrected
An order that a juvenile delinquent be committed to the Indiana Department of Corrections until his 18th birthday has been remanded for correction after the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the determinate commitment.
Justices exempt reimbursements from family court councils
The Indiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges are now exempted sources of reimbursement under Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 3.14 and 3.15, the Indiana Supreme Court announced.
Child Advocates celebrates ‘transformational’ $5M Lilly Endowment grant
Indiana’s largest organization that advocates for the interests of child victims of abuse has received the largest donation in its history — a $5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. “They call it a transformational gift, and it certainly is for us,” Child Advocates CEO Cindy Booth said of the award.
Justices, split 3-2, reject Facebook harassment, casino revenue cases
A mother who made threatening statements toward law enforcement on Facebook after the death of her son will not have her case heard by the Indiana Supreme Court, although two justices voted to grant transfer in the case. Justices also rejected two other appeals on a 3-2 vote.
Dismissal reversed in teen child-molesting case
A young adult accused of child molesting when he was a teenager has had his granted motion to dismiss a delinquency petition against him reversed. The Indiana Court of Appeals found the juvenile court had subject matter jurisdiction in the case.
Prosecutor recommends probation for teen’s hoax SWAT calls
A 17-year-old boy who admitted in an Ohio court to making hoax phone calls to authorities in a half-dozen states, including Indiana, should receive a one-year sentence with credit for time served, a prosecutor said.
Despite conflicting statutes, COA affirms juvenile gun adjudication
A juvenile dangerous possession of a firearm adjudication has been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals despite the finding that state statutes in play in his case are in conflict.
‘Children are children’: Coalition forms after legislative attempt to lower waiver age
The Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana and more than 20 nonprofits and community groups have joined together to form the Indiana Coalition for Youth Justice, which advocates for reform in the juvenile justice system so that it offers treatment, programs and interventions that are age-appropriate, fairly applied and result in the best possible outcomes for Indiana children and public safety.
Justices consider ‘de facto life sentence’ for teen convicted of murder
The sentencing fate of a man convicted as a teenager of murder is in the hands of the Indiana Supreme Court as the justices decide how they will rule in the case concerning a “de facto life sentence” for the teen.
Delinquent adjudication affirmed in child molestation case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a juvenile’s adjudication as a delinquent for felony child molestation despite the juvenile’s claim that evidence of his crime was not sufficiently established.
Justices to consider ‘de facto life sentence’ against teen convicted of murder
Indiana Supreme Court justices will consider arguments this week in a teen murder case involving a question of whether the boy was denied the effective assistance of counsel such that he should receive a rehearing on his 181-year sentence.
Justices deny transfer to 11 cases, rule in juvenile counsel dispute
The Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear all but one of a dozen cases requesting to be heard last week. The justices denied 11 petitions, including one denial in a sentencing appeal resulting from a rare 2-2 deadlock.
TPR affirmed for father involved with crime, drugs
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of a father’s parental rights to his daughter on Tuesday after concluding his criminal activity and continuing drug abuse posed a threat to her well-being.
Denial of dismissal of delinquency petition against 23-year-old affirmed
The denial of a motion to dismiss a delinquency petition filed against a 23-year-old for an act he committed as a teenager was upheld Monday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.