A dangerous-possession-of-a-firearm delinquency adjudication has been overturned on double jeopardy grounds, but the Court of Appeals of Indiana also upheld the juvenile’s criminal recklessness adjudication.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Donald K. Ingram v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-838
Criminal. Affirms Donald Ingram’s Level 4 felony child molesting conviction and 12-year sentence in Morgan Superior Court. Finds the state presented sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support Ingram’s conviction. Also finds his sentence is not inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character.
A woman who filed a class-action complaint against a credit union didn’t accept an addendum to an agreement that would have forced arbitration, a split Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in reversing a trial court’s decision.
A woman in a wheelchair fighting for a ramp at her local post office will be able to make her argument in court after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated summary judgment for the United States Postal Service, which so far has refused to build the ramp.
The total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the 12 months after states began implementing bans on them throughout pregnancy, a new survey finds.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In Re: The Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of C.C. and De.C. (Minor Children); D.C. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services, and Kids’ Voice of Indiana
23A-JT-848
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s orders terminating D.C.’s parental relationships with her children. Finds the orders terminating the mother’s parental rights were void for lack of personal jurisdiction because the Indiana Department of Child Services did not properly serve the mother. Remands for further proceedings.
Orders terminating a mother’s parental rights were void for lack of personal jurisdiction because the Indiana Department of Child Services didn’t properly serve the mother, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has once again declined to order an Elkhart County judge to recuse herself from a post-conviction case based on allegations of prejudice stemming from previous wrongful-conviction proceedings.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Richard Dolsen Jr. v. VeoRide Inc.
23A-CT-945
Civil tort. Reverses the Allen Superior Court’s entry of summary judgment in VeoRide’s favor. Finds that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding whether VeoRide’s failure to warn Richard Dolsen of the condition and the risk involved was a breach of duty and a failure to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances pursuant to Restatement Section 342(b). Remands for further proceedings.
A man whose child molesting sentence was handed down while he was in the hospital did not waive his right to be present at sentencing, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday in vacating the sentence and ordering a new hearing.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Kimberly J. Brook v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2110
Criminal. Affirms Kimberly J. Brook’s convictions of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor driving while suspended, Level 6 felony unlawful possession or use of a legend drug and Level 6 felony obstruction of justice, and her two-year sentence, with one year executed and one year served on community corrections. Finds Brook was not entitled to bifurcation, so the Cass Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying her request. Also finds the trial court did not erroneously invade the province of the jury by giving instructions that created a mandatory presumption indicating that Lorazepam was classified as a legend drug, and there was sufficient evidence to prove that Brook possessed Lorazepam. Finally, finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of testimony, and Brook’s sentence is not inappropriate. Judges Nancy Vaidik and Elizabeth Tavitas concur and dissent in part with separate opinions.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Shannon Leeann Zimmerman v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-685
Criminal. Affirms the Montgomery Superior Court’s order revoking Shannon Leeann Zimmerman’s probation. Finds the trial court didn’t abuse its discretion when it ordered Zimmerman to serve the entirety of her previously suspended sentence.
There was sufficient evidence to convict a man for his role in a scheme to defraud people over 50 out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in an online dating scheme, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
James Huspon v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-PC-2853
Post-conviction relief. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s denial of post-conviction relief to James Huspon. Finds Huspon’s 100-year sentence does not violate the Eighth Amendment. Also finds Huspon has failed to establish that his proffered evidence relating to juvenile brain development would result in a shorter sentence. Declines to address Huspon’s argument that his sentence violates Article 1, Section 16 of the Indiana Constitution because he did not raise an argument based on the nature of his offenses.
Indiana Supreme Court justices have granted transfer to a medical malpractice case involving a hospital technician’s failure to sterilize surgical equipment.
Defendants facing criminal contempt are entitled to the same statutory protections as other criminal defendants, including the right to the appointment of mental health experts, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in a Tuesday reversal.
The admission of a screenshot of a defendant’s texts with a contact during his trial on a drug-related conspiracy charge was harmless and only one piece of an “overwhelming” amount of evidence supporting his conviction, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Russell G. Finnegan v. State of Indiana
23A-MI-442
Miscellaneous. Reverses the Pulaski Circuit Court’s finding that Russell Finnegan was in indirect criminal contempt of court. Finds the trial court abused its discretion in failing to act on Finnegan’s notice of intent to file an insanity defense and appoint medical personnel to evaluate his mental health and testify at his criminal contempt hearing. Remands for further proceedings.
A subcontractor that was part of a delayed project at a BP plant in northwest Indiana can’t assert claims against the contractor based on unjust enrichment, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled in affirming a number of decisions from a lower court.