Indiana justices accept 4 cases

The Indiana Supreme Court took four cases last week, including two in which they released opinions the same day they granted transfer.

In a per curiam opinion issued June 20, Rondell Walker v. State of Indiana, 34S02-1206-CR-346, the justices revised Rondell Walker’s 20-year sentence to 12 years for his conviction of Class B felony possession of cocaine. Walker was within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex when he was stopped by police for a traffic infraction.

The justices also upheld Tina Whiting’s 55-year sentence for her role in a murder. They issued their decision June 19 in, Tina Whiting v. State of Indiana, 38S05-1206-CR-345, in which Whiting challenged the seating of a juror in her trial. The justices found the defense had premptory challenges available to strike the juror and failed to do so, so the court had no error to review.

The Supreme Court also took D.C. v. J.A.C., 32S04-1206-DR-349, in which the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the grant of a father’s motion to modify custody and prevent his ex-wife from relocating; and Kimberly Heaton v. State of Indiana, 48S02-1206-CR-350, where the Court of Appeals ordered a trial court to use a probable cause standard instead of the legal standard of a preponderance of evidence to determine whether Kimberly Heaton violated her probation.

The high court declined to take 43 cases for the week ending June 25, including Jamaal Tinsley v. Nancy Parrish, 49A05-1104-CT-162, in which the Court of Appeals reversed the denial of former Indiana Pacers player Jamaal Tinsely’s motion to set aside a default judgment in favor of Nancy Parrish. Parrish sued an Indianapolis bar and three former members of the Pacers alleging that in 2007, she was injured as a result of an altercation involving the men near the coat check area of the bar, where Parrish worked.