COA tosses belated probation revocation appeal
Indiana Supreme Court rulings do not permit a belated appeal of a probation revocation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held in dismissing a man’s appeal in such a case Thursday.
Dave Stafford
Articles
Federal death row inmate denied stay of execution
A man sentenced to die by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute was denied a stay of execution in federal court Wednesday, narrowing his remaining appeals and potentially setting the stage for his execution scheduled next month to proceed.
Denial of guardianship for undocumented immigrant’s niece reversed
An Indiana trial court judge who doubted whether he had the authority to grant a guardianship in a case before him involving two undocumented immigrants will get the case back from the Indiana Court of Appeals, which told him in a Wednesday opinion that his ruling was erroneous.
Dissenting judge: Defense lawyer ‘wholly failed’ in child molest case
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld denial of a convicted child molester’s post-conviction relief petition Thursday, but a dissenting judge assailed the representation by a defense attorney who he said “took a fatalistic approach to the trial and wholly failed to challenge any testimony by any State witness.”
New Albany lawyer agrees to probation, will pay $15K for shoddy accounting
A southern Indiana lawyer who for a decade mismanaged his firm’s trust accounts has agreed to a probationary period of at least three years, staying a nearly six-month suspension, under terms of an attorney discipline agreement approved Wednesday by the Indiana Supreme Court. The attorney also agreed to pay more than $15,000 in costs to the disciplinary commission and court.
New trial ordered for man denied counsel in criminal case
A man who asked for legal counsel that was not appointed in his misdemeanor invasion of privacy case will get a new trial, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Stafford: Justices can’t kick Indiana’s civil forfeiture addiction
The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.
Justices steer defective dump-truck suit back to trial court
A lawsuit alleging an Indianapolis manufacturer delivered dozens of defective dump trucks in 2005 has taken a U-turn back to the trial court after the Indiana Supreme Court found it could not grant summary judgment sought by the truck builder in litigation brought against it by the truck buyers.
Lawyer facing fraud, theft charges suspended for noncooperation
A law firm name attorney in a northern Indiana county seat community who is facing multiple felony fraud and theft charges has been suspended from the practice of law after he failed to sufficiently respond to four ethics investigations by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
Convicted killer’s suit alleging attack by guard proceeds
An Indiana prison inmate’s lawsuit alleging corrections officers attacked him and then marched him naked down the range at Indiana State Prison to humiliate him may proceed in large part, a federal judge has ruled.
Fraudster Durham wins hearing on whether lawyer’s $1M fee created conflict
Fair Finance fraud felon Tim Durham will get a chance to grill his former trial attorney over whether his $1 million wire fraud defense representation fee created a conflict of interest between money the lawyer could pocket versus paying for witnesses Durham claims could have testified in his favor. A federal judge recently granted a new hearing on that and other grounds as Durham seeks to chisel away at his 50-year prison sentence.
Divided COA tosses suit against lawyers over tax sale proceeds as untimely
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a lawsuit against two lawyers filed by their opposing party in long-running litigation, the current case over proceeds from a tax sale that the lawyers distributed to their clients. The majority ruled that the lawsuit — filed one day outside the two-year statute of limitations — should be dismissed.
Justices decline shot man’s suit against store over gun sale after warning
A man who warned a sporting goods store clerk to never sell a gun to his girlfriend because she would use it to shoot him has no case against the retailer, the Indiana Supreme Court held in rejecting the man’s transfer petition.
Prosecutor faces discipline for allegedly undisclosed testimony deal
An elected Indiana prosecutor who allegedly failed to disclose to the defense a deal he requested to secure witness testimony against a criminal defendant is facing an attorney discipline complaint. Putnam County Prosecutor Timothy L. Bookwalter has been charged with professional misconduct by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
Fired INDOT employee loses appeal claiming political firing
A former Indiana Department of Transportation supervisor who claimed his firing was motivated in part by his defense of a Democratic employee and a letter to the editor that the supervisor’s mother wrote criticizing former Gov. Mike Pence’s immigration policies failed to prove he was discriminated against, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Hill’s rivals for AG active during his discipline hearing
As Attorney General Curtis Hill took the stand in his disciplinary case filed over groping allegations, a lawyer and a lawmaker who hope to replace him appear to be using his infamy as something of a springboard for their own campaigns.
Drug evidence found from drone video admissible, COA rules
Video of suspected drug activity from a drone aircraft a woman found in her yard is admissible in court to try her neighbor on charges including dealing methamphetamine, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Supreme Court reaffirms death sentence in ‘brutal’ 2012, 2003 murders
The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday reaffirmed the conviction and death sentence imposed on a Floyd County man convicted of two counts of murder in the 2012 strangulations of two women, as well as his 65-year sentence for a 2003 murder he confessed to after his arrest seven years ago.
Madison schools must face injured student’s suit, COA rules
Madison Consolidated Schools on Wednesday lost an appeal of a summary judgment denial in a lawsuit brought by a former student who was injured in a school bus crash.
Man’s drug convictions tossed for speedy trial rule violation
A man who was convicted of drug-dealing charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison won a reversal Wednesday because his trial was wrongly continued when the state could not timely produce lab results. The appellate court noted a lengthy prosecutorial delay in providing the evidence for lab testing was to blame.