Articles

7th Circuit wants rationale for sentence

A defendant was unable to get his revocation of probation overturned, but he is heading back to court for another sentencing after the District judge failed to give reasons for imposing a two-year jail term.

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Court OKs admission of tweets, reverses criminal gang activity conviction

In a case of first impression regarding the authentication of social media posts, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that the testimony from the defendant’s girlfriend that the Twitter account belonged to her boyfriend, as well as content from that account, sufficiently showed the defendant was the author of its tweets.

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Revised sentence modification statute not applicable in defendant’s case

A trial court did not err in denying a man’s petition to modify his sentence after finding that the current version of the sentencing modification statute is not applicable to his sentence, which he began serving in 1989. The Indiana Court of Appeals panel relied on a January decision by its colleagues to affirm the denial of Mitchell Swallows’ petition.

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Wiretap evidence properly admitted at murder trial

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s conviction of murdering his stepfather, finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting wiretap evidence in which the defendant told a friend he was involved in the killing.

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Justices affirm upward deviation from child support guidelines

A trial court did not commit clear error when it deviated from the Indiana Child Support Guidelines by not granting a father the full parenting time credit calculated and allowed his ex-wife to claim their child each year on her taxes, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The justices also outlined the best practices to be used when a trial court conducts summary proceedings.

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Brothers’ murder convictions upheld by COA

Two brothers convicted in the murder of a man with whom they previously had an altercation are not entitled to a new trial based on one juror’s concerns for her safety after recognizing someone sitting in the gallery, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.

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COA affirms new trial on motorcyclist’s negligence claim

A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it set aside a jury verdict allocating 70 percent of fault to a motorcyclist who hit a dog that darted in front of his bike, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The motorcyclist was injured in the accident and sued the dog’s owners.

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Justices affirm LWOP sentence, admission of suicide note

A southern Indiana man challenging his robbery and murder convictions and sentence to spend the rest of his life in prison lost his appeal before the Indiana Supreme Court Thursday. The justices rejected the man’s claim that his sentence should be reduced to a term of years.

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Bank wins partial victory in suit stemming from overdraft fees

A bank being sued by customers over how it orders transactions – allegedly to maximize profits from overdraft fees – is entitled to summary judgment on most of the state claims alleged by customers in a class-action lawsuit, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

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Handgun properly admitted at juvenile’s hearing

A handgun discarded by a teen after seeing a marked police car – and later picked up by the officer who saw the teen throw the gun into a yard – was properly admitted at his delinquency hearing, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.

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