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Court overturns breach-of-contract ruling

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Marion Superior Court decision granting partial summary judgment in favor of the defendant on an issue of breach of contract, ruling a state agency couldn’t approve a cleanup that didn’t comply to federal standards. In Indiana Department of Environmental Management v. Raybestos Products Co., No. 49A02-0609-CV-782, IDEM appealed the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment to Raybestos on the issue of a breeched agreed order and a judgment of more than $16 million…

U.S. Supreme Court accepts Indiana voter ID challenge

The Supreme Court of the United States will decide whether Indiana’s two-year-old law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional. Justices accepted the pair of combined cases Monday and issued an order this morning. The court was considering about 60 potential cases, including two others from Indiana: Gilles v. Blanchard, et al., which involves religious speech on the public ground at Vincennes University; and Deb Mayer v. Monroe Community School Corp. involving a teacher fired for comments…

COA rules on anonymous juries

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on a case with a matter of first impression involving the use of anonymous juries and if they are reviewable under the harmless error analysis. In Carl A. Major v. State of Indiana, http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09280701cjb.pdf 45A03-0610-CR-483, Carl Major appealed his convictions of murder in the perpetration of a robbery and aggravated felony, and his aggregate sentence of 175 years in prison, arguing the trial court erred in empanelling an anonymous jury and that his sentence is…

Senate confirms Tinder for 7th Circuit

The U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to confirm U.S. Judge John D. Tinder to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning he’s the first Hoosier jurist appointed to the federal appellate court in two decades.Senators voted unanimously 93-0 in favor of Judge Tinder’s appointment shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, after a day of voting on federal spending, alternative tax, and debate on various other issues. Seven senators didn’t vote and he gained support from everyone else, including both Indiana senators -…

Justices deny request for additional proceedings in case

The Indiana Supreme Court has denied a request for successive post-conviction proceedings involving a man convicted of stabbing an elderly DeKalb County man more than two dozen times during a robbery in 1984.Issued Monday afternoon, the seven-page unanimous order states that David Leon Woods did not meet his burden of establishing a reasonable probability that he ;s entitled to relief based on claims he is mentally retarded and had a disagreement with his attorneys about strategy.A Boone County jury convicted Woods…

6 attorneys apply for new judgeship

Six southern Indiana attorneys have applied for the new Jackson County Superior Court judgeship position that was created this year by the General Assembly.

Court affirms denial of new murder trial

Just because a public defender paralegal chats with a deputy prosecutor before a hearing, it doesn’t mean attorney-client privilege is being violated, the Indiana Court of Appeals has determined.A unanimous ruling today in Mustafa Nur v. State of Indiana http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06060701tac.pdf, 49A02-0606-CR-486 broaches that topic. Nur appealed the denial of his motion for a new murder trial in Marion Superior Court. He argued the trial court erred by not providing an interpreter and also for allowing the deputy prosecutor to speak at…

SCOTUS to hear money-laundering case

The Supreme Court of the United States today agreed to take a case out of East Chicago in order to clarify the definition of money laundering.Federal circuit courts, including the 7th Circuit in Chicago, do not agree on an exact definition and have disagreed about whether it ;s considered money laundering to pay for the operation of a criminal enterprise with the profits of that illegal business. The nation ;s high court will determine whether the ban on the use of…

Justices grant 2 transfers

The Indiana Supreme Court granted two transfers this week:One case involves the probation revocation that followed a man’s questionable communications with minor children he wasn’t supposed to be around. The other involves a question of which “home state” child custody and visitation issues should be heard based on federal and state statutes.In Theron W. Hunter v. State of Indiana, No. 69A01-0702-CR-061, the court will take up an issue addressed in an unpublished memorandum decision from the Court of Appeals in June. The…

SCOTUS sets Indiana voter ID arguments

The Supreme Court of the United States will consider the constitutionality of Indiana’s voter identification law in early 2008.A calendar published this morning puts the consolidated Hoosier cases on the high court’s docket for 10 a.m., Jan. 9. The cases are Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (07-21) and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita (07-25).Both challenge the law that took effect July 2005. The 7th Circuit had previously affirmed a District judge’s ruling that the law wasn’t unconstitutional. Rep. William Crawford,…

Court explores definition of tobacco manufacturing

  The Indiana Court of Appeals today delved into what it means to manufacture cigarettes under state law.A unanimous 30-page decision came in Steve Carter in his role as Attorney General v. Carolina Tobacco Company, Inc. http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09170702jgb.pdf,No. 49A04-0503-CV-151, affirming a lower court decision that the state attorney general’s office improperly refused to include an Indiana tobacco company in a yearly directory of manufacturers allowed to sell cigarettes in the state.The Marion County suit involves the “Roger” brand of cigarettes that began…

Court rules counsel was ineffective

A criminal defense attorney’s failure to severe four burglary cases fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and prejudiced his client, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In Darrel M. Maymon v. State of Indiana, No. 48A02-0611-PC-1060, the appellate court reversed a ruling by Madison Superior Judge Thomas Newman in denying relief on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel at the post-conviction stage.That trial defense attorney is not named in today’s opinion, but the defendant-appellant contended that his trial counsel…

Pleas as mitigating circumstance allowed

The Indiana Supreme Court granted rehearing in a case to clarify that defendants who plead guilty do not give up the opportunity to claim on appeal that the trial court should have considered the guilty plea a mitigating circumstance, even if defendants fail to bring up this claim during sentencing. Alexander Anglemyer sought rehearing following the Supreme Court’s decision Alexander J. Anglemyer v. State of Indiana, 43S05-0606-CR-230, affirming his sentences for robbery and battery. Anglemyer was charged with robbery as a Class…

Home day care presents first-impression

The Court of Appeals ruled on a case of first impression involving whether a licensed child care facility constitutes residential or commercial use of the owner’s residence. In Jeannie Lewis-Levett v. Richard D. Day and Martha A. Day, 50A03-0705-CV-199, Lewis-Levett appealed the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the Days. As owners and operators of Golfview Estates, the Days recorded covenants applicable to the lots there, which prevents buildings in the neighborhood being used for “any trade, business, manufacture or…

Merrillville attorney was considered foremost counsel on alcohol beverage law

Indiana has lost an attorney considered by colleagues to be one of the most educated lawyers in the state about alcohol beverage law.Merrillville attorney Stephen M. Brenman died in his sleep early Tuesday morning. Colleagues said they were not yet aware of details and arrangements being finalized this week.Brenman, a second-generation lawyer, practiced with his son, Jeremy, at their full-service, boutique Law Offices of Stephen M. Brenman. His office is closed until Monday, according to a recording at his office today.The…

Court upholds drunk ATV driver ruling

A driver of an ATV shouldn’t be prosecuted for driving under the influence on his own property because charges were brought under the wrong statute, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In State of Indiana v. Adam L. Manuwal, No. 50A05-0703-CR-182, the state charged Manuwal with OWI with an alcohol concentration equivalent of at least .15 after he had crashed an ATV he was operating on his own property. Manuwal was injured as a result of the accident and while at…

Lake County judge dies unexpectedly

A Lake County judge was found dead in his home Tuesday after not showing up for morning hearings.Superior Judge Robert A. Pete, 54, apparently died of natural causes, coroner’s officials told a local newspaper, and the local legal community was reeling from his unexpected death. A bailiff went to the judge’s home after he didn’t arrive in court or notify staff about his absence.Judge Pete was appointed to the Superior Court’s Civil Division 5 courtroom in Hammond in 2001 and faced…