Indiana Court Decisions – Sept. 9-22, 2021
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
Opinions Sept. 28, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Phillip Beachey v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-2121
Criminal. Vacates and remands the Elkhart Superior Court’s order denying modification to Phillip Beachey’s bond. Finds the trial court abused its discretion in not conducting a pretrial risk assessment report pursuant to Indiana Criminal Rule 26 and Indiana Code § 35-33-8-3.8.
COA says defendant has to pursue claims through post-conviction proceedings
A man who represented himself at his probation revocation hearing for driving without a license hit a roadblock when he tried to go directly to the Indiana Court of Appeals and argue he did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his right to counsel.
Opinions Sept. 23, 2021
Indiana Supreme Court
Ryan Ramirez v. State of Indiana
20S-LW-430
Life without parole. Affirms Ryan Ramirez’s conviction of murdering 23-month-old P.H. and neglecting 3-year-old R.H., resulting in serious bodily injury, and his sentence to life without parole. Finds that the seizure of a surveillance system recorder did not violate the state or federal constitutions, and the Madison Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of Kayla Hudson’s prior bad acts, nor were Ramirez’s substantial rights affect. Also finds that the trial court was not required to find a legal lacuna to give a supplemental jury instruction, the wording of the instruction was not reversible error and Ramirez waived his argument about the way the instruction was given. Finally, finds the statutory LWOP factors were sufficiently supported, his sentence did not violate the Indiana Constitution and revision is not warranted under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B).
Opinions, Sept. 22, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Carlton Lee Wells v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-612
Criminal. Reverses Carlton Lee Wells’ conviction of Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy. Finds the St. Joseph Superior Court committed fundamental error and violated Wells’ Sixth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution as well as his rights in the Indiana Constitution outlined in Article 1, Section 13 after omitting him from his jury trial due to failing pretrial drug testing. Remands with instructions to vacate Wells’ conviction.
Trial court violated South Bend man’s constitutional rights by excluding him from trial, COA rules
The St. Joseph Superior Court violated the constitutional rights of a South Bend man when it excluded him from his jury trial after failing multiple pretrial drug tests, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
In ‘catastrophic’ motorcycle crash case, justices rule for Tyson Foods, adopt bright-line rule
In adopting a bright-line rule Tuesday, Indiana Supreme Court justices ruled that a meat plant accused of contributing to a serious crash owed no duty to the motoring public because the tall grass at issue was confined to the plant’s property.
Opinions Sept. 21, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Dustin R. Paul v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-166
Criminal. Affirms and reverses in part the the Howard Superior Court’s calculation and allocation of credit time for Dustin Paul in his three simultaneous causes. Finds the trial court erred with respect to credit time and remands for it to address those issues consistent with the COA’s opinion by focusing on the first sentence in his sequence of consecutive sentences. Otherwise fully affirms Paul’s sentencing orders.
COA reverses summary judgment for defendants in teen shooting accident, cites contemporaneous writing rule
A young man who was shot and seriously injured while working on a southern Indiana farm and then signed a series of releases protecting the defendants from liability in exchange for $5,000 will get a new day in court after the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a grant of summary judgment.
COA partially reverses for inmate in credit time dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals has partially reversed for a man with three simultaneously pending cases on the calculation of his credit time, finding the trial court prolonged the time until the sentence in his first case could be satisfied.
Opinions Sept. 20, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Anthony Wilburn v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1709
Criminal. Affirms and reverses in part the denial of Anthony Wilburn’s motion to exclude evidence and his conviction of Level 2 felony burglary. Finds the Huntington Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted a sergeant’s testimony as skilled witness opinion testimony. Also finds sufficient evidence to identify Wilburn as the perpetrator of the robbery. Finally, finds insufficient evidence to sustain Wilburn’s conviction for burglary of a business open to the public during business hours. Remands for the trial court to enter judgment of conviction for Level 3 felony robbery and to resentence Wilburn accordingly.
COA: Lack of ‘breaking’ evidence in liquor store burglary leads to reversal
Evidence was sufficient to identify a Huntington man as the perpetrator of a liquor store robbery, but there wasn’t enough proof to sustain his conviction for breaking and entering in the same crime, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a Monday reversal.
Judge: US election official violated law in voter form case
A former high-ranking election official violated federal law in 2016 when he granted requests by Kansas, Georgia and Alabama to modify the national voter registration form to require documentary proof of citizenship in those states, a federal judge ruled.
Opinions Sept. 17, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Olympic Financial Group, Inc. v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1017
Criminal. Reverses the Jasper Superior Court’s order granting Indiana’s motion to turn seized money over to the federal government in the amount of $709,880. Finds the state failed to prove that the cash was properly seized pursuant to Indiana Code Chapter 34-24-1 and to show it was entitled to a turnover order under Indiana Code § 35-33-5-5(j). Also finds the trial court erred by granting the motion. Remands with instructions that the state reimburse Olympic Financial Group. Judge Nancy Vaidik concurs in result with separate opinion.
Appellate court affirms custody modification to father
A juvenile court acted within its discretion when it awarded sole custody of a couple’s children to the father after the mother was arrested for multiple alcohol-related incidents and provided questionable living arrangements, the Court of Appeals has ruled.
State ordered to repay bank $709K after traffic stop cash seizure
The state must pay back more than $700,000 to a money services business who had cash seized following a traffic stop, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, finding “no evidence whatsoever that a crime was committed.”
COA: Trial court didn’t err in sentencing child molesting mom
A trial court didn’t exceed its statutory authority when it sentenced a Howard County woman to more than 20 years for molesting her two young children, according to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Appeals court sides with Biden’s deportation priorities
A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Biden administration’s selective criteria on who should be deported to remain in effect, rejecting one of Texas’ challenges to the president’s immigration policies.
7th Circuit: Collection agency entitled to fees after woman defaulted on small hospital debt
A collection agency didn’t violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it attempted to collect attorney fees and “fees-on-fees” from an Indianapolis woman who defaulted on a small debt to an Indiana hospital system, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
DTCI: Premises liability for foreseeability of third-party harm
Indiana courts approach landowner liability cases by taking a broad approach to the type of plaintiff injured and the type of harm suffered. This avoids making landowners act as insurers to their patrons when the acts of third parties are involved. Yet the caselaw has not always been so clear.