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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals hears arguments Monday in a case brought by two former NCAA athletes whose scholarships were revoked after injuries. The litigants claim that they were wrongly denied multi-year scholarships that would have covered the cost of their bachelor’s degrees.
Indiana’s 2012 legislative session promises to be a busy one, with hundreds of bills already filed and a short session deadline of March 14. Read about some of the bills Indiana Lawyer is watching.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals had posted no opinions by IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
John C. Cole, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1102-PC-67
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Gary Plunkitt v. Beckoning Way Community Association (NFP)
32A01-1104-SC-171
Small claims. Affirms trial court’s determination that a property management company did not err in pursuing collection of Plunkitt’s homeowner fees and that Plunkitt is estopped from claiming he did not know of the association.
Rashaad Michael Hogan v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1107-CR-336
Criminal. Affirms conviction of and sentences for robbery, confinement and carjacking – all Class B felonies.
First Midwest Bank, successor in interest to Bank Calumet, N.A. v. Dean Vander Woude and Timothy Koster (NFP)
64A04-1103-PL-120
Civil plenary. Reverses trial court’s order granting summary judgment to Vander Woude and Koster, holding a genuine issue of material fact remains. Declines First Midwest Bank’s invitation to enter summary judgment in its favor and remands for further proceedings.
Donyea Fowler v. State of Indiana (NFP)
71A03-1104-CR-170
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class D felony receiving stolen property.
Curtis E. Jones v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A02-1104-CR-414
Criminal. Affirms convictions of two counts of Class A felony child molesting and two counts of Class B felony incest.
Indiana Tax Court and Indiana Supreme Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
John C. Cole, Jr. v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1102-PC-67
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
A ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court upholding the state’s automated phone call ban has found its way into the briefing of a federal appeal challenging the same statute, and the attorneys disagree on whether the state justices adequately addressed a First Amendment issue.
Recognizing the judiciary has the ability to minimize damage caused by the ongoing Indiana secretary of state court challenge, a Marion Circuit judge has put a hold on his ruling that the state’s top election official be immediately removed from office and a successor appointed.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana Tax Court had posted no opinions at IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Santos Ulloa v. State of Indiana (NFP)
09A05-1107-CR-358
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B misdemeanor public intoxication.
Deshawn Grigsby v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1105-CR-446
Criminal. Affirms convictions of felony murder and two counts of Class B felony robbery. Remands for the trial court to vacate the conviction of and sentence for Class A felony attempted robbery on double jeopardy grounds.
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Estate of Florian T. Latek; Nicholas G. Grapsas, et al. v. Gerald Ronneau
64A05-1103-ES-112
Estate, supervised. Affirms denial of Grapsas and Padezan’s challenge to the trial court order denying their motion to dismiss a petition for probate of will and for issuance of letters testamentary filed in the Porter Superior Court and a separate order admitting to probate the last will and testament of Florian Latek. Indiana adheres to the majority rule, and under that rule, the Illinois court’s denial of Latek’s will to probate because it failed to comply with that state’s statutory execution requirements has no effect on the subsequent admission and probate of Latek’s will in Indiana as it concerns the disposition of real property located in Indiana.
Relying on the majority rule, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded that a man’s will that was denied probate in Illinois could be admitted in Indiana to deal with real property located here.
The Indiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section sponsored families this past Christmas.
Sen. Randy Head, a sitting state senator, is now the city attorney for Logansport.
While Indiana statute doesn’t specifically define the word “turning” in the context of traffic law, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has held the failure to use a right-hand turn signal at an intersection amounts to a violation and justifies a traffic stop.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that a post-conviction court isn’t required to accept any proffered agreement from a defendant because that type of proceeding isn’t the same as a civil hearing and the Indiana Supreme Court has given local judges final authority in accepting or denying agreements.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Deborah L. Dysert v. Review Board of the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development and the Indiana Supreme Court (NFP)
93A02-1105-EX-392
Civil. Affirms determination of Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development that Dubois County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Deborah Dysert’s employer discharged her for just cause.
Robert O. Broyles v. State of Indiana (NFP)
48A02-1103-CR-338
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s aggregate eight-year sentence for a man convicted of voyeurism, child solicitation and sexual misconduct with a minor.
Daniel Minnick v. State of Indiana (NFP)
92A03-1106-CR-228
Criminal. Affirms two misdemeanor drunk driving convictions and a speeding infraction on grounds that sufficient evidence existed and the trial court didn’t violate a defendant’s federal and state rights to confrontation when admitting a breath test instrument into evidence without live testimony from the technician who inspected the device.
Thomas Curry v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1106-CR-551
Criminal. Affirms a Class C felony burglary conviction on grounds that sufficient evidence existed to support the conviction.
Edward Chandler v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1107-PC-396
Post conviction. Affirms the denial of a successive petition for post-conviction relief on grounds that the evidence would lead to an opposite conclusion than that reached by the court.
The Indiana Supreme and Indiana Tax Court had issued no opinions by IL deadline.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States v. Jason Smith
Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. U.S. Judge Robert Miller, Jr.
11-2016
Criminal. Affirms District Court’s denial of motion to suppress evidence and motion for acquittal for a man convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing crack cocaine with intent to deliver and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug transaction. The court rejected arguments that Jason Smith didn’t commit a traffic infraction and that the government constructively amended his indictment about when the traffic stop occurred.
Three hundred sixty five days sounds like a long time, but 2011 has flown by very quickly. This is my last column in Indiana Lawyer.
Charging juveniles as adults is a topic that has garnered media attention lately with a rash of gun-related deaths among teens. It’s also an area where we need to balance sympathy for the victims and for the minor offenders.
Attorneys looking to profit from their experiences at trial take note: the principles behind the so-called “Son of Sam” laws, which prohibit criminal defendants from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, may apply to you too, at least during the pendency of a criminal case.
Read about the 2012 Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana board of directors.