‘Wholly indefensible system’ owes nothing to victims
Lawyer calls the ruling against Clark County drug court plaintiffs jailed without hearings or legal representation ‘manifestly unjust.’
Court opinions
Articles
Plaintiffs to appeal loss in bid to restrict use of license info
Lawyers and the public may continue to buy crash report information online after an Indiana judge ruled against plaintiffs who argued information gathered from their driver’s licenses was protected from disclosure by federal law. But that won’t be the last word on the matter.
Man’s arguments supporting motion to suppress rejected by 7th Circuit
An Indiana man who ended up being criminally charged as a result of a Michigan-issued warrant placing a GPS locator on another man’s car lost his appeal challenging the validity of the Indiana warrant used to search his home.
7th Circuit orders new sentencing hearing for man on death row
A man convicted in a triple homicide and subsequently sentenced to death will get a new sentencing hearing after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined Friday the fact he was wearing a stun belt during the penalty phase of his trial may have impacted his jury.
7th Circuit affirms convictions in North Vernon drug conspiracy
An Indiana district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a group of defendants’ pretrial motions in a wide-ranging drug conspiracy case, nor was the evidence insufficient to support their convictions, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Divided COA upholds multiple ‘serious violent felon’ firearm convictions
An Indiana trial court did not err in convicting a man on multiple counts of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm because existing Indiana case law allows multiple SVF convictions for each firearm that is possessed, a divided Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Industrial crane, saw not subject to mortgage liens, COA affirms
An industrial crane and saw used to cut limestone are the personal property of a sawing company and can’t be claimed by a lender to satisfy liens on a foreclosed property owned by one of the owners of the sawing company, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
7th Circuit orders hearing on competency, assistance of counsel
A federal court erred in denying a hearing for a man who claimed he was mentally incompetent to plead guilty to a firearm charge and received ineffective assistance of counsel.
Appellate court allows RV owners’ contracts case to continue
Although a couple alleging they were third-party beneficiaries to two contracts did not plead the existence of written contracts, the allegations were based on an oral contract and were sufficient to carry their case, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
COA: Dissolution court retained jurisdiction even after ex-husband’s death
A dissolution court retained jurisdiction over a case after one of the parties died because there were still outstanding issues within the dissolution decree that needed to be resolved, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
COA orders new trial after court denied right to closing arguments
A Cass County woman convicted of battery in front of her young daughter will get a new trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the trial court committed reversible error by denying the woman the right to present closing arguments.
7th Circuit affirms murder conviction but chastises Indiana
A man twice convicted of murder failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that he should be allowed to pursue habeas relief, despite delays that the court said Indiana “tries to trivialize.”
Appellate court denies rehearing, remands easement question to trial court
The Indiana Court of Appeals has denied a Washington County man’s petition for rehearing and instead remanded the case for the trial court to address the issue of whether an easement of necessity over the man’s property still exists now that he has new neighbors.
RV dealership scores victory in court over sales tax dispute
A northern Indiana RV company did not improperly fail to collect and remit sales tax for its out-of-state customers by physically delivering RVs to those customers in Michigan, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Wednesday, finding such sales are not considered to be made in Indiana as matter of law.
7th Circuit: District court did not have jurisdiction to rule in South Bend wiretapping case
In the most recent decision in litigation stemming from South Bend Police Department wiretapping allegations, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a district court’s determination that the unlawful recordings cannot be distributed to the city Common Council. The appeals court found that a prior settlement deprived the federal court of jurisdiction in the case.
Court ordered to make required findings before modifying protective order
An Indianapolis man violated the terms of a protective order when he harassed his ex-wife at church, but the trial court erred in modifying the order without making required findings, Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Man’s drug convictions affirmed despite evidence admission error
Though the Grant Circuit Court erred in admitting certain statements as evidence during a man’s drug trial, such error was harmless, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in affirming his drug convictions.
COA affirms denial of credit for time spent at halfway house
The Grant Superior Court did not err when it denied a man’s request for credit for time spent in a halfway house, as his placement at the house was not considered confinement or imprisonment, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
7th Circuit affirms denial of sentencing relief
Though his appellate counsel presented an underdeveloped Appellate Rule 7(B) resentencing argument to the Indiana Court of Appeals, a North Vernon man isn’t entitled to relief because his sentence is not inappropriate, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
Divided court reverses drug convictions for lack of probable cause
Despite a search pursuant to warrants that led to the discovery of more than 60 pounds of marijuana in a man’s Indianapolis home, the man’s drug convictions will be overturned after a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals determined there was a lack of probable cause to support the issuance of the warrants.