Opinions July 18, 2022

The following 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline on Friday:
United States of America v. Thomas L. Goliday
21-1326
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James P. Hanlon.
Criminal. Vacates Thomas L. Goliday’s conviction of conspiracy and his sentences. Finds steps should have been taken to ensure not only that Goliday understood the nature of the charged conspiracy offense but also that there was a factual basis for the guilty plea. Also finds it was plain error for the district court to accept Goliday’s guilty plea. Finally, finds the mandatory minimum sentence for the § 846 conviction may well have increased Goliday’s sentence on the other three counts of conviction. Remands for further proceedings on the conspiracy charge and for plenary resentencing.

Monday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Joshua L. Barton v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-2165
Criminal. Affirms Joshua Barton’s convictions of two counts of Level 6 felony nonsupport of a dependent child. Finds the Brown Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Barton’s diversion agreement as Exhibit 12, and if it had, any resulting error was harmless.

Elba E. Rodriquez v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Kinler LLC (mem. dec.)
21A-EX-2071
Agency action. Affirms the Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s decision upholding an administrative law judge’s ruling that Elba E. Rodriquez was not entitled to unemployment benefits in relation to her former employer, Kinler LLC. Finds Rodriquez waived her opportunity for a fair hearing, and the review board did not violate her due process rights. Also finds the review board did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Rodriquez’s additional evidence. Finally, finds the review board did not err in affirming the ALJ’s decision.

Donte Frazier v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2654
Criminal. Affirms Donte Frazier’s sentence to 82 years for his convictions of three counts of child molesting as a Level 1 felony. Finds Frazier’s sentence is not inappropriate.

James Stephens v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-PC-2933
Post-conviction. Affirms the denial of James Stephens’ successive petition for post-conviction relief. Finds the post-conviction court did not err by denying either Stephens’ motion for default judgment or his successive petition.

George A. Kisor v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-155
Criminal. Affirms George A. Kisor’s conviction for conspiracy to commit dealing in methamphetamine as a Level 2 felony and his 30-year sentence. Finds the Parke Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted into evidence the jailhouse recordings. Also finds the state presented sufficient evidence to support Kisor’s conviction. Finally, finds Kisor’s sentence is not inappropriate.

Jeremy W. Adkins v. Brooke N. Adkins (mem. dec.)
22A-DR-211
Domestic relations. Affirms the grant of Brooke Adkins’ motion to modify support and petition for contempt citation. Finds Jeremy Adkins raised his claims for the first time on appeal, so they are waived.

W.V. v. Review Board of the Indiana Workforce Development and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (mem. dec.)
22A-EX-197
Agency action. Affirms the Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s ruling affirming the dismissal of W.V.’s appeal following the denial of pandemic unemployment assistance benefits by an administrative law judge. Finds W.V. has failed to establish that either the ALJ or the review board improperly dismissed his PUA benefits appeal.

Michael Jent v. State of Indiana, et al. (mem. dec.)
21A-PL-2849
Civil plenary. Affirms the grant of summary judgment in favor of the state of Indiana, et al., in a dispute with Michael Jent, concluding as a matter of law that a law enforcement officer acted within the course of his employment. Finds the Madison Circuit Court did not err in granting summary judgment to the state and officer Dennis Davis.

Billy R. Barker v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-14
Criminal. Affirms Billy Barker’s convictions of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony, criminal recklessness as a Level 5 felony and criminal mischief as a Class B misdemeanor, and his sentence to an aggregate of 15 years. Finds the state presented sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support Barker’s conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by an SVF. Also finds no violation of the double jeopardy principles or of Article 1, Section 16 of the Indiana Constitution.

Leonard E. Schwenk v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-2887
Criminal. Affirms Leonard E. Schwenk’s convictions of two counts of Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy. Finds the Dubois Circuit Court did not err in the admission of evidence.

Jesse Leon v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-409
Criminal. Affirms Jesse Leon’s sentence to 10 years executed for his conviction of Level 3 felony aggravated battery. Finds Leon’s sentence was not inappropriate.

David B. Franklin, Jr. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-91
Criminal. Affirms the sanction imposed on David B. Franklin Jr. — the order that he serve the balance of his previously suspended sentence — after he admitted that he violated the terms and conditions of his probation. Finds the Noble Superior Court’s decision to order Franklin to serve his previously suspended sentence was not clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances.

Juan Carolos Medina Gamboa v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-550
Criminal. Affirms Juan C.M. Gamboa’s sentence to two years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction. for his conviction of Level 6 felony failure to appear. Finds Gamboa’s sentence is not inappropriate given the nature of his offense and his character.