Newspaper loses appeal over access to death records
A newspaper was not improperly denied access to death records, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Court opinions
Articles
Affirmed sentence in home invasion, sex assault clarifies aggravator standards
An Indianapolis man’s 40-year executed sentence for leading a home invasion and forcing the woman who lived there to perform oral sex at gunpoint wasn’t improper, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Brown County logging damages award stands
A landowner’s award of $55,572.50 in damages caused by a logging contractor at a property in Brown County was properly calculated, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Appeals panel reinstates claims of capacity, undue influence in trust dispute
A family feud involving half-siblings contesting the trust bequeathed by their mother was improperly disposed of through summary judgment, a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Man tried twice for same offense, but relief denial affirmed
A divided Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a man convicted of rape on retrial was unconstitutionally prosecuted twice for the same offense, but the court upheld denial of post-conviction relief.
Supreme Court takes closer reading of precedent in affirming post-conviction relief
A man’s 2002 guilty plea to a habitual traffic violator offense will be set aside after the Indiana Supreme Court held his 1989 conviction in Fayette County constituted a material error.
Justices affirm new trial in estate awarded $41,400 in hotel killing
The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court order for a new trial in a case involving a $41,400 award made to the estate of a man who was killed at a Speedway hotel by a former employee.
Split COA reverses its original decision on rehearing
Saying “plea agreements should be more artfully drafted,” a split Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an award of restitution against a Daviess County man whose plea agreement was silent on the matter of restitution.
Mother may petition for college expenses for emancipated children
Two amendments made by the Indiana General Assembly to the termination of child support and emancipation statute allow for a mother’s college support petition for two emancipated children to stand.
Foreclosure affirmed on transferred mortgage
A couple who stopped making mortgage payments in 2007 and continued to live in their house failed to convince an appeals panel that a trial court erred in determining who holds the note and ruled the mortgage valid despite an allegedly defective acknowledgement.
Open Door violation not worth $8K, COA rules
A group of petitioners who prevailed on an Indiana Open Door Law violation will get reimbursed for attorney fees, but the amount will be reduced by nearly $5,000 after a trial court found the group was requesting money for work unrelated to the claim.
Dissenting judge argues tenants can’t ask drunk, disorderly man outside door to leave
An argument that tenants of an apartment complex may not ask a drunk and threatening man to leave common areas convinced one judge, but the majority of an appeals panel found otherwise, warning that such a holding would “defy logic and lead to an absurd result.”
Threats of violence sufficient to order involuntary commitment
Although an Indianapolis man never harmed another individual, his persistent threats of violence were sufficient to support his involuntary commitment to a mental health facility.
Appeals panel affirms molester’s dissemination sentence, refines scope of ‘performance’
A man who molested children in his home lost his appeal on the argument that showing children pornographic images on a cellphone and exposing himself to them was not a public performance.
Tinted-window stop yielding pot arrest by precedent-setting cop upheld
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Keith Minch is on a roll in the appellate courts.
COA affirms probation violation for nonsupport, modifies amount due
A trial court properly revoked probation of a man sentenced for non-support of a dependent child, but the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the lower court to revise the arrearage.
Foreclosure stands against ‘Redemptionist’ claims, appeals panel rules
A pro se litigant who fought a mortgage foreclosure by attempting to pay a bank with drafts from his purported account at the United States Treasury has no basis to reverse summary judgment in favor of the lender, the Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
7th Circuit affirms tax convictions of Fort Wayne entrepreneur
A man whose family spent millions while he pleaded poverty to gain need-based scholarships for his children and failed to report foreign bank accounts lost the federal appeal of his conviction on multiple tax charges Thursday.
Change in state statute gets public intoxication conviction overturned
Although the evidence showed the man was intoxicated in public, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned his conviction because he was not a threat to public safety.
Conviction, 30-year sentence affirmed in armed robbery
A man who, with other masked gunmen, robbed an Indianapolis Asian market lost his appeal Thursday.