COA rehearing restates trial court survey remedies
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted rehearing in a Starke County case in which the reliability of a survey is at issue.
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Articles
Strategic planning needed to improve child services
Justice Loretta Rush says a unified commission on children can bring stakeholders together and improve outcomes.
Retired Supreme Court justice joins Indiana Business Law Survey Commission
Retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. has been appointed to the Indiana Business Law Survey Commission.
7th Circuit affirms drug conspiracy judgments, cautions prosecution
Nine defendants who were convicted in federal court of drug conspiracy for distributing methamphetamine and marijuana will continue to serve their sentences after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgments but issued cautions for federal prosecutors.
Religious bent of Indiana’s marriage statute is not unconstitutional, federal court rules
The Center For Inquiry, a non-profit that promotes a secular society based on science and reason, plans to appeal a federal court’s ruling that Indiana’s Solemnization Statute is constitutional.
Successful Durham appeal unlikely, outside lawyers say
The co-owners of Fair Finance Co. who were sentenced Friday on federal fraud charges plan to appeal their convictions, lawyers for the two men say.
Immigration cases dominate federal system, report says
Immigration prosecutions have surpassed those for drug crimes in federal courts, according to data released by the U.S. Sentencing Commission in its Overview of Federal Criminal Cases for Fiscal Year 2011.
COA affirms sex offender’s removal from registry
A man convicted of rape in Pennsylvania in 1993 is not required to register as a sex offender in Indiana, the Court of Appeals affirmed Monday.
Opinions Dec. 3, 2012 ILD
The for-publication decisions issued today are detailed in the stories above. The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court issued no opinions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Mark Graber v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1205-CR-365
Criminal. Vacates and remands to the trial court with instructions to clarify the chronological case summary. The court is to enter an order confirming that a single public defender fee of $50 was imposed at the initial hearing and all sums previously paid are credited against that amount due and owing.
Monica Leigh Fortner v. Paul Leon Fortner, III (NFP)
84A01-1204-DR-162
Domestic relations/custody. Affirms award of joint custody of the Fortners’ 2-year-old daughter, S.F.
Opinions Dec. 3, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. Terry J. Hough
64A05-1203-MI-113
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s grant of a petition that Hough’s name be removed from the Indiana Sex Offender Registry, holding that requiring him to register for a Pennsylvania rape committed before the establishment of the registry would violate the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition of ex post facto laws.
Durham gets 50 years for fraud scheme
Tim Durham will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after a federal judge on Friday sentenced the disgraced playboy and businessman to a 50-year prison term for defrauding Ohio investors of $250 million.
Opinions Nov. 30, 2012 ILD
For-publication decisions released today are detailed in a stories above. The Indiana Tax Court issued no decisions and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued no Indiana decisions prior to IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Steven Hook, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1204-CR-192
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C felony battery with a deadly weapon.
Erich Wilhelmi v. State of Indiana (NFP)
43A05-1204-CR-214
Criminal. Affirms conviction and sentence for three years in prison with two executed for a conviction of Class D felony failure to return to the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury.
In Re: 2009 Marion County Tax Sale Parcel No. 1019054; Darryl W. Finkton, Sr. v. Auditor of Marion County, Treasurer of Marion County, and Indy-East Asset Development Corp. (NFP)
49A02-1201-MI-41
Miscellaneous/tax sale. Affirms reissuance of tax deed to auditor.
Danny G. Young v. State of Indiana (NFP)
82A05-1205-CR-229
Criminal. Affirms concurrent sentence of six years for a conviction of Class C felony forgery and two years each for convictions of Class D felony counts of receiving stolen property and fraud.
Jose Carlos Arce v. State of Indiana (NFP)
88A05-1206-PC-324
Post-conviction relief. Affirms in part, reverses in part and remands to the trial court for a hearing on Arce’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Siraj Khaja Ahmed v. Asma Saman Ahmed (NFP)
64A03-1204-DR-175
Domestic relations/divorce. Affirms trial court denial of Siraj’s motion to correct error and its grant of Asma’s motion to dismiss.
Alberto R. Melendez Cruz v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A05-1203-CR-150
Criminal. Affirms conviction of murder.
Opinions Nov. 30, 2012
Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana Ex Rel., Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission v. Derek A. Farmer
94S00-1103-MS-165
Attorney discipline. Rejected petition to enjoin unauthorized practice of law, holding that the Disciplinary Commission failed to prove that Farmer had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and failed to convince the court that Farmer could not have reasonably expected to be authorized for temporary admission due to a pending disciplinary proceeding.
Disciplinary Commission overreached, justices agree
An Ohio attorney who argued his disciplinary case in a rare public forum before the Indiana Supreme Court prevailed as justices said the Indiana Disciplinary Commission’s arguments failed.
More companies planning holiday parties, survey says
More companies seem to be in the holiday spirit this year. Survey results released this week by Chicago-based employment consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. show 83 percent of companies polled plan holiday parties this December.
COA rejects insurer’s new arguments
An insurance provider was unsuccessful in its attempt to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals to change its mind that the company has a duty to indemnify or defend.
Appeals court reverses adoption; birth mother denied due process
A Jasper County mother was denied due process when her children were allowed to be adopted while the birth mother’s appeal of her termination of parental rights was pending, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Fewer Hoosiers voted in 2012, tally shows
Fifty-eight percent of registered Indiana voters cast ballots in the Nov. 6 general election – the same percentage as in 2004 but a decline from the 2008 vote, when 62 percent of Hoosiers voted.
Restaurant owners accused of harboring illegal immigrants, mail fraud
An Illinois couple has been indicted in federal court on charges that include harboring illegal immigrants at a restaurant they operate in northwestern Indiana.
Opinions Nov. 29, 2012 ILD
The for-publication decision released by the Indiana Court of Appeals is detailed in a story above. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court did not post any opinions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Miles Ogea d/b/a Mo Auger Investments and Mo's Tavern v. Karamesines Credit Shelter Trust (NFP)
18A04-1206-CT-288
Civil tort. Affirms ruling that Ogea has a duty to indemnify the second trust pursuant to the lease agreement between Ogea and the trust.
H. Wayne Burnett, M.D. v. Pamela A. Burnett, M.D. (NFP)
29A02-1203-DR-180
Domestic relation. Affirms valuation of Dr. H. Wayne Burnett’s partnership interest in a medical practice and the award of expert witness fees to Dr. Pamela A. Burnett. Affirms unequal division of the marital estate.
Richard A. Childress, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
45A03-1206-PC-246
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Term. of the Parent-Child Rel.of: M.M. (Minor Child), and S.H. (Mother) v. The Indiana Dept. of Child Services (NFP)
85A02-1204-JT-323
Juvenile. Affirms involuntary termination of parental rights.
Corbin Bardonner v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1205-CR-231
Criminal. Affirms conviction and sentence for Class A felony child molesting.
Jamey Taskey v. State of Indiana (NFP)
67A01-1204-CR-164
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony neglect of a dependent.
David S. Healey v. State of Indiana (NFP)
33A04-1202-MI-107
Miscellaneous. Affirms denial of verified petition to remove designation as offender.
Vickie Fenoglio, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Paul Fenoglio, Deceased v. Gregory Brock, D.O. (NFP)
84A04-1202-PL-59
Civil plenary. Affirms summary judgment for Dr. Gregory Brock.
Timothy J. Gilbert v. State of Indiana (NFP)
62A01-1205-PC-213
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.