Hershman to leave Senate for position with Barnes
Indiana Sen. Brandt Hershman has announced he is resigning his position as Senate majority floor leader to take a position with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.
Olivia Covington
Articles
COA: Traffic stop that led to arrest not a constitutional violation
Though an Indiana trial court erred in admitting a defendant’s statements about prior drug activity, the Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the defendant’s current dealing conviction after finding the officers who arrested him did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights.
7th Circuit upholds denial of environmental insurance claim
A northern Indiana couple cannot seek insurance coverage for pre-existing environmental pollution they discovered on their businesses’ property because the language of their insurance policy unambiguously exempts coverage for known or unknown property damage occurring before their policy began, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Divided Supreme Court reverses habitual offender enhancement
A divided Indiana Supreme Court reversed a man’s habitual offender enhancement Thursday after determining his two prior Illinois convictions were statutorily considered Level 6 felonies, thus disqualifying the enhancement. The dissenting justice, however, found ambiguity in the statutes at issue.
Justices: 2015 habitual offender law set 10-year limit for past low-level felonies
The 2015 version of Indiana’s habitual offender statute requires an offender to have been released from all lower-level felonies within 10 years to establish a habitual offender enhancement, the Indiana Supreme Court. Justices reversed a trial court that overruled a reversal of a defendant’s objection to his habitual offender charges.
COA allows spoliation claim to proceed
The Indiana Court of Appeals has struck down a claim for a private right of action raised under Indiana’s medical record production statute, but allowed a spoliation claim against a doctor who no longer possesses a patient’s medical records to proceed. However, two judges urged the Indiana Supreme Court to reconsider a 1991 opinion that required them to strike the private right of action claim.
COA upholds 12(B)(6) dismissal of complaint against bank
A bank that removed a home from a sheriff’s sale list did not breach its contract with the property owners through an in rem decree of foreclosure because the decree included language allowing the bank to remove the home from the sale list, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
COA: Attorney fee records not protected or confidential
An Indiana trial court did not err by denying a motion to quash a request for the production of attorney fee records because such records are not protected by attorney-client privilege or the Fifth Amendment, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Supreme Court allows inverse condemnation complaint to proceed
An inverse condemnation complaint against Duke Energy can continue after the Indiana Supreme Court determined the complaint did not allege sufficient facts that could support a dismissal for failure to state a claim.
Hill urging consumers penalized for negative reviews to contact AG’s office
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is encouraging consumers to contact his office if they have been penalized for posting truthful, negative reviews of businesses online, advice that comes on the heels of national backlash against a Brown County inn that charged a customer for posting a negative review.
Attorney who failed to file appeal then lied about conduct suspended
An attorney who failed to timely file an appellant’s brief for a client seeking an expungement then lied about his work on the case has been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for at least 90 days.
Divided COA rules officers’ search violated Indiana constitution
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has thrown out a man’s drug and firearm convictions after determining the officers who discovered the evidence violated the Indiana Constitution by maneuvering around a locked gate to locate the evidence.
COA strikes down 57 percent water rate increase
The city of Washington cannot impose a 57 percent rate increase on a local nonprofit water utility after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined Wednesday that increase was not reflected by an actual increase in costs.
Attorney facing theft charges resigns from bar
A Chicago-based lawyer with a practice in Gary has resigned from the Indiana bar as an ongoing criminal investigation against her continues.
Justices to decide whether dismissed manslaughter trial can proceed
After initially being charged in the shooting death of his wife, John Larkin’s criminal case was thrown out after a trial court judge determined the state failed to bring Larkin to trial within the appropriate timeframe. Plus, the case was rife with state and prosecutorial misconduct, leading the judge to conclude Larkin could no longer receive a fair trial.
High Court finds abandonment defense was disproved
A man convicted of attempted robbery of and conspiracy to rob a Terre Haute gas station has lost his appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, which found Monday there was sufficient evidence to disprove his defense of abandonment.
Mentally ill woman found not guilty by insanity in pastor’s shooting
After two trials and two convictions of guilty but mentally ill in the shooting death of a Southport pastor, the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to enter a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity against the woman who admitted to the shooting.
COA partially reverses delinquent adjudication against teen
A teenager who devised a plan to shoot his assistant principal and other students while at school has had one delinquent adjudications reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the threat the student made against the assistant principal did not meet the statutory definition of intimidation.
Attorney in counterfeit scheme suspended for 3 years
A Bloomington attorney convicted of engaging in a counterfeit scheme to steal $10,000 from a client has been suspended from the practice of law for three years without automatic reinstatement.
Attorneys: Guidance needed for waiving presence at hearing
Counsel for both parties to a mental health commitment case agreed on one central issue when they argued before the Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday: attorneys and judges need guidance on when a respondent’s right to be present at their commitment hearing can be waived.