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High court to hear 3 arguments Thursday

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday in three cases involving different issues – the cleanup of hazardous material, a defendant sentenced to death, and a child-custody dispute. In the arguments scheduled at 9 a.m., the justices will hear The Indiana Department of Environmental Management v. Raybestos Products Co., No. 49A02-0609-CV-782, in which the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Marion Superior Court decision granting summary judgment for Raybestos on the issue of breach of contract against IDEM. Raybestos filed a…

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Justices disagree about jury instruction

The Indiana Supreme Court was split in its ruling that a trial court properly instructed a jury regarding a habitual offender finding, with the dissenters arguing the court's instruction was inadequate as compared to the defendant's proposed jury instruction.

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High court grants, vacates transfers

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to a case regarding whether the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund can introduce evidence of liability on an action seeking excess damages. The court also vacated a transfer in a case that involves an amendment to charging information that happened after the omnibus date. The court granted transfer to Jim Atterholt, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance, as Administrator of theIndiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Geneva Herbst, personal representative of the estate of Jeffrey A….

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Suit against Vanderburgh County dismissed

A federal judge in Indianapolis has dismissed a suit against Vanderburgh County that claimed county officials were responsible for a 2005 triple murder-suicide by an inmate on work release.On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker issued a 13-page order dismissing the federal complaint Christine Sandage, et al. v. Board of Commissioners of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, et al. The suit stems from the deaths of Sheena Sandage-Shofner, Alfonzo Small, and Tara Jenkins, who were fatally shot almost three years ago by…

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Justices: Indiana OK to dismiss jurisdiction

In an Indiana custody case that started before a married couple’s only child was born, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that either Indiana or the state where the child was born could have jurisdiction over proceedings. The Indiana trial court dismissed proceedings in favor of Washington State, where the child was born, as a more convenient forum, clearing the way for that state to take over jurisdiction. The issue in Anthony N. Stewart v. Signe L. (Stewart) Vulliet, No. 12S02-0708-CV-331, is whether…

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Former Marion Superior judge dies

A former Marion Superior Court judge and longtime executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council died April 5 at his home after a long illness.Hon. Richard P. Good Jr., 76, was appointed by Gov. Frank O’Bannon in 1997 to Marion Superior Court, where he served in the Criminal Division. During his time on the bench, he was chosen by his peers to serve on the executive committee. After leaving the bench in 2002, he took on temporary assignments as presiding…

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Arguments in gambling case Thursday

The Indiana Court of Appeals hits the road Thursday to hear arguments at Anderson University in a case involving a compulsive gambler and what duty the casino had to prevent her from gambling.

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Plea can’t be challenged with new evidence

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled a guilty plea can’t be challenged in post-conviction proceedings by a claim of newly discovered evidence regarding the events making up the crime. In Shawn E. Norris v. State of Indiana, No. 43S03-0807-CR-379, Shawn Norris appealed the post-conviction court’s grant of the state’s motion for summary disposition on Norris’ petition for post-conviction relief. Norris pleaded guilty four years earlier to molesting his sister’s child, served his sentence, and then later…

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COA arguments set for IU student’s killer

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday in the case of the man convicted of killing an Indiana University student. John R. Myers II appeals his conviction of the murder of Jill Behrman, claiming the trial court committed several errors including denying his motion for a change of venue, denying his motions in limine to exclude testimony of certain witnesses, admitting an interrogation tape without proper admonition to the jury, and denying his motion for a mistrial due to…

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COA affirms sexually violent predator findings

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the finding that two defendants are sexually violent predators, ruling the state had produced sufficient evidence to support the determinations under the versions of the sexually violent predator statute used by the trial courts in each case.

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Indiana’s e-ticket system nationally recognized

The Indiana Supreme Court’s e-ticket system has won an honorable mention in the 2008 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards given by the Center for Digital Government. The court’s electronic Citation and Warning System (eCWS) was honored in the Government-to-Government category. Winners were recognized for the strides they have made to implement better access and more efficient Web delivery of public services.The e-ticketing program allows law enforcement to use hand-held devices to scan a bar code on driver’s…

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Application of residency law unconstitutional

  The Indiana Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court’s ruling that in at least one case of the state’s application of a law prohibiting violent and child sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or public area where children congregate is unconstitutional.The ruling came in State of Indiana v. Anthony W. Pollard, No. 05A02-0707-CR-640. Judges heard arguments in the case March 31. The state argued that Indiana Code Section 35-42-4-11 was not considered ex post facto…

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Court upholds damages award against doctor

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a damages award to the parents of a stillborn child against a doctor, finding the trial court properly excluded opinion testimony from two treating doctors and a letter written to those doctors before the trial by the parents’ attorney. In Jeffrey L. Cain, M.D. v. Richard Back and Suzette Back, No. 20A03-0705-CV-225, Dr. Jeffrey L. Cain appealed the trial court judgment of $800,000 in damages to Richard and Suzette Back on their claim of medical malpractice.The…

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President chooses magistrate for judgeship

President George W. Bush has nominated an Indianapolis federal magistrate to replace Judge John D. Tinder who recently took a seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.The president on Thursday sent a nomination to the Senate for Magistrate Judge William T. Lawrence, who’s been on the federal bench since November 2002. Magistrate Judge Lawrence was one of seven nominations sent, including nominations for the U.S. Tax Court. Republican Sen. Richard Lugar recommended the Indianapolis magistrate for the position.”I have known…

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Judges: Dispute can be arbitrated

A union and the owner of the facility the union wants to organize can proceed to arbitration to decide whether the facility is a covered workplace under an agreement requiring neutrality, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. In United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union v. TriMas Corporation, No. 07-1688, the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) brought an action in federal…

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AG won’t appeal sex-offender law ruling

The Office of Indiana Attorney General won’t appeal a federal court’s decision last month that ruled a law requiring sex offenders to allow for blanket consent of computer and home searches is unconstitutional. Instead of appealing, Attorney General Steve Carter said in a press release Thursday that the office will work with legislators this fall to create a law that will protect children from Internet predators but would not violate the Constitution. Carter also cited the cost to taxpayers as a…

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Justices: ‘Three Strikes Law’ unconstitutional

A four-year-old state statute aimed at limiting frivolous lawsuits filed by prison inmates is unconstitutional because it effectively closes the courthouse doors altogether for certain people, a split Indiana Supreme Court ruled today.Three of the five justices – Justices Theodore Boehm, Robert Rucker, and Brent Dickson – agreed that the state’s 2004 “Three Strikes Law” violates the Indiana Constitution’s Open Courts Clause. Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard and Justice Frank Sullivan disagreed and observed their colleagues’ decision means many Hoosier litigants…

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