The Indiana Supreme Court may hold arguments in September on the case involving the controversial Rockport coal gasification plant as well as on the case of a Dearborn County man who was convicted of intimidation of a judge based on online rants.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Marrco Antonio Martinez v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A02-1209-CR-699
Criminal. Affirms 35-year sentence for two counts of Class A felony dealing in cocaine.
Carol Miller v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1210-CR-523
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor pointing a firearm.
In Re The Paternity of: H.N.L.; C.L. v. B.A. (NFP)
29A05-1209-JP-483
Juvenile. Affirms order in paternity action adjudicating issues regarding custody, parenting time, child support and attorney fees.
Clifton T. Massey v. Reana Beard (NFP)
02A05-1208-SC-399
Small claim. Affirms order awarding $4,240 to Beard in a landlord/tenant dispute.
In the Matter of the Invol. Term. of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.M.K. and A.O.K., minor children, and T.D., biological father, T.D. v. Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
02A03-1210-JT-452
Juvenile. Affirms order denying father’s motion to withdraw his voluntary consent to the termination of his parental rights.
James Brock Rodgers v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A05-1302-CR-73
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony theft.
Vassil Marinov v. Bergen Car Company Inc. (NFP)
79A02-1210-SC-897
Small claim. Dismisses appeal of judgment in favor of Bergen Car Company on Marinov’s claim for damages.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court posted no decisions at IL deadline.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Javier Munoz
12-3351
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Larry J. McKinney.
Criminal. Affirms 181-month sentence following a guilty plea in 2007 to distributing and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. Munoz materially breached the conditions of his release and an implied term of the plea agreement by fleeing the country rather than showing up for sentencing.
Because there are genuine issues of material fact regarding claims made against apartment management company Flaherty & Collins in a complaint alleging fraud and other charges dealing with renting apartments to people who did not qualify based on income requirements, the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered more proceedings on the case.
A defendant was unable to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that despite his decision to flee the country for five years before he was sentenced in a drug case, the government should have to stick to the terms of his original plea agreement.
The Indiana Court of Appeals noted in a decision Monday that the state adoption statute is a bit of a “puzzle” before affirming the lower court’s decision to deny a woman’s attempt to adopt her fiancé’s child. But it found the fiancée may file another petition for adoption if she so chooses.
A former corrections officer at the Marion County Jail who tried to get a co-worker to fool around with him had three of his four convictions stemming from their interactions upheld Monday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. The judges reversed one sexual battery conviction because the proof didn’t support Maurice Frazier’s Class D felony conviction.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jerome K. Jackson, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
34A04-1210-PC-535
Post conviction. Reverses denial of petition for post-conviction relief and remands for findings and conclusions on the failure to present an officer’s testimony regarding the validity of a license plate as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Reverses on issue of attorney’s failure to present evidence on the issue of whether children were present at the school at the time of Jackson’s arrest. If court finds the failure to present the officer’s testimony wasn’t ineffective assistance of counsel, directs Jackson receive a new trial on the issue of a statutory defense if the state so chooses.
In the Matter of the Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of: M.R. and L.P. v. The Indiana Dept. of Child Services (NFP)
38A04-1211-JT-573
Juvenile. Affirms termination of parental rights.
Cody Matthew Fritz v. State of Indiana (NFP)
73A01-1212-CR-539
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class D felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction.
James D. Brooks v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1210-CR-454
Criminal. Affirms conviction and sentence for Class D felony theft.
Larry C. Perry, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1211-CR-456
Criminal. Affirms sentence for Class D felony invasion of privacy.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court posted no opinions by IL deadline. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals posted no Indiana decisions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Supervised Admin. of the Estate of Cora E. Young, deceased; Terry Douthitt, Kelly Douthitt, and Kevin Douthitt v. Theodore R. Young
53A04-1301-EU-36
Estate, unsupervised. Affirms trial court’s finding that the proceeds of a sale of Cora Young’s property should be distributed to her second husband at her death. Since the property was a specific bequest under Young’s will and was sold before her death, it was adeemed by extinction and therefore the proceeds pass to the residuary beneficiary under her will, which is her second husband.
A Monroe Circuit judge did not err in denying a motion by three grandchildren to correct errors in which they claimed that they, instead of their grandmother’s second husband, should have received the proceeds of the sale of land in Bloomington. The Indiana Court of Appeals held the Bloomington residence was adeemed by extinction, so the proceeds of the sale pass to Cora Young’s second husband, Theodore.
Disturbed by recent incidents in which video of open court has found its way online, Marion County judges on Friday discussed restricting cellphones in court.
The Indiana Supreme Court decided this week that it won’t take the third appeal in the case involving a Fort Wayne restaurant operator sued by former mortgagors.
Attorneys for the Michigan contractor being sued over construction defects at Carmel’s Palladium concert hall have asked a Hamilton County court to halt repair work immediately to preserve evidence in the case.
By a vote of 2-1, the Indiana Court of Appeals Friday reduced nearly $94,000 in damages to just $117 after finding the seller of a condo failed to mitigate her damages after the buyers backed out of the sale over repairs. Judge Cale Bradford believed seller Gayle Fischer was entitled to the original damages award.
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear an appeal that could determine the fate of a controversial proposal to fund a southern Indiana coal gasification plant with guaranteed prices above current market rates for the substitute natural gas it would create.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Heather McWhorter v. Bill McWhorter (NFP)
34A02-1207-DR-527
Domestic relation. Affirms decision to divide the marital estate equally and treatment of the 401(k) debt after the couple took out a loan against Bill McWhorter’s plan to pay part of the down payment on property in Denver. Reverses portion of the June 4, 2102, order that granted Heather McWhorter’s request to rescind the order entered pursuant to the Denver real estate agreement and remands with instructions for the trial court to reinstate the Denver agreement. Chief Judge Robb dissents.
Robert C. Brown v. State of Indiana (NFP)
35A05-1211-CR-588
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony operating a motor vehicle after a lifetime suspension of driving privileges.
Richard Lee Haworth, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
09A05-1209-CR-491
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class C felony incest.
The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court posted no decisions by IL deadline. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals posted no Indiana opinions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Scott Speers v. State of Indiana
55A01-1208-CR-391
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony burglary and Class D felony theft. The trial court properly denied Speers’ motion for discharge under Rule 4(C) as much of the delay in bringing Speers to trial was attributable to him. The direct examination of the lead detective did not present evidence in such a way as to crate an evidentiary harpoon.
Racketeering litigation that began in 2004 against former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick ended Thursday as Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller turned over more than $331,000 the state collected from Pastrick and co-defendants to the city.
The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana is one of 13 fair-housing organizations that will split a $27 million settlement from Wells Fargo Bank with the National Fair Housing Alliance after a complaint alleged the bank better maintained its real estate properties in white neighborhoods.
The motion for discharge under Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C) by a man charged in connection with a gun shop burglary in Morgan County was properly denied by the trial court, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Thursday. Much of the delay in bringing him to trial within a year was attributable to the appellant, including his decision to flee after a hearing.