Articles

Justices reverse life sentence based on error by judge

The Indiana Supreme Court upheld a Gary man’s convictions related to the death of a woman he met at a bar, but it reversed the sentence of life without possibility of parole because the trial court’s sentencing order lacked a personal statement from the judge that the sentence is the appropriate one for the defendant.

Read More

State failed to show defendant conspired to rob gas station

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a man’s conviction of conspiracy to commit robbery while armed with a deadly weapon because the state did not present evidence that the defendant and another man conspired ahead of time to rob a Lawrenceburg gas station.

Read More

Justices take dispute over county road

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to a not-for-publication Court of Appeals decision over whether a gravel drive to a landlocked 40 rural acres in Jackson County is a public road by use.

Read More

SCOTUS: Immigration deadlines can be extended

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Monday that federal appeals courts have authority to decide whether people facing deportation should be able to extend the deadlines in immigration proceedings.

Read More

Bisard exhausts appeals as justices deny transfer

The Indiana Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Bisard, who was convicted of killing one motorcyclist and seriously injuring two others while driving drunk in his police cruiser.

Read More

Justices strip adoption, reinstate statute COA struck down

An adoptive maternal grandmother who the Court of Appeals ruled provided care in her grandchildren’s best interests despite a 1997 neglect conviction is legally barred from adopting them, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled. Justices also rebuked a COA determination that the statute was unconstitutional as applied.

Read More

Judges split over whether to reinstate jury verdict

The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a jury verdict, tossed out by the trial court in a negligence case stemming from a car accident, reinstated because the judge did not follow Trial Rule 59(J). The dissenting judge believed the trial court should have the opportunity to supplement its order first.

Read More

COA finds homeowners association committed slander of title

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an Iowa couple, finding the homeowners association where the couple lived and subsequently rented out their home committed slander of title. The homeowners association recorded a lien against their home after finding the couple did not comply with the covenant’s requirements when leasing their home.

Read More

Wife loses appeal of custody arrangement, contempt finding

A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it found a wife in contempt of the court’s preliminary order regarding parenting time and visitation and when it entered a custody arrangement not requested by the parties, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

Read More

COA: Accomplice liability instruction is harmless error

Although the trial court erred in instructing the jury during a man’s murder and attempted murder trial regarding accomplice liability as it applied to attempted murder, the error was harmless, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.

Read More

INDOT not entitled to immunity in wrongful death action

The Indiana Department of Transportation failed to convince the Court of Appeals that it is entitled to discretionary function immunity under the Indiana Tort Claims Act in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of a construction worker killed while working on an interstate project.

Read More