Articles

Court rejects stale trash evidence argument

The Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected an argument that evidence found in a trash search was stale because no other garbage
had been collected in the past two weeks and that seized material could have been too old.

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Supreme Court analyzes appellate review rule on sentences

Addressing an issue that’s divided the state’s intermediate appeals judges, the Indiana Supreme Court has held
that review under Appellate Rule 7 may include consideration of a person’s total penal consequences within a trial court
sentence.

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Debate swirls around citations, use of the NFP

Envision a world in which lawyers successfully defended a client on what all parties thought was a significant legal issue,
but future attorneys couldn’t use that case result to help persuade judges in their litigation.

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Sexually violent predator petitions must be refiled

The status as a sexually violent predator for two inmates stands for now, but the Indiana Court of Appeals directed the men
to refile their motions to remove that status pursuant to the recently amended statute dealing with this issue.

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Judges rule on pre-existing condition case

Highlighting the highly controversial health care debate that’s played out during the past year, the 7th Circuit Court
of Appeals today ruled on a pretty straightforward case about a pre-existing condition clause that denied a man’s claim
for long-term disability benefits.

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Justices rule on plea negotiation communications

The Indiana Supreme Court has addressed the scope of privilege for plea negotiations for the first time in 20 years, upholding the conviction and sentence of a man who drove his pickup truck into an Evansville school bus while intoxicated and injured more than a dozen children.

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7th Circuit addresses contempt proceedings, judicial safety

A federal appeals judge from Indianapolis penned a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision today that touches on free speech,
judicial safety, and contempt proceedings that stem from a case against a well-known radio personality and infomercial salesman
who promotes natural cures and alternative medicine.

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COA upholds 125-year child-molesting sentence

In upholding multiple child-molesting convictions and a 125-year sentence, the Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected a woman’s
argument about why her penalty should be reduced based in part on the very young ages of the victims.

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Court: Police shouldn’t have made traffic stop

An appellate decision today in a drunk-driving traffic stop case out of Fort Wayne illustrates how a lack of knowledge about
a particular road’s layout can derail the prosecution of someone who may have been intoxicated behind the wheel.

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COA affirms resisting police conviction

The Indiana Court of Appeals was hesitant to rely on an Indiana Supreme Court case’s definition of “forcibly
resist” because that language doesn’t appear to adequately describe the meaning of the phrase as it has been recently
applied.

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7th Circuit overrules itself in satellite TV case

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled one of its own decisions from 20 years ago, finding that judges have discretion
in whether penalties are imposed on those who steal encrypted television satellite signals or help others take them without
paying for the service

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Mom may be liable for daughter’s accident

The Indiana Court of Appeals judges agreed that a mother may possibly be liable for her daughter’s accident in which
she struck a pedestrian with her car after drinking and talking on her cell phone at the time of the accident. The judges
didn’t completely agree as to why the mother may be liable.

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7th Circuit affirms judgment in mining case

In a case involving a “richly ambiguous” 1903 deed and a mining company’s claims to “all the coals,”
the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court’s judgment for defendant landowners.

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Opinion rules on 2 issues of first impression

The Indiana Court of Appeals was faced with two issues of first impression in one opinion – the meaning of Indiana Code
Section 27-9-3-34(d) and whether a party is entitled to a jury trial for disputes concerning claims in liquidation proceedings.

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