Disciplinary Actions – 3/30/12-4/12/12
See who’s received a public reprimand and who has been suspended.
Courts
Articles
Justices asked to take feticide case
On March 14, the one-year anniversary of Bei Bei Shuai’s imprisonment on attempted feticide and murder charges, attorney Linda Pence notified media that Pence Hensel and attorneys from the National Advocates for Pregnant Women filed a petition on March 9 for the Indiana Supreme Court to grant transfer in the case.
Legal briefs raise copyright questions
A New York federal suit challenges publishers’ selling of attorneys’ work.
Confidentiality issues raised
St. Joseph County case creates concern about protecting callers’ identities on child abuse claims.
End of an era
Indiana Lawyer sat down with Randall T. Shepard for a Q&A before he retired from the Indiana Supreme Court March 23.
SCOTUS declines to take Indiana criminal case
The Supreme Court of the United States won’t take an Indiana case asking whether a defendant’s second trial was barred by the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment, and so a state Supreme Court decision on the issue will stand.
Indiana justices deny 8 cases, plus associational standing appeal
The Indiana Supreme Court declined to take eight cases last week, and the court also reversed a prior decision to hear an electric utility’s appeal based on an associational standing question.
Court rules on parental discipline case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that a woman’s prior conviction for battering her daughter in a way similar to a current case is admissible pursuant to the state’s rules of evidence.
Governor: Mark Massa ‘superb choice’ for Supreme Court
On Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard’s final day as a member of the Indiana Supreme Court, Gov. Mitch Daniels named Mark S. Massa, a former state and federal prosecutor, as the state’s newest justice.
Mark Massa named Indiana Supreme Court justice
Gov. Mitch Daniels has chosen Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Director Mark S. Massa as the state’s newest Supreme Court justice.
COA: Independent contractor’s death already compensated
The Indiana Court of Appeals has determined that the estate of an independent contractor who fell off a ladder and died was properly compensated through the state workers’ compensation act, and the man’s estate cannot later claim that his injuries occurred outside the scope of employment.
Justices uphold probation revocation for child support non-payment
A trial judge was correct in revoking a man’s probation based on his failure to pay weekly child support as a condition of his probation, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.
Divided Supreme Court orders new murder trial
Three justices have tossed out a murder conviction, ordering a new trial on the grounds that the trial judge should have given the jury the option to consider a lesser offense of reckless homicide.
Judges rule on Evansville environmental coverage case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has determined a Marion County judge properly granted summary judgment in favor of a group of insurance companies because the city of Evansville was seeking coverage for projects aimed at preventing future sewer discharges, rather than remediating past discharges, which wouldn’t be covered by the policies.
Court rules FSSA notices are unconstitutional
The Indiana Supreme Court has held that the notices sent by the state Family and Social Services Administration to inform applicants they were denied Medicaid, food stamps, or family assistance benefits are unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s due process clause because they do not sufficiently explain the reasons for being denied.
Supreme Court examines Indiana’s blacklisting statute
In declaring precedent from 1904 bad law, the Indiana Supreme Court has determined that individuals who’ve voluntarily left employment can pursue a claim against their former employers under the state’s blacklisting statute.
Judges disagree on meaning of language in city ordinance
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court in a property dispute, but Judge Ezra Friedlander disagreed with the majority based on his interpretation of “conspicuous change.”
Justices disagree on pollution exclusion coverage
A divided Indiana Supreme Court has held that the pollution exclusion contained in a general commercial liability policy is ambiguous and should be construed to provide coverage rather than in favor of the insurance company trying to deny coverage.
Justices rule on construction manager’s duty for jobsite safety
The Indiana Supreme Court has held that a construction manager on the Lucas Oil Stadium construction project didn’t have a legal duty to ensure jobsite safety to a subcontractor’s employee either by contract or individual actions, and as a result, cannot be held liable for workplace negligence.
Judges uphold sanction against attorney
The Indiana Court of Appeals made two minor corrections to its original opinion ordering an attorney to pay appellate fees due to his conduct in a purported class-action lawsuit against Clarian Health Partners, but upheld the order the attorney pay the fees.