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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline on Monday:
Jane Doe No. 1, et al. v. Todd Rokita, Attorney General of Indiana, et al.
22-2748
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division
Judge Richard L. Young.
Civil. Reverses partial summary judgment and the permanent injunction blocking Indiana’s fetal disposition, which requires fetal remains to either be buried or cremated. Finds Indiana Code §16-34-3-2 does not violate the First Amendment’s protections of free speech and free exercise of religion. Also finds because the directive applies only to hospitals and clinics, a patient’s beliefs, religious or secular, are not violated. Finally, finds Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), did not eliminate the state’s authority to require medical professionals to provide information. Remands with instructions to dismiss the suit with prejudice.
Tuesday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of Ar.B., At.B., and As.B., Minor Children Alleged to be Children in Need of Services; K.S. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
22A-JC-672
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the adjudication of mother K.S.’s children, Ar.S., At.S. and As.S., as children in need of services. Finds the evidence is sufficient to support the CHINS finding. Also finds K.S. waived her challenge to the timeliness of the dispositional hearing.
Corey Jule Collins Frith, Jr. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-1200
Criminal. Affirms Corey Jule Collins Frith Jr.’s seven-year sentence for his convictions of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony and battery by means of a deadly weapon as a Level 5 felony. Finds the Lake Superior Court did not err in failing to find that strong provocation was a mitigator. Also finds the trial court did not err in finding that the nature and circumstances of the offense was an aggravator.
Jermaine L. Smith v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-1244
Criminal. Affirms Jermaine L. Smith’s conviction of Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief. Finds the state presented sufficient evidence that the vehicle Smith vandalized belonged to R.T.
Adam Selbee v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-PC-1642
Post-conviction. Affirms the denial of Adam Selbee’s petition for post-conviction relief after he was convicted of four counts of Level 4 felony arson and was sentenced to an aggregate of 32 years, with 20 years executed and 12 years suspended to probation. Finds the post-conviction court did not err in finding that Selbee was sufficiently informed of his Boykin rights and that his guilty plea was knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made. Also finds Selbee’s trial counsel was not ineffective at sentencing, so Selbee cannot show that he was prejudiced by trial counsel’s performance during the sentencing hearing following his guilty plea. Finally, finds Selbee was not prejudiced by appellate counsel’s failure to argue on direct appeal that the $480,000 restitution order should be stricken.
Matthew G. Hunt v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-1808
Criminal. Affirms the order revoking Matthew Hunt’s probation and imposing his previously suspended 1,414-day sentence. Finds the Ripley Superior Court did not abuse its discretion by imposing the entirety of Hunt’s previously suspended sentence as a sanction for his probation violations.
Jason L. Hershberger v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-219
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Jason Hershberger’s motion to correct erroneous sentence. Finds the Elkhart Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Hershberger’s motion to correct erroneous sentence because that procedure does not apply to his claim of error.
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