A couple who brought a products liability claim against a ladder manufacturer and the store that sold the ladder are entitled to a new trial after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the magistrate judge should not have struck their expert witness’s testimony. The couple lost their case as a result of the judge’s decision.
An East Chicago City Court judge carried her burden to establish that the $65,000 in requested funds were reasonably necessary, the Court of Appeals held Thursday in affirming the grant of her mandate request. The appellate judges also decided the city court is entitled to appellate fees and expenses.
The Indiana Supreme Court vacated a man’s public intoxication conviction after finding his agitation does not rise to the level that would annoy a reasonable person. But the justices did find that the statute is not unconstitutionally vague.
Victims of convicted fraudster and former attorney William Conour have settled a lawsuit that named a one-time Conour associate as a defendant.
A federal judge in Chicago rejected a proposed $75 million class-action head injury settlement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday, portraying the deal as too unwieldy and potentially underfunded and urging both sides to go back to the drawing board.
The Indiana Supreme Court dismissed a Lake County lawsuit challenging the state’s right-to-work law after the state and plaintiffs filed a motion to dismiss.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Carrie Douglas v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1310-CR-911
Criminal. Affirms dismissal of Douglas’ petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Utah Dockery, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
18A02-1407-CR-494
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class A felony dealing in cocaine.
James David Finney v. State of Indiana (NFP)
53A01-1311-CR-495
Criminal. Affirms convictions of felony murder and two counts of Class C felony carrying a handgun without a license as well as the 73-year sentence.
Michael Whittaker v. State of Indiana (NFP)
84A01-1407-CR-310
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation.
Robert Warner v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A05-1402-PC-52
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Steven R. Santana v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1406-PC-186
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
James Roof v. David Asher (NFP)
49A02-1402-CT-106
Civil tort. Affirms jury verdict awarding $240,000 to Asher.
Deborah Birge v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A05-1405-CR-230
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation and order Birge serve one year of her previously suspended sentence in the Department of Correction.
In the Matter of: J.M., A Child in Need of Services, T.M. v. Indiana Department of Child Services, and Child Advocates, Inc. (NFP)
49A02-1402-JC-94
Juvenile. Affirms finding J.M is a child in need of services.
Indiana Supreme Court
Shawn Blount v. State of Indiana
49S02-1405-CR-338
Criminal. Affirms conviction of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm. A detective’s testimony that a witness identified Blount as the suspect was inadmissible hearsay, but it was a harmless error. There was no variance between the charging information and the evidence presented at trial.
The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated a man’s conviction of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm after finding that a detective’s inadmissible hearsay amounts to a harmless error.
The former employers of a man who sued them for discrimination and later dismissed his claims may proceed with their lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution and other claims against that man and his attorney, the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Because a man’s appeal of the issuance of a tax deed was improperly before the Indiana Court of Appeals, the court dismissed the appeal without prejudice and told the trial court to rule on his motion to set aside.
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected all of a man’s arguments on appeal as to why his convictions and sentence should be overturned for his kidnapping and robbery of a delivery driver.
Although the trial court erred in giving one jury instruction on self defense that only applies when deadly force is involved, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an inmate’s Class A misdemeanor battery conviction because he otherwise couldn’t prove his self-defense claim.
The American Bar Association has completed work on a national database that identifies the legal restrictions and prohibitions that individuals convicted of a crime face in addition to the sentence imposed by the court.
The Indiana Court of Appeals Wednesday affirmed all but one of a man’s drug convictions related to his selling of the drug commonly referred to as “spice” in his smoke shop. The judges also chastised the deputy attorney general who handled the case for again submitting a “foul” smelling record.
The days of in-house legal departments working in the shadow of the executive suite are history, or should be. That’s the perception of general counsel in Indiana, who want a seat at the table in setting strategy for their companies and organizations. A recent Indiana general counsel survey reveals more.
A state senator says she plans to push for the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Indiana.
A jury has been selected to hear a schoolteacher's lawsuit over her claim she was dismissed by a northern Indiana Roman Catholic diocese because she tried to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Dennis Wright v. Lacabreah Community Association, Inc. (NFP)
02A03-1403-PL-107
Civil plenary. Affirms summary judgment in favor of Lacabreah.
F.I.P., LLC., Todd Finner, and Scott Finner v. Nick Petrovski (NFP)
45A03-1405-PL-162
Civil plenary. Affirms on interlocutory appeal trial court’s denial of summary judgment in favor of F.I.P.
J.H. v. J.N. (NFP)
29A02-1405-PO-329
Protection order. Affirmed in part, reversed in part. While the trial court applied an incorrect legal standard, its finding that no act of stalking occurred is determinative. The trial court erred in awarding attorney fees to J.N.
Djuan Faceson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1405-CR-305
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony carrying a handgun without a license.
Donielle Sims v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1404-PC-120
Post conviction. Affirms denial of post-conviction relief.
Jeremy Dallas Jenkins v. State of Indiana (NFP)
15A01-1405-CR-225
Criminal. Affirms conviction and 16-year sentence for Class B felony burglary.
Omobea Kotea Miller v. State of Indiana (NFP)
65A05-1401-CR-32
Criminal. Affirms order revoking probation.
Thomas D. Dillman v. State of Indiana (NFP)
53A01-1406-CR-261
Criminal. Affirms denial of petition for home detention credit time.
Orley D. Yarber v. State of Indiana (NFP)
65A01-1310-CR-433
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony rape, Class C felony incest and adjudication as a habitual offender. Remands to correct the sentencing order, abstract of judgment and chronological case summary to reflect the 10-year habitual offender enhancement is applied to the rape conviction.
State of Indiana and Indiana Department of Correction v. Ray Miles (NFP)
48A04-1401-MI-29
Miscellaneous. Affirms order that Miles is required to register as a sex offender for life.
In Re the Paternity of A.C-F., J.F. v. T.C. (NFP)
08A02-1405-JP-315
Juvenile. Affirms award of primary physical custody of A.C-F. to father, T.C.
Jeffrey C. Buzzard v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1403-CR-75
Criminal. Affirms convictions and 126-year sentence for four counts of Class A felony child molesting, one count of Class C felony child molesting and five counts of Class D felony child seduction.
In the Matter of the Term. of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.B., and J.B. Father v. Ind. Dept. of Child Services (NFP)
09A02-1404-JT-247
Juvenile. Affirms termination of father J.B.’s parental rights.
James W. Hamilton v. State of Indiana (NFP)
32A01-1403-PC-128
Post conviction. Affirms denial of post-conviction relief.
William Temple v. New Castle Correctional Facility (NFP)
33A01-1408-MI-336
Miscellaneous. Again reverses and remands “Petition for Writ of State Habeas Corpus Relief” to Marion Superior Court, where Temple was convicted and sentenced.
Indiana Supreme Court
Mark Rolley v. Melissa Rolley
87S01-1412-DR-739
Domestic relation. Affirms modification of child support order. Rules in a per curiam decision that ruling by Indiana Court of Appeals that an order of child support could be modified either because a substantial and continuing change in circumstances or, after 12 months, a 20 percent deviation.