Man’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim fails
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s assertion that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney didn’t object to the validity of the order placing him on probation.
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COA admonishes prosecutor’s misconduct, doesn’t reverse conviction
A prosecutor’s suggestion to the jury during an attempted rape trial that a defense attorney influenced a witness was misconduct, but not sufficient to warrant reversal of the defendant’s conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. But the court also called out the prosecutor and warned him.
Reversal: HHGregg prevails in appeal over managers’ bonuses
HHGregg senior managers are not entitled to share in $40 million in life insurance proceeds from the 2012 death of executive chairman of the board Jerry Throgmartin, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday, reversing a trial court ruling in the managers’ favor.
COA: Buyers had notice property was under lease
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that because sellers of a Crawford County property had recorded their assignment of lease in the recorder’s office, buyers of the property had actual or constructive notice that the sellers didn’t own the land.
Marion County judge moves civil forfeiture case forward
A case challenging civil forfeitures by Indianapolis police and the prosecutor’s office will be able to move forward after Marion Superior Court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss earlier this week.
Wal-Mart shoplifter’s resisting conviction affirmed
A man who fled from police and later was arrested after he and another man had been spotted allegedly shoplifting from a Lafayette Wal-Mart store was properly convicted of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
COA tosses feticide conviction, says statute doesn’t apply to self abortion
The Indiana Legislature did not intend for the state’s feticide statute to apply to pregnant women or illegal abortions, including the one a northern Indiana woman executed by taking drugs ordered from Hong Kong, the Court of Appeals held Friday.
Courtroom named in honor of Judge Sarah Evans Barker
In recognition of District Judge Sarah Evans Barker’s more than 30 years of service on the federal bench, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has named a courtroom in her honor.
COA upholds mother’s neglect conviction for causing son’s health issues
The Indiana Court of Appeals, acknowledging differing expert testimony in a mother’s neglect of a dependent case, declined to reweigh the evidence and upheld her Class B felony conviction.
Justices disbar Goshen attorney for UPL while suspended
The Indiana Supreme Court has decided the sanction for a Goshen attorney’s repeated practice of law while suspended: disbarment.
Appeals court sends request for benefits back to Social Security office
A federal court in Indianapolis never should have affirmed the denial of Supplemental Security Income sought by an intellectually disabled woman because the administrative law judge’s decision was unsupported by the record, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
Justices uphold Jay County teachers’ CBA
In a 4-1 decision, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the last best offer made by the Jay School Corp. regarding a collective bargaining agreement for the 2013-14 school year. The teachers took issue with a provision involving the salary of teachers hired mid-school year.
Woman sues state over untimely insurance enrollment
A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges the state ignored federal law requiring it to provide health insurance coverage within a reasonable time frame and must retroactively pay for an Elletsville woman’s medical bills.
Recommendation of plea document passes ‘duck test’
Citing the “duck test” credited to Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a “recommendation of plea” document was a plea agreement the trial judge was free to accept or reject.
Judges affirm grant of senior living facility’s arbitration motion
Although a senior living facility “inexplicably” failed to keep a copy of an arbitration agreement signed by a resident, the facility produced enough extrinsic evidence to conclude an enforceable arbitration agreement exists, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
7th Circuit: Judge should have disqualified herself in sentence challenge
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a federal judge in Indianapolis should have excused herself from hearing a man’s petition regarding his sentence because she was the one who sentenced him while she was a judge in state court. In doing so, the federal appellate court overturned two lines of decisions.
COA: Woman, not bank, entitled to foreclosure surplus funds
A trial court misapplied the law regarding disbursement of surplus sale proceedings from a sheriff’s sale when it ordered the full surplus to the bank that owned the first mortgage on the home, the Indiana Court of Appeals held. The law requires the surplus to go to the mortgage debtor.
Feds sue Anthem, Cigna to block $48B merger
U.S. antitrust enforcers on Thursday roundly rejected a pair of proposed deals that would consolidate the nation’s five biggest health insurers into just three.
DCS agrees more caseworkers needed, argues against suit
Indiana’s Legislature and governor have failed to provide resources to ensure sufficient case managers to protect children and families, a lawyer representing the Department of Child Services told the Indiana Court of Appeals Wednesday. But she argued a caseworker’s lawsuit against the agency was the wrong way to enforce state law requiring those workers have no more than 17 cases each.
On rehearing, judges find investigator’s photos admissible
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted rehearing to a case involving a lawsuit brought by a man injured by a sheriff deputy’s vehicle while he walked along the side of the road. The divided court held certain evidence, including an investigator’s affidavit and photos, are admissible at trial.