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High court: ‘Contact’ must be clearly defined

The Indiana Supreme Court has determined what kind of “contact” a convicted child molester can have without violating probation.In the court’s 4-1 decision April 2 in Theron W. Hunter v. State of Indiana, No. 69S01-0708-CR-332, the justices reversed Ripley Circuit Judge Carl Taul’s 2006 ruling to revoke Hunter’s probation. The case is remanded with instruction to reinstate the probation.Hunter was convicted in 2000 of felony child molesting and sentenced to eight years, with four years suspended. He was released in July 2006 and placed…

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Northern District seeks comment on local rule

The U.S. District Court for Northern District of Indiana is accepting public comment on the revision of Local Rule 72.1 – again. The Local Rules Advisory Committee recommended the revision of the local rule and had a period of public comment. Due to a clerical error, the revision of the rule wasn’t completed. Now, the corrected proposed Local Rule 72.1 is available free of charge at www.innd.uscourts.gov or at the Northern District Court’s divisional offices. Comments will be accepted through Sept….

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High court affirms summary judgment for bank

A bank that opened an account for a man who used it to fraudulently deposit checks wasn’t required under Indiana Code to exercise ordinary care when opening the account, ruled the Indiana Supreme Court. At issue in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Bank One, et al., No. 49S04-0701-CV-27 is whether Bank One violated Section 405 of the Indiana Uniform Commercial Code by not exercising ordinary care when it allowed Kenneth B. Wulf to open a fraudulent account. Wulf was a resident adjustor for…

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Court interprets revised procedural statute

The Indiana Court of Appeals has found strong and compelling evidence to apply retroactivity to a procedural state statute lawmakers changed last year following a ruling from Indiana Supreme Court.In Mark Hurst v. State of Indiana, No. 64A03-0710-CR-490, the appellate court affirmed a Porter Superior judge’s ruling that the court properly amended charging information 15 months after the original omnibus date, that sufficient evidence of seriously bodily injury existed to support a felony battery conviction, and that Hurst was properly sentenced to…

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Appeals court reverses student’s convictions

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a teenager's convictions for battery and disorderly conduct stemming from a face-off with an assistant principal and dean of students in the school cafeteria.

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COA reverses order of restitution to county

A nurse practicing in Indiana without a license had her convictions of forgery and practicing nursing without a license upheld April 22, but the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the trial court order that she pay restitution to the county where she worked. In Rebecca D. Lohmiller v. State of Indiana, No. 08A02-0710-CR-873, Lohmiller appealed her convictions and sentence for six counts of forgery and 21 counts of practicing nursing without a license. The court sentenced her to four years imprisonment with…

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Federal child support act trumps state act

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today that a federal act supersedes Indiana’s statute regarding exclusive jurisdiction over two parties’ child support order and affirmed the transfer of exclusive jurisdiction to a California court. In its ruling, the court had to decide whether or not the father still was a resident of Indiana in order to determine if the federal act applied to him. In In re the marriage of Mahmoud M. Basileh v. Arwa G. Alghusain, No. 29A02-0712-CV-1132, the Court of…

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Court affirms arbitration dismissal

The Indiana Court of Appeals today upheld the dismissal with prejudice of a bank’s application to confirm an arbitration award regarding credit card debt because the bank failed to follow the proper procedure outlined in the Federal Arbitration Act. In MBNA America Bank v. Aaron Kay, No. 49A02-0711-CV-961, MBNA submitted a purported dispute over credit card debt by Aaron Kay to the National Arbitration Forum. Kay objected to the arbitration. The arbitrator found in favor of the bank and entered the…

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Court denies rehearing, orders execution

The Indiana Supreme Court has refused to hear a condemned man’s appeal and ordered his execution for May.Justices unanimously agreed this week to not rehear the case of Michael Dean Overstreet, who was convicted of the 1997 disappearance, rape, and strangulation of Franklin College freshman Kelly Eckart. He has been on death row since 2000, and the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in late November. His attorneys asked for a rehearing in January.Now, a docket entry sets the execution date for…

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Justices deny transfer in Home Place appeal

The Indiana Supreme Court won’t consider the annexation battle between Carmel and Home Place.Attorneys received notice March 4 about the court’s 5-0 transfer denial in City of Carmel, Indiana v. Certain Home Place Annexation Territory Landowners, No. 29A04-0510-CV-578, which an online docket entry shows the court made Feb. 28.This means the Oct. 17, 2007, decision by the Court of Appeals stands. The appellate court had ruled in favor of Carmel, holding the city adequately proved it could afford to annex the 1.6-square-mile…

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Split court chooses suspension, not disbarment

The Indiana Supreme Court today suspended a Bloomington attorney for at least three years, though the chief justice and another justice wanted disbarment because this is the lawyer’s fourth disciplinary proceeding since being admitted in 1970.The disciplinary decision came in the form of an 11-page per curiam opinion, In the Matter of David J. Colman, No 53S00-0607-DI-248. The court found that Colman engaged in attorney misconduct in several estate planning tasks: by participating in preparation of a will for a non-relative…

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Judges differ on insurance coverage

A panel of Indiana Court of Appeals judges disagreed about whether a school bus driver who also worked as an independent farmer over the summer should be covered by the school corporation's insurance following a car accident while hauling grain.

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Court suspends Evansville attorney

The Indiana Supreme Court today suspended an Evansville attorney who pleaded guilty to methamphetamine charges and received a six-year sentence in June.In its interim suspension notice dated July 14 In the Matter of Teresa L. Perry, No. 82S00-0806-DI-00307, the court ordered that the attorney is immediately suspended. Perry had been practicing law in the state since November 2000. The order remains in effect until further notice from the court.Perry had pleaded guilty in April to two counts of dealing a controlled…

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Attorney killed in car accident

Merrillville defense attorney Garry Weiss, 53, was killed Tuesday night in a car crash in northern Indiana. Police responded to the three-car crash around 10 p.m. Tuesday in Merrillville. The preliminary investigation shows a Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a stop sign and struck two cars, one of which Weiss was driving. The driver of the Grand Cherokee and the two people inside the Chevy Blazer were also killed. Police believe speed was a contributing factor in the crash. Weiss had his…

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Circuit examines ministerial exception

Two former administrators of Salvation Army thrift stores in Indianapolis are appealing their lawsuit against the non-profit organization on grounds that they were wrongly denied overtime pay in violation of a federal labor law.But at issue in their federal case is whether they’re classified as “employees” and whether a religious freedom exception barring courts from getting involved in church management can be applied to their employment law claims.The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday in Steve and Lorrie Schleicher…

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Justices rule on ‘workplace bullying’ case

The phrase “workplace bully” was applicable to a plaintiff’s claims of assault and is an entirely appropriate consideration in determining issues before a jury, ruled the Indiana Supreme Court April 8. However, the court did not define in the opinion what makes a “workplace bully.” The majority of Indiana Supreme Court justices affirmed the trial court jury verdict of $325,000 and judgment on a claim for assault against a surgeon.In Daniel H. Raess, M.D., v. Joseph E. Doescher, No. 49S02-0710-CV-424, Dr. Raess…

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Justices: Arrest was valid

The Indiana Supreme Court has reversed a Marion County judge’s ruling that officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department don’t have arresting authority because they didn’t take an official oath following a merger.A unanimous ruling came today in State v. Cheryl Oddi-Smith, 49S00-0710-CR-396, which stems from Marion Superior Judge Rueben Hill’s decision involving a three-car accident and subsequent drunk driving arrest a year ago. He ruled that Oddi-Smith’s arrest was illegal because the arresting officer was not sworn in after the Jan….

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Court affirms probation revocation

The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the revocation of a man’s probation and imposition of a 12-year sentence for his probation violation even though the trial court erred in not allowing him to explain why he missed his mandatory drug screenings. In Brian Woods v. State of Indiana, No.49S04-0808-CR-469, the court examined the concept and implications of a “strict compliance” probation, which Woods was on after previously failing to make mandatory drug screenings. The trial court warned him that if he violated his…

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