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SCOTUS denies Vanderburgh County case

The nation’s highest court won’t take a Vanderburgh County case decided last year by the Indiana Supreme Court, which by a split vote reinstated the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering his wife and two young children.At its weekly private conference March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Paul M. McManus v. State of Indiana, No. 07-8435. After ruling in State of Indiana v. Paul M. McManus, No. 82S00-0503-PD-78, June 27, 2007, the Indiana Supreme Court denied a…

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High court overturns confidentiality order

The Indiana Supreme Court today overturned a Marion Superior Court's approval of a "Confidentiality Stipulation and Order," clearing the way for hundreds of documents to be opened and available for public inspection.

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Justices to hear 2 arguments

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear two arguments Thursday morning.At 9 a.m., justices will hear a direct appeal in David Camm v. State, No. 87S00-0612-CR-499, which comes from Warrick Superior Court and involves a former state trooper convicted two years ago of murdering his family.Camm is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole following his second conviction in the September 2000 murders of his wife and their two children, 7-year-old Bradley and 5-year-old Jill, in southern Indiana. The Indiana Court…

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Courts may modify custody upon relocation

Trial courts are not required to order a change in custody upon a parental relocation under a 2006 Indiana statute, the Indiana Supreme Court decided today. The high court ruled trial courts are allowed to modify custody arrangements at their own discretion. In Valerie Raich Baxendale v. Samuel Raich, III, No. 64S05-0709-CV-372, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the Indiana Court of Appeals decision, finding the trial court’s balancing of relevant considerations in granting physical custody of A.R. to Raich was not erroneous….

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Court to consider juvenile detention funding

The Indiana Court of Appeals is considering a case this week that has statewide implications on who must pay to operate juvenile detention facilities – the state or individual counties.Arguments are set April 17 in Marion County and St. Joseph County v. State of Indiana, 73A01-0705-CV-238, a suit the counties brought after Indiana tried to recover about $75 million it spent in operating juvenile detention facilities in those two areas. The court will decide whether the trial court erred in entering a decision…

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Judge denies motion to reconsider

A federal judge took some time this week to defend a previous decision that dropped Indiana as a defendant in a suit filed by a Fort Wayne man who accuses police, prosecutors, and the Allen Circuit Court of discriminating against him.Pro se plaintiff Derrick O. Martin asked U.S. District Judge Philip Simon, Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division, to reconsider the court’s ruling from earlier this year. The judge issued a three-page opinion Wednesday denying the request that claimed the…

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COA sides with Lauth in casino suit

Indianapolis commercial developer Lauth didn’t breach a joint venture contract or any of its duties with other parties by partnering with the Bloomington-based Cook Group on an Orange County riverboat casino project, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In a unanimous holding in Lauth Indiana Resort & Casino LLC v. Lost River Development LLC, et al., 29A02-0710-CV-839, the court ruled on an issue of first impression about when a joint venture terminates in situations where the agreements contain no specific termination date,…

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SCOTUS hears voter ID case

Arguments played out in the Supreme Court of the United States this morning on the legality of Indiana’s voter identification law.The nine justices heard an hour of arguments at 10 a.m. in the combined Hoosier cases of Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, No. 07-21, and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, No. 07-25. Both challenge the state’s three-year-old voter photo ID law that’s been upheld by both U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.Stakes are…

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Appeal likely in license-plate fee suit

The Indiana Court of Appeals will likely be asked to consider whether the Hoosier license plates proclaiming “In God We Trust” violate the state constitution regarding the fees not attached for motorists.Following a ruling released Thursday by Marion Superior Judge Gary Miller, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana plans to appeal on behalf of a Fort Wayne man who sued over the plate a year ago. At issue in Mark E. Studler v. Indiana BMV, No. 49D05-0704-PL-016603, was the $15…

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Federal death penalty trial still possible

The first-ever federal death penalty trial in the Southern District of Indiana may still happen, even though the defendant has signed a plea agreement in connection with a violent killing spree almost three years ago.

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COA affirms $17.9 million judgment against firm

Two years ago, a jury hit an Indianapolis law firm with a $17.9 million verdict after it found the firm liable for a failed health plan that left 8,200 Hoosier with unpaid medical bills.The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an appeal from that general jury verdict and judgment in favor of the state’s insurance commissioner, Jim Atterholt. The 37-page opinion, which includes a two-page dissent from Judge Carr Darden, comes in Frederick W. Dennerline III, and Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe…

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COA upholds Plainfield parks ban

The Indiana Constitution doesn't ensure a person's right to enter a public park, and that means a local law restricting sex offenders from visiting those areas isn't unconstitutional, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.

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COA affirms dismissal of complaint

An Anderson man who filed a complaint against the officers that arrested him and two police departments filed his civil action outside of the statute of limitation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled April 28.The appellate court agreed with the trial court in Jon S. Johnson v. Stephon Blackwell, et al., No. 49A02-0709-CV-759, that Johnson filed his four-count complaint against two detectives, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, and the Anderson Police Department after the two-year statute of limitations expired. After receiving a…

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Juvenile court to be featured in documentary

A Lake County juvenile court will once again allow cameras in to capture the inner workings of the court for a nationally broadcast documentary.Indianapolis documentary filmmaker Karen Grau will have access to Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura’s courtroom in Crown Point to film and produce six, one-hour documentary programs. The goal of the series is to shed light on the issues facing the courts and children served by the court. Because of the nature of the documentary, the Indiana Supreme Court authorized…

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Indiana lawyer helped reporter win in Africa

A case where an African country’s government was accused of kidnapping and torturing a journalist was decided on June 5 in favor of the reporter and his family.Indianapolis attorney Dan Byron assisted the Ghana-based Media Foundation for West Africa, which filed the suit on behalf of Chief Ebrima Manneh.Byron spent October and November in Africa and has remained in touch with the foundation’s attorneys since then.In what Byron called a “good day for human rights and press rights in West Africa”…

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Director elected VP of court administrators group

Lila Judson, executive director of the Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration, has been elected to serve as the vice president of the national Conference of State Court Administrators for the 2008-09 term.

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