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The following opinions were posted after IL deadline Thursday:
Indiana Supreme Court
James F. Griffith v. State of Indiana
27S00-1503-LW-145
Life without parole. Affirms Griffith’s murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery convictions and sentence of life without parole. Finds all of Griffith’s claims on appeal lack merit, including that he was denied his right to a speedy trial and the trial court abused its discretion in denying his requests to hire at public expenses expert witnesses in DNA and blood spatter.
Cynthia Bell v. State of Indiana
49S02-1609-CR-511
Criminal. Vacates order Bell pay weekly restitution to victim because the evidence before the trial court was insufficient to conclude that she had the ability to pay. Justices Slaughter and Massa concur in part and dissent in part, saying they would remand to the trial court to resentence Bell.
Indiana Tax Court
SBP Petroleum, Inc. v. Indiana Department of State Revenue (mem. dec.)
49T10-1409-TA-57
Tax. Dismisses SBP Petroleum’s verified petitions for review because of failure to diligently prosecute the matter.
Friday’s opinions
Indiana Court of Appeals
Duane Herron v. State of Indiana
71A04-1602-CR-306
Criminal. Reverses conviction of Level 6 felony attempted obstruction of justice because the state charged him under the incorrect subpart of Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-2. Herron was charged under a subpart which refers to a defendant absenting himself from a proceeding or investigation to which he has been summoned, but should have been charged under a subpart that criminalizes attempts to induce a witness to absent herself from a proceeding or investigation to which they’ve been summoned. The trial court erred denying his motion for a directed verdict on the charge.
Robert Kadrovach v. State of Indiana
49A02-1510-CR-1738
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A felony attempted murder for a hotdog vendor who stabbed a man in the head in downtown Indianapolis. The court did not commit fundamental error when it instructed the jury as to the mens rea necessary to convict him of attempted murder.
Jason L. Bloomfield v. State of Indiana
02A05-1601-CR-112
Criminal. Affirms convictions of two counts of Level 5 felony battery of a public safety official resulting in bodily injury and one count of Level 6 felony battery of a public safety official. Finds there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Bloomfield was legally sane when he committed the offenses.
Ricky R. House, Jr. v. State of Indiana
65A01-1511-CR-1979
Criminal. Affirms convictions of three counts of Level 1 felony rape, two counts of Level 5 felony criminal confinement, and one count each of Level 5 felony kidnapping, Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury and Class A misdemeanor pointing a firearm. The trial court properly excluded evidence of victim J.L.’s prior drug usage, and even if the trial court erred by excluding the evidence, any error was harmless.
Billy Campbell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1601-CR-97
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class A misdemeanor battery.
Myron Tools v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1512-CR-2073
Criminal. Affirms Tools’ convictions for Level 6 felonies battery resulting in moderate bodily injury and criminal confinement. Vacates his conviction of Class A misdemeanor domestic battery on the basis of double jeopardy and remands with instructions to amend the sentencing order, abstract of judgment and chronological case summary to reflect Tools’ convictions and sentence.
Janet L. McDaniel v. Mark L. McDaniel (mem. dec.)
45A03-1511-DR-1934
Domestic relations. Affirms finding mother in contempt, the trial court’s decision to not modify child support and the admission into evidence an email from mother’s former husband to father.
Shane Kervin v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
79A02-1410-PC-766
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
In the Matter of the Marriage of Frederick Soskel v. Jo Betty Ingram (mem .dec.)
55A01-1512-DR-2089
Domestic relations. Affirms decree of dissolution and the distribution of the marital estate.
J.B. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A04-1603-JV-416
Juvenile. Affirms adjudication as a delinquent child for committing what would be Class A misdemeanor dangerous possession of a firearm and Level 6 felony pointing a firearm, if committed by an adult.
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of E.R. (minor child) and J.R. (father) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
54A01-1604-JT-926
Juvenile. Affirms involuntary termination of father’s parental rights of his son.
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of J.D. and T.M. (minor children) and S.B. (Father) and T.W. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
82A01-1602-JT-457
Juvenile. Affirms termination of parental rights of S.B. to his son J.D., and of T.W. to his son T.M.
William C. McCollum v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
40A01-1604-CR-718
Criminal. Reverses the denial McCollum’s two motions to suppress evidence obtained during a search. Remands for further proceedings.
W.B., III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A05-1602-JV-478
Juvenile. Affirms finding W.B. is delinquent for committing what would be Level 4 felony burglary if committed by an adult. Reverses finding that W.B. committed Level 5 felony dangerous possession of a firearm if committed by an adult. Remands for that conviction to be reduced to a Class A misdemeanor.
In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: A.H. & P.H. (Minor Children) and T.S. (Mother) and D.H. (Father) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09301601pdm.pdf
89A01-1601-JT-53
Juvenile. Affirms termination of mother and father’s parental rights.
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