Stepfather who proved paternity can’t deprive ex of joint custody
A man who fathered a child while the mother was married to another man lost his appeal Tuesday that sought relief from a court order concerning the child's custody.
Court opinions
Articles
7th Circuit: Probationary phone records are admissible evidence
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled evidence of a deceased man’s phone numbers provided to his probation officer is not inadmissible hearsay and those records should be included in another man’s criminal case.
COA: Court cannot order juvenile to pay restitution as a civil judgment
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a trial court may not order a juvenile to pay restitution as a civil judgment after a minor was ordered to pay restitution in two cases where he violated his probation.
COA: Man did not have expectation of privacy after he was tracked by GPS
Tracking of man by GPS did not violate his Fourth Amendment or Indiana constitutional rights, the Court of Appeals ruled, because he did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The appellate court upheld Joseph Sidener's Class C felony burglary conviction and the finding he is an habitual offender.
COA rules DCS has duty to protect caller’s identity
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision the Indiana Department of Child Services had a duty to protect a man’s identity after he called the DCS hotline and reported his neighbors’ children as children in need of services.
7th Circuit upholds lifetime supervised release
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed a federal judge’s findings and explanations were sufficient to support lifetime supervised release for 66-year-old man in poor health.
COA: Gun evidence lawfully obtained
In its third Fourth Amendment case in two weeks, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled evidence obtained during a stop of a man who was loitering around an apartment complex and then left suspiciously was lawfully seized. The judges affirmed the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress on interlocutory appeal.
Divided COA rules karate kick is an issue of material fact
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a man’s kick in karate class, which injured a woman, constituted an issue of material fact and reversed summary judgment in his favor.
Property manager not liable in drunken driving crash, COA holds
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the property management company of a Camby bar has no duty of care to a woman who was seriously injured in a car accident in which she and the driver were intoxicated.
COA deals blow to AG’s foreclosure lawyer consumer suit
An effectively disbarred Florida attorney whose company hired Indiana lawyers to represent people in foreclosures must face a consumer lawsuit brought by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, but her company is largely exempted, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
‘Abusive litigant’ loses appeal for damages
The Indiana Court of Appeals denied a prolific litigant’s attempt to get more than $30,000 in damages after he claimed a printer he purchased online for less than $75 did not work and then sued for thousands of dollars in damages.
Ex-credit union chief loses defamation per se appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for an employer after the president of a company was fired over an executive’s hotline call. The president claimed defamation per se and considered the hotline company liable, but the COA ruled comments made during the call were not defamatory.
COA: Lack of release advisement was harmless error
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a trial court’s failure to advise a man of his possible release dates was harmless error and affirmed his sentence for two felonies.
7th Circuit: Officer not entitled to qualified immunity
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a police officer who released a dog during an arrest to find a suspect is not entitled to qualified immunity.
Judges say order for DCS interviews with children should not have happened
The Indiana Department of Child Services for Crawford County should not have been granted the opportunity to interview two children, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, because the order doing so violates their mother’s right to raise her family without undue interference by the state.
Recorded conversation, conviction are admissible evidence, COA holds
An audiotape of phone conversations between a suspect and the victim’s mother while he was in jail and a testimony from the victim’s mother that she was convicted of assisting a criminal were admissible evidence in a child abuse case, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
COA upholds denial of post-conviction relief petition
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a man’s post-conviction relief petition after it found any ineffectiveness of counsel the man received did not affect the outcome of his case in his decision to plead guilty to Class A felony neglect of a dependent.
COA: Stop violated 4th Amendment
A police officer was not within his community caretaker function when he pulled over a woman who left a gas station after she escaped from getting stuck under car, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The public safety issue did not outweigh her right to privacy.
Court orders more proceedings on waiver moves
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for state defendants in a lawsuit brought by Medicaid patients who claimed their move to a new waiver with a cap on expenses violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court said the way the patients spent their expenses constitutes an issue of material fact, and they may have been able to receive more services had they spent their money differently.
COA: Child’s name can be changed
A father can change the last name of a child to his despite the protests of the mother, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.