A LaPorte County man who tried to legally close the barn door after his horses allegedly got out and injured his neighbor must stand trial, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The panel also found the trial court erred by closing the courthouse door to evidence that it wasn’t the first time these horses went on the lam.
A lawyer who lied about her criminal history on a jury questionnaire in a murder case has divided an Indiana Court of Appeals panel, which ultimately vacated the murderer’s case for a retrial.
A southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body has once again been found incompetent to stand trial in the 2014 slaying, months after his first trial ended in a mistrial. An agreement between Joseph Oberhansley’s defense attorneys and Clark County prosecutors stipulates that he is to be transported to a state hospital for competency restoration, based on two evaluations filed in December by psychiatrists.
Indiana Supreme Court justices declined to hear oral arguments in 13 cases last week but agreed to hear two cases involving duty of care and stalking.
A man’s conviction in a domestic battery case after both defense and prosecution asked for a mistrial because a relative of the defendant communicated with a juror outside court will stand after the Indiana Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision chose not to hear the appeal. Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Steven David published a dissent, believing the defendant had been prejudiced and was entitled to a new trial.
A judge in Jeffersonville has declared a mistrial for a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body. Jurors who had been selected from Hamilton County north of Indianapolis have been dismissed.
Richard Grundy III and four co-defendants first stood trial July 8 in Indianapolis on federal drug trafficking charges, but a mistrial was declared July 10 after a court order concerning jurors’ personal information was violated. Court documents show Grundy will now stand trial July 29 at the U.S. district court in Evansville.
A traveling appellate panel heard argument concerning an “unusual” instance of a trial court’s denial of a joined motion for mistrial Tuesday, considering whether the state’s sudden change of position had any impact on the case going forward.