Courts - The Indiana Lawyer

Fraudster Durham wins hearing on whether lawyer’s $1M fee created conflict

November 4, 2019 | Dave Stafford

Fair Finance fraud felon Tim Durham will get a chance to grill his former trial attorney over whether his $1 million wire fraud defense representation fee created a conflict of interest between money the lawyer could pocket versus paying for witnesses Durham claims could have testified in his favor. A federal judge recently granted a new hearing on that and other grounds as Durham seeks to chisel away at his 50-year prison sentence.

Justices to consider key SEC tool in securities fraud

November 4, 2019 | Associated Press

The Supreme Court will consider taking away an important tool that federal securities regulators used last year to recoup $2.5 billion in ill-gotten gains in fraud cases.

Muncie woman gets 6 years for dousing guest with hot grease

November 1, 2019 | Associated Press

A Muncie woman who pleaded guilty to dousing a house guest with a pan of hot grease has been sentenced to six years in prison. She told police she scalded her guest after accusing her of stealing deodorant.

Prosecutors added to Supreme Court’s justice reform initiative

November 1, 2019 | IL Staff

The Indiana Supreme Court has added three prosecutors to its newly established Indiana Innovation Initiative and respective working groups aimed at making Indiana’s justice system more efficient.

Cameras to capture November National Adoption Day proceedings

November 1, 2019 | IL Staff

Hoosier families celebrating National Adoption Day will have the opportunity to capture special moments through the lens of a camera. The Indiana Supreme Court announced its authorization of cameras in court for uncontested adoptions during the month of November, allowing photography and video of the adoption proceedings.

Justices reject Fifth Amendment appeal of sex offender treatment

October 31, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Supreme Court has found no constitutional violation against a father who refused to participate in a sex offender treatment program that he argued would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Divided appeals court reverses habitual offender adjudication

October 31, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

A split Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s habitual offender adjudication after finding the state failed to bring him to trial within Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C)’s one-year statutory deadline.

Reversal: Father’s due process rights violated in TPR case

October 31, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed the termination of a father’s parent-child relationship after concluding his due process rights had been violated. The Department of Child Services, the appellate court found, did not make reasonable efforts to reunify the father and child.

COA orders new criminal recklessness trial after jury instruction error

October 31, 2019 | Olivia Covington

A mother who backed over her aunt with a vehicle before fleeing the scene with her child in the car has won a new trial on a criminal recklessness conviction, though the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to overturn her related conviction of resisting law enforcement.

Former bar exam leader offers tips as Indiana considers changes

October 31, 2019 | Marilyn Odendahl

As the Indiana legal profession re-evaluates its bar exam in light of slumping pass rates, a leader in bar examinations and bar admissions offered some insight into testing and provided some advice, as well as some warnings, about making changes.

Divided COA tosses suit against lawyers over tax sale proceeds as untimely

October 31, 2019 | Dave Stafford

A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a lawsuit against two lawyers filed by their opposing party in long-running litigation, the current case over proceeds from a tax sale that the lawyers distributed to their clients. The majority ruled that the lawsuit — filed one day outside the two-year statute of limitations — should be dismissed.

Abortion parental notification law possibly headed for SCOTUS after 7th Circuit denial

October 31, 2019 | Olivia Covington

The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals will not revisit a prior ruling that upheld an injunction on an Indiana law requiring “mature minors” to notify their parents before they have an abortion, setting the case up for a possible trip to the United States Supreme Court.

Justices recertify 29 senior judges for 2020

October 30, 2019 | IL Staff

The Indiana Supreme Court has re-certified dozens of judicial officers as senior judges for the upcoming year.

Woman loses sentence appeal in daughter’s neglect death

October 30, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

A Chesterfield mother who pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in the death of her 23-month old daughter has lost an appeal of her 40-year sentence.

Reasonable suspicion of drug activity prompts reversal in suppression case

October 30, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed suppression of drug evidence in a man’s parole violation case that was found during a search of a rented storage unit.

Divided COA lets man stay in disputed final resting place

October 30, 2019 | Olivia Covington

A man mistakenly buried at a gravesite that had already been sold to another individual will continue to rest in peace after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to order the cemetery to exhume the man and relocate his grave. A dissenting judge, however, said Indiana statute and legal principles require the cemetery to correct the “wrongful entombment.”

Justices decline shot man’s suit against store over gun sale after warning

October 30, 2019 | Dave Stafford

A man who warned a sporting goods store clerk to never sell a gun to his girlfriend because she would use it to shoot him has no case against the retailer, the Indiana Supreme Court held in rejecting the man’s transfer petition.

‘I wanted to serve’: Justice David says service at core of his time on high court

October 30, 2019 | Olivia Covington

Justice Steven David was never specifically asked to be on the Indiana Supreme Court. Even so, when Justice Ted Boehm retired, David, now the longest-serving justice, said he decided to take a shot at serving Indiana at the highest judicial level. “I’m not sure how I got here, but I’m here,” David said in an interview with Indiana Lawyer. “I wanted to serve.”

Woman with nerve damage wins reversal in med-mal case against hospital

October 29, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

A woman who suffers from nerve damage after dye was negligently injected into her arm for a medical scan has won a reversal against the southern Indiana hospital that administered the procedure.

Justice Dept. appeals order on Mueller grand jury testimony

October 29, 2019 | Associated Press

The Justice Department on Monday appealed a judge’s order directing the department to provide the House with secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The department also asked Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to put her own order on hold until a federal appeals court has an opportunity to weigh in.

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