Opinions July 8, 2022

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Joseph Furando, Appeal of: Christine M. Furando, et al.
20-1526
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Criminal. Vacates the district court’s denial of the third-party claimants’ section 21 U.S.C. § 853(n) petition but affirms the grant of the government’s motion for interlocutory sale of real property. Remands for further proceedings.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Travis Armes, Eric Settles, and Debra Pennington v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-2384
Criminal. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s denial of Travis Armes, Eric Settles and Debra Pennington’s motions to dismiss the charging informations against them. Finds the Emergency LSA Document #20-516(E), which lists MDMB-4en-PINACA as a Schedule I narcotic, is unconstitutionally vague under the U.S. Constitution because a person of ordinary intelligence would not have fair notice that dealing in MDMB was prohibited conduct. Also finds the emergency rule did make MDMB a controlled substance because the rule cites Indiana Code § 25-26-13-4.1 as its statutory authority, states that it is adding substances to Schedule I and names those substances.

 Gabrial Christor v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-669
Criminal. Dismisses Gabrial Christor’s appeal of his sentence to 4½ years in prison for his convictions of several drug-related charges. Finds the appeal is moot because Christor has already served his sentence and the appeal does not involve a question of great public importance.

Ryan Gookins v. County Materials Corp., A1 Transit Corp., CMC-Maxwell, LLC, and CMC-Indianapolis, LLC (mem. dec.)
21A-PL-1895
Civil plenary. Affirms the entry of summary judgment for County Materials Corp. on Ryan Gookins’ declaratory-judgment complaint for defense costs under an indemnification clause in a purchase agreement. Finds Gookins was not entitled to defense costs from County under the purchase agreement. Also finds County has failed to meet the high burden for an award of appellate attorney fees.

Ishmon George Hester, III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2079
Criminal. Affirms Ishmon George Hester III’s convictions of auto theft as a Level 6 felony and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony. Finds sufficient evidence support Hester’s convictions. Also finds the Madison Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in instructing the jury on accomplice liability.

Travis J. Rose v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2349
Criminal. Affirms Travis J. Rose’s conviction of Level 5 felony escape. Finds the Morgan Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of evidence or in instructing the jury.

D.S. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-JV-2392
Juvenile. Affirms D.S.’s adjudication as a delinquent child for committing dangerous possession of a firearm, a Class A misdemeanor. Finds the juvenile court did not err in admitting evidence because neither the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution nor Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution was violated. Also finds there was sufficient evidence that D.S. constructively possessed a firearm. Finally, finds the dispositional order and chronological case summary contain errors. Remands for the juvenile court to correct the dispositional order and CCS to accurately reflect the circumstances and outcome of the adjudication.

Keith Bryant v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2585
Criminal. Affirms Keith Bryant’s conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not err by allowing the state to amend the charging information. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of evidence.

Senaca James v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2911
Criminal. Affirms James’ sentence to an aggregate of 80 years for murder and using a firearm in the commission of the offense. Finds James’ sentence is not inappropriate.

Carlton D. Wilson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-236
Criminal. Affirms the revocation of Carlton Wilson’s probation and the order for him to serve the balance of his previously suspended eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. Finds the Howard Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion.

In the Involuntary Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: J.W. (Minor Child), and M.S. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
22A-JT-252
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the involuntary termination of father M.S.’s parental rights to J.W. Finds the Howard Circuit Court did not clearly err in finding a reasonable probability exists that the conditions resulting in J.W.’s removal and the reasons for placement outside of M.S.’s care will not be remedied. Also finds the trial court’s determination that termination is in the child’s best interests is supported by clear and convincing evidence.

Bryan Zaphiriou v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-360
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Bryan Zaphiriou’s motion to suppress items seized during the warrantless search of his home while he was serving home detention. Finds Zaphiriou waived his constitutional rights against search and seizure.

Phillip Scott Grigalanz v. Kristi Lynn Grigalanz n/k/a Kristi Lynn Evans (mem. dec.)
22A-DR-574
Domestic relations. Affirms the denial of Phillip Scott Grigalanz’s motion to correct error, filed after the Porter Superior Court declined to modify the May 2016 decree dissolving his marriage to Kristi Lynn Evans. Finds Grigalanz is precluded from relitigating the visitation issue in this appeal because a previous appeal was dismissed with prejudice.