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.
Marion County
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Business owner accused of bilking investors in tech startup scam
Indianapolis resident David Betner has been charged by the Marion County prosecutor with multiple felonies related to his business enterprise, Darepoint.
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.”
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.”
Decades in prison for man who killed Indianapolis clerk
A man who pleaded guilty to killing an Indianapolis store clerk during a robbery in 2014 has been sentenced to 52 years in prison.
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.
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.
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.
COA affirms conviction over jury lunchtime instruction challenge
If there are no intervening proceedings between the reading of preliminary instructions and a jury being excused for lunch, trial courts are not required to give admonishments required under Indiana Code Section 35-27-2-4(a) more than once, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.
Black juror strike upheld despite lack of demeanor finding
A burglary conviction will stand after the Indiana Court of Appeals found race-neutral reasons to strike a black juror, though the appellate court did opine on best practices to avoid confusion in future Batson challenges.
Trial and error: Attorneys navigate e-filing errors, but clerks say rejections infrequent
Lawyers and paralegals largely agree that electronic filing has improved their work, cutting the time and cost of printing and distributing hundreds or even thousands of paper documents. But enjoying the full benefits of the electronic system, they say, is a matter of trial and error.
Complex questions about justice center site safety concern prosecutor, public defender
Since the Marion County judges hired their own environmental consultant to review the remediation plans for the property where the new justice center is slated to be built, the Marion County prosecutor and public defender offices have started raising their own concerns about the level of contamination and safety of their workers.
Indiana father acquitted in starvation death of 2-month-old
An Indianapolis man has been acquitted in the 2017 starvation death of his 2-month-old daughter. A jury returned the verdict late Wednesday in the case against William Moss following two days of testimony in Marion County Criminal Court.
Ruling for car dealership upheld, but COA chides defense
Judgment will stand for an Indianapolis car dealership that serviced an airbag that later did not deploy in a crash that seriously injured a driver, but an appellate panel took a swipe at how the prevailing argument had been presented.
Reversal: Wife was wrongly denied protective order hearing
A woman alleging domestic violence at the hands of her husband will have another chance to make her case for a protective order against him after the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a trial court to conduct a new hearing.
First Merchants Bank settles federal lawsuit alleging redlining
Muncie-based First Merchants Bank has settled a federal lawsuit, following U.S. Department of Justice allegations that the bank engaged in lending discrimination by redlining predominantly African-American neighborhoods in Indianapolis.
Judge: DOC must pay $538K in ‘egregious’ death penalty records case
The Indiana Department of Correction’s refusal to disclose to the public information concerning the means it would use to execute a condemned criminal will cost taxpayers more than a half-million dollars in attorney fees, a judge has ruled.
IPS pays $600K to settle counselor sex abuse lawsuits
Indianapolis Public Schools paid almost $600,000 to settle three lawsuits in a case involving a former school counselor who was accused of having sex with students.