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The Indiana Court of Appeals will be hearing oral arguments next week, with two hearings on the road and one at the Indiana Statehouse.
The cases involve illegally flying a drone, a man’s death after being hit by an IndyGo bus and a protection order in a rape case.
Jeffery Dean Scheel v. State of Indiana, 23A-CR-1379, will be heard by Judges Melissa May, Paul Mathias and Peter Foley in Northside High School Auditorium in Fort Wayne at 9 a.m. on May 14.
In 2022, Jeffery Dean Scheel was living in a subdivision where he was seen flying a drone. A neighbor reported seeing a drone flying near him and hovering near where his children were playing. The report started an investigation and search of Scheel’s home where police discovered two drones.
Scheel was charged with Class A misdemeanor remote aerial harassment and was convicted following a bench trial.
On appeal, Scheel argues that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the person operating the drone, that he intended to harass anyone and that the conduct met the definition of harassment in that a reasonable person would not have been emotionally distressed by the drone flights.
On May 16 at 10 a.m., the appellate court will hear Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation d/b/a IndyGo Public Transportation v. Norma Jean Bush as Personal Representative of the Estate of Michael Rex Ferguson, deceased, 23-CT-1483, in its courtroom in the Indiana Statehouse.
Norma Jean Bush filed the negligence case as the personal representative of the estate of Michael Ferguson, who died from injuries sustained when he was hit by an IndyGo bus.
A jury awarded damages to the estate, but IndyGo appeals the verdict and argues that the Marion Superior Court erred when it denied its motion for a directed verdict.
The transit agency further contends that the evidence showed that Ferguson was contributorily negligent in his action of reaching out toward the bus before the accident occurred and that he was highly intoxicated at the time of the accident.
IndyGo is asking the appellate court to reverse the trial court’s denial of its motion for a directed verdict because the estate’s claims were barred.
Traveling to the southern part of the state on May 17, Senior Judge Randall Shepard, Judge Elaine Brown and May will be in Evansville hearing arguments in a rape conviction case.
James Frye, who was charged with Level 3 felony rape, now argues the Greene Circuit Court erred when it issued an order for the protection of the alleged victim after Frye filed notice of his intention to take a deposition of AV.
Frye contends Indiana Code section 35-37-4-3, Trial Rule 26(b), and Evidence Rule 412(a) and 412(b)(1) permit him to ask AV questions about her sexual history with him because consent was an issue in the case and he intended to investigate AV’s advanced consent to the sexual activity.
The state argues the trial court did not err when it issued an order for AV’s protection because advanced consent, which has been rejected in rape cases in other jurisdictions, is not a cognizable defense in Indiana.
The state also contends any questioning regarding AV’s sexual history with Frye would be inadmissible and there were less burdensome ways to investigate his defense.
The case James D. Frye v. State of Indiana, 23A-CR-1691, will be heard at 11:30 a.m. EST in the Randall T. Shepard Courtroom of the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse.
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