Disciplinary Actions – 1/29/14
Read who’s resigned and who’s been reinstated to the practice of law.
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Articles
Correctional services consolidation bill drawing fire
Community corrections advocates are worried that a proposal to consolidate the Marion County probation and community corrections departments would take local decision-making away from community members and give more control to judges.
ICLEO application deadline nears
College graduates eligible for the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity have little more than two weeks to submit applications to be selected for the 2014 ICLEO Fellowship Summer Institute from June 15-July 25 at Valparaiso University Law School.
Papageorge: Predictive coding gaining support in courts
Attorneys now are faced with the monumental task of collecting, reviewing and producing their own client’s electronic documents while also reviewing the opposing side’s electronic documents. This can lead to uncomfortable conversations with clients regarding the significant cost of the process.
Attorneys finding more link rot online
Just a few days after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in his case, attorney Brian Paul searched for the website the court had cited and discovered not everything on the Internet is permanent.
As money for justice declines, many don’t see potential cost
Persistent warnings about funding shortages for state and federal courts don’t appear to be registering with the public, a new poll concludes.
Right to equal access at center of federal lawsuit
A courtroom spectator’s persistent requests to two trial courts for an interpreter raises questions of how accessible Indiana courts should be for people who have disabilities as well as how much control the state judiciary has over local judges.
Every defendant has a story
After 11 grueling years on the high-profile Camm murder case, attorney Stacy Uliana believes justice was served.
Attorneys statewide mark MLK Day holiday by offering free legal help
Hundreds of Hoosiers received free legal help in January thanks to efforts of local and state bar groups that marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by providing free legal assistance.
Public access to death records gets Supreme Court review
A newspaper denied a request to obtain information in death records from a local health department will have an opportunity to make its case before the Indiana Supreme Court.
Marion County courts closed Tuesday; state courts delayed
Marion County Circuit and Superior Courts in the Indianapolis City-County Building will be closed Tuesday in anticipation of dangerously cold weather. State court operations in Indianapolis, meanwhile, will delay opening until 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Opinions Jan. 27, 2014 ILD
Indiana Court of Appeals
Brandon McManomy v. State of Indiana (NFP)
65A01-1302-CR-62
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony attempted murder.
David D. Darr v. State of Indiana (NFP)
89A04-1307-CR-324
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony dealing in a sawed-off shotgun.
Daniel Lee Pierce v. State of Indiana (NFP)
78A05-1305-CR-211
Criminal. Reverses conviction on one count of Class A felony child molesting, four counts of Class C felony child molesting, and two counts of Class D felony child molesting, and remands for a new trial. Judge John Baker dissents and would not grant a new trial.
Ventriss R. Hulitt v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1302-CR-30
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony child molestation.
In Re: The Marriage of Terri L. Potter and Brent D. Potter: Terri L. Potter v. Brent D. Potter (NFP)
11A01-1304-DR-229
Domestic relation. Affirms denial of mother T.P.’s motion to correct error regarding property division and child support entered in a dissolution of marriage action.
Adam Sullender v. State of Indiana (NFP)
20A05-1308-CR-390
Criminal. Affirms denial of motion to correct erroneous sentence on a conviction of Class C felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Lauren Hurse v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1307-CR-563
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Nita Trott-Fluty v. State of Indiana (NFP)
82A05-1306-CR-290
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony and Class A misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement and Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Larry Bobbitt v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1306-CR-221
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony burglary, Class D felony possession of marijuana, and the 20-year prison sentence.
Melba Deloris Polk-King v. Lawrence Delorosa King (NFP)
49A05-1305-DR-248
Domestic relation. Affirms in part, reverses in part, and remands for recalculation of child support obligations. Judge John Baker concurs in part and dissents in part and would remand to the trial court for written findings on why it deviated from the child support guidelines.
Clayton Morgan v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1306-CR-498
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation.
Nancy Kriel v. Richard Kriel (NFP)
49A04-1304-DR-195
Domestic relation. Affirms trial court denial of Nancy Kriel’s request for an award of incapacity maintenance.
Jeffery Deaton v. State of Indiana (NFP)
79A02-1306-CR-519
Criminal. Affirms conviction and 13-year sentence for Class B felony possession of methamphetamine enhanced by his status as a habitual substance offender.
Laurence F. Myers, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1306-CR-232
Criminal. Affirms 36-month sentence for conviction of Class D felony operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator.
Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana Tax Court issued no opinions by IL deadline. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued no Indiana opinions Monday by IL deadline.
Opinions Jan. 27, 2014
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Annex Books Inc, et al. v. City of Indianapolis
13-1500.
Civil. Reverses District Court order upholding a city of Indianapolis ordinance limiting the hours of adult bookstores to 10 a.m. to midnight, Monday-Saturday. Remands to the District Court with instructions to enter injunction against enforcement of the closure ordinance. Finds that in light of prior Supreme Court jurisprudence, the city cannot restrict the distribution of material that might be objectionable but is not obscene. The city’s argument that the closure ordinance had reduced instances of armed robberies near the bookstore locations was “weak as a statistical matter,” the court ruled.
Automatic modification violates custody statute, COA rules
A trial court’s order automatically awarding custody of a minor child to the father was reversed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on the grounds the lower court’s decision violated the state’s custody modification statute.
Defendant entitled to cash bail refund under former statute
A pro se litigant convinced the Indiana Court of Appeals that he was entitled to a refund of a $250 cash bond. The COA reversed a Monroe Circuit order denying a motion for release of cash bond dating to 2003.
Appeals court affirms multiple sex-crimes, 100-year sentence
Multiple convictions were upheld Monday against a man who had threatened, confined and sexually assaulted three Indianapolis women he picked up after offering them money for sex.
COA vacates sex-abuse confinement conviction as double jeopardy
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday vacated a conviction of Class C felony criminal confinement for a man also convicted of Class B felony criminal deviate conduct, finding the lesser conviction resulted in double jeopardy.
Erroneous instruction on accomplice liability not enough to get conviction overturned
The Indiana Court of Appeals has split on whether erroneous jury instruction was a harmless error or gave the jurors another base for finding a defendant guilty of attempted murder.
Bill proposes modest Marion County small claims reforms
Modest reforms to the derided Marion County township small claims courts are proposed in a bill scheduled to get a committee hearing Wednesday.
7th Circuit bars Indianapolis’ hour limits on adult bookstores
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has tossed an Indianapolis ordinance limiting the business hours of adult bookstores from 10 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday.