Opinions

Indiana Supreme Court

Donald R. Owen, Jr. v. State of Indiana
21S-LW-333
Life without parole. Affirms Donald Owen’s sentence of life without parole for his conviction of murder. Finds there was sufficient evidence in the Elkhart Circuit Court to find Owen was a major participant and to support two of the statutory aggravators. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining Owen’s proposed jury instructions. Finally, finds the record supports other aggravators.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
IBYH, LLC v. Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical, Inc. (mem. dec.)
22A-PL-2945
Civil plenary. Affirms the denial of IBYH LLC’s motion to correct error, which challenged a grant of summary judgment in favor of Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical Inc. Finds the Delaware Circuit Court did not improvidently grant summary judgment to Masiongale.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
H.P. and S.P. v. G.F.
22A-AD-2674
Adoption. Reverses the Hendricks Superior Court’s judgment granting G.F. grandparent visitation with K.F. Finds G.F. no longer has standing to seek grandparent visitation and his attempt to regain standing by attacking the adoption decree is fruitless given the applicable statute of limitations. Also finds the trial court erred by addressing the merits of the grandfather’s claim for grandparent visitation under the Grandparent Visitation Act.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Indiana Department of Insurance and Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Jane Doe and John Doe I, individually and as next friends and legal guardians of John Doe II, an unmarried minor, and Johnathan Cavins and Board of Trustees of Anonymous Hospital
22A-CT-1276
Civil tort. Reverses the denial of the Indiana Department of Insurance and the Patient Compensation Fund’s motion for summary judgment on a claim for excess damages under the Medical Malpractice Act brought by Jane Doe and John Doe I, individually and on behalf of John Doe II. Finds there are no genuine issues of material fact. Also finds the fund is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Remands with instructions. Judge Margret Robb concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re: The Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: Na.R. (Minor Child) and N.R. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
22A-JT-2539
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the involuntary termination of father N.R.’s parental rights to his daughter, Na.R. Finds the Floyd Circuit Court’s findings support its conclusion that the conditions under which the child was removed from N.R.’s care would not be remedied.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of T.M. (Minor Child) and M.M. (Mother) M.M. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
22A-JT-2628
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of mother M.M.’s parental rights to T.M. Finds the Cass Circuit Court erred in concluding T.M. had been removed from M.M. for at least six months under a disposition decree, but the error does not warrant reversal. Remands for the entry of a corrected order.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re the Adoption of S.K.D.T: K.P. v. L.J. and J.J. (mem. dec.)
23A-AD-65
Adoption. Affirms the Steuben Circuit Court’s conclusion that mother K.P.’s consent to the adoption of S.K.D.T. was not necessary, but reverses the entry of the adoption decree and remands for the trial court to determine whether the adoption will be in the child’s best interest, and whether guardians L.J. and J.J. have sufficient ability to rear the child and furnish suitable support and education for him. Finds the trial court did not clearly err when it concluded that K.P.’s consent to the adoption was not necessary. Also finds the trial court failed to make two required statutory findings before granting the guardians’ petition for adoption.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Cody Moore v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-1979
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Cody Moore’s motion to suppress. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Moore’s motion to suppress evidence seized as a result of a traffic stop.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Dustin A. Lane v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2276
Criminal. Revises Dustin Lane’s aggregate sentence from 3,000 days to 300 days and remands to the Lawrence Superior Court to enter a sentencing order consistent with the appellate opinion. Finds Lane has met his burden to demonstrate that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offenses and his character. Judge Dana Kenworthy dissents with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Robert A. Kissinger v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-2647
Criminal. Affirms Robert Kissinger’s conviction and 30-year sentence for Level 1 felony child molesting. Finds the DeKalb Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting a nurse’s report, and even if it did, the error was harmless. Also finds the evidence is sufficient to identify Kissinger as the perpetrator and to support his conviction. Finally, finds Kissinger’s advisory sentence is not an outlier.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Jordan M. Norton v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2314
Criminal. Dismisses Jordan Norton’s appeal of his convictions and sentence for battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony. Finds Norton was not entitled to file a belated notice of appeal. Judge Leanna Weissmann dissents with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
James H. Higgason III v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2000
Criminal. Affirms James Higgason III’s three convictions of murder. Finds the Lake Superior Court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Higgason’s motion to dismiss and motion for mistrial. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted the digitized recording of the phone calls between David Copley and Higgason. Finally, finds any error in the trial court’s decision to not notify counsel when the jury asked a question about Higgason’s culpability was harmless because Higgason did not establish prejudice. and there was sufficient evidence to convict Higgason of the murders.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Adam B. Kenny v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2082
Criminal. Affirms Adam Kenny’s convictions of Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine, Level 6 felony unlawful possession of a syringe, Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, Class A misdemeanor carrying a handgun without a license and three counts of Class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of a firearm by a dangerous person. Finds the Tippecanoe Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence resulting from a valid traffic stop consistent with the Fourth Amendment.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
MEGA OIL, INC., an Illinois Corporation, et al. v. CITATION 2004 INVESTMENT, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company
22A-MI-1275
Miscellaneous. Affirms the Gibson Circuit Court’s grant of partial summary judgment to Citation 2004 Investment LLC. Finds the trial court did not clearly err.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Kristopher M. Wainscott v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-1817
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Kristopher Wainscott’s motion to suppress all evidence derived from the search warrant for his phone. Finds the warrant had already been executed by the seizure of the phone when the alleged victim partially recanted her allegations against Wainscott, so the state had no obligation to inform the magistrate judge of the partial recantation.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of: J.G. v. Community Health Network, Inc.
22A-MH-2533
Mental health. Dismisses J.G.’s appeal as moot. Finds her temporary commitment has expired and she has failed to show an applicable exception to the mootness doctrine. Also finds J.G. has failed to show that this is a “close case” such that the mootness doctrine should not be applied.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Malcolm Dwight Smith II v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1514
Criminal. Affirms Malcolm Dwight Smith II’s conviction for Level 4 felony burglary. Finds the LaPorte Superior Court did not violate Smith’s right to a speedy trial under Indiana Criminal Rule 4(B). Also finds Smith has waived his argument that the trial court abused its discretion in the admission of evidence. Finally, finds there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Chad E. Hammann v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2210
Criminal. Affirms the Dearborn Circuit Court’s revocation of Chad Hammann’s probation. Finds the trial court did not err by denying Hammann’s motion to dismiss. Also finds Hammann was not deprived of his due process right to written notice of the claimed violations of probation. Finally, finds the evidence is sufficient to support the revocation.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Imad Shawa, M.D. v. Kathryn Gillette
22A-CT-1667
Civil tort. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s denial of summary judgment for Imad Shawa. Finds Kathryn Gillette’s failure to use her probable knowledge of Shawa’s identity precludes unlimited extension of the statute of limitations. Remands with instructions for the trial court to enter summary judgment for Shawa.