Federal court rejects Dearborn judges’ immunity defense
A deaf man’s discrimination lawsuit against three judges in Dearborn County can proceed according to a March 30 ruling in federal court.
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COA reverses ruling in favor of couple who kept alpacas in residential area
The Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday that a Lake County court erred when it denied the county’s request for an injunction to prevent a couple from keeping alpacas on their property to raise for business purposes.
SCOTUS sides with Idaho in Medicaid pay dispute
Private health care providers cannot sue to force states to raise their Medicaid reimbursement rates to keep up with rising medical costs, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled Tuesday.
Court finds railroad’s arguments over dam don’t hold water
Because a railroad company failed to prove there are no genuine issues of material fact regarding its defense to a breach of covenant claim against it concerning the maintenance of a dam, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in its favor and remanded for further proceedings.
Indiana man convicted in 2 killings to get life in prison
A northern Indiana man is set to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole for the killings of his brother and sister-in-law.
Questions exist as to whether fiduciary duty was breached
There is sufficient evidence to create genuine issues of material fact as to whether a shareholder breached its fiduciary duty owed to other shareholders and whether it committed constructive fraud by remaining silent about two businesses’ financial states, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Ambiguous probation condition leads to reversal of violation finding
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the revocation of a woman’s probation after two judges ruled the probation condition at issue is ambiguous regarding whether and when she had to report an arrest while on probation for a charge that allegedly occurred before the probation began.
Court upholds convictions from controlled drug buys
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s argument that his two Class B felonies for dealing in cocaine should be reversed based on prosecutorial misconduct and his limited cross-examination of the state’s confidential informant.
COA orders man resentenced with credit time considered
Although the Indiana Court of Appeals disagreed with a defendant’s argument on appeal, it still found the trial court erred when it ordered him to serve the entirety of his original sentence without any credit time for time spent on home detention.
SCOTUS says lawyer’s brief absence doesn’t merit retrial
The Supreme Court of the United States says a Michigan man convicted of murder and armed robbery does not deserve a new trial even though his lawyer was absent for 10 minutes during the original trial.
High court to hear Kansas plea to reinstate death sentences
The Supreme Court of the United States agreed Monday to hear Kansas' appeal to reinstate death sentences for two brothers in the fatal shootings of four people and for another man convicted of killing a couple.
Divided court lets stand suppression of pat-down evidence
Three of Indiana’s five Supreme Court justices vacated transfer on a suppression-of-evidence case, letting stand a divided Court of Appeals ruling that a trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence obtained in a questionable pat-down search.
Similar entrapment argument brings different COA ruling
Again faced with the question of whether a defendant had been entrapped by an undercover detective posing as a prostitute, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court, reaching a different conclusion than they had in a similar case a year earlier.
COA affirms policy provides property damage coverage for abandoned sand
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed its original decision Wednesday that an insurance policy covers property damage caused by 100,000 tons of foundry sand on property owned by FLM LLC.
Public defender’s brief stricken, COA orders ‘competent counsel’ appointed
The Indiana Court of Appeals reiterated Wednesday for at least the fourth time in seven years to a public defender that he cannot use the “manifestly unreasonable” argument to challenge a client’s voluntary manslaughter sentence.
Teen’s adjudications overturned based on unlawful search
An Indianapolis teenager suspected in two burglaries was subject to an unlawful pat down and search by an officer, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. As such, the gun found on him should not have been admissible at his delinquency hearing.
Canine sniff not allowed, but convictions still upheld
Although a Supreme Court of the United States decision issued shortly after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on a case now means that a canine sniff of a suspected drug dealer’s home was unconstitutional, the COA upheld the man’s convictions based on other evidence.
Couple’s gun collection incorrectly classified as ‘household goods’
The determination as to whether guns or a gun collection are “household goods” should be made on a case-by-case basis, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. In a case before it Wednesday, the judges held that the large collection owned by a couple who are since deceased was incorrectly classified as “household goods.”
Federal judiciary releases FY 2014 report
Although the federal judiciary began fiscal year 2014 on shaky financial ground, it soon saw its funding restored to pre-sequestration levels and ended the year handling a caseload almost equal to the previous fiscal year.
Accident reconstruction advances light years in the last quarter-century
Portage attorney Greg Sarkisian remembers a time when trying to convince a jury how a crash happened involved moving magnetic cars around on a board.