Opinions Oct. 21, 2020

Indiana Supreme Court
Stanley V. Watson v. State of Indiana
20S-CR-64
Criminal. Reverses the denial of Stanley Watson’s motion to dismiss a retrial of the habitual offender allegation against him for violations of Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C). Finds that although Criminal Rule 4(C) does not apply to a habitual offender retrial, Watson’s constitutional right to a speedy trial in Ripley Circuit Court was violated by the extraordinary six-plus-year delay in beginning his retrial. Remands with instructions to vacate Watson’s habitual offender enhancement. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter concurs except as to Part II.C. without separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Allen L Grogg v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-00809
Criminal. Affirms Allen Grogg’s aggregate six-year sentence for his conviction for Level 5 felony domestic battery and other crimes. Also affirms his aggregate 450-day sentence imposed in Allen Superior Court for committing four separate acts of contempt after he violated and attempted to violate Teisha Gonzalez’s no-contact order.

Randolf S. Sargent v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-01142
Criminal. Reverses the Elkhart Superior Court’s denial of Randolf Sargent’s motion for sentence modification. Finds the trial court erred when it concluded that it lacked the statutory authority to consider the merits of Sargent’s motion. Remands for proceedings.

Termination: O.G. v. Indiana Department of Child Services, et al.
20A-JT-00272
Juvenile termination. Affirms the termination in Marion Superior Court of O.G.’s parental rights to his child, O.G. II. Finds that continuation of the parent-child relationship with father is not in child’s best interests.

Termination: K.T. v. Indiana Department of Child Services, et al.
20A-JT-00271
Juvenile termination. Reverses and remands the termination of K.T.’s parental rights to her child, O.G. II. Finds mother is a fit and available parent and thus terminating her rights is “contrary to the purpose of the termination statute and to case law.” Remands the matter to the Marion Superior Court with instructions to hold a hearing within 30 days of this opinion, at which the parties can present evidence and recommendations as to how to best proceed with a quick and safe reunification between mother and child.

Midwest Entertainment Ventures, Inc. (Dba Theatre X), et al. v. The Town of Clarksville, et al.
19A-PL-02962
Civil plenary. Affirms on interlocutory appeal an injunction enjoining the operation of Theater X adult entertainment venue in Clarksville due to zoning ordinance violations. Finds the town of Clarksville had standing to bring suit against the operators and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in issuing the injunction.

Lorraine McCoy v. State of Indiana  
20A-CR-00723
Criminal. Reverses Lorraine McCoy’s conviction of Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct, finding the evidence presented in Noble Superior Court was insufficient to support the conviction, which violated her rights under article 1, section 9 of the Indiana Constitution.

Belterra Casino v. Yufen (He) Dusan  
19A-EX-02650
Agency. Reverses the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s final order awarding Yufen (He) Dusan $76,583.41 in back pay, finding that Belterra Casino failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for a disability sustained while working as a guest room attendant at the casino in Florence. Finds the commission erred in concluding that Dusan carried her burden to prove that Belterra discriminated against her by failing to provide her with a reasonable accommodation for her disability. In ruling for the commission, needs not address Dusan’s cross-appeal seeking additional damages.

Jerry Lee Jones v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-705
Criminal. Affirms the partial revocation of Jerry Lee Jones’ suspended sentence, finding that the Decatur Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in issuing the sanction.

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.J. and L.J., (Minor Children) and V.S. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
20A-JT-974
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of mother V.S.’s parental rights to minor children K.J. and L.J., finding the Wabash Circuit Court’s determination was not clearly erroneous.

In the Matter of the Involuntary Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of L.B., et al. (Minor Children) and L.P. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
20A-JT-1040
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of mother L.B.’s parental rights to minor children C.B., L.B. and P.B., finding that her due process rights were not terminated in Knox Superior Court because the Department of Child Services failed to provide her with needed services during child in need of services proceedings.

In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.D. (Minor Child) and S.B. (Father), v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
20A-JT-1034
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of father S.B.’s parental rights to minor child K.D., finding the Bartholomew Circuit Court did not err in making its best-interests determination.

Charles Deon Martin v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-351
Criminal. Affirms Charles Martin’s conviction of Class 5 felony counts of fraud on a financial institution and attempted fraud on a financial institution and Level 6 felony counts of theft, attempted theft and two counts of indentity deception. Finds the Tippecanoe Superior Court did not err in allow the state to amend the charging information after his trial began and that the the prosecutor did fundamentally err by commenting on Martin’s failure to testify during closing arguments.   

Michelle Miller (Ross) v. David Miller (mem. dec.)
20A-DR-882
Domestic relation. Affirms a Randolph Circuit Court order denying Michelle Miller (Ross)’s request for attorney fees after David Miller objected to agreed family therapy recommendations that he argued were unreasonable, to which the trial court agreed. Finds David did not engage in misconduct for objecting in court to the therapist’s recommendations.