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Judge, attorneys to get national, state awards

A judge and two attorneys from Indiana will receive awards for their work in the legal community and media law.Dearborn Superior Judge G. Michael Witte will receive the Franklin N. Flaschner Award given by the National Conference on Specialized Court Judges Aug. 7 at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting. The award recognizes a judge in a court of limited jurisdiction who has an excellent reputation, commitment to high ideals, and exemplary character, leadership, and competence in performing legal duties. Judge…

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Court rules on annexation, land dispute

A county was able to establish an economic development area in unincorporated land that was also in the process of being annexed by a town because the annexation process hadn’t been completed yet, ruled the Indiana Supreme Court. When the Boone County Redevelopment Commission (RDC) initiated proceedings to create an economic development area (EDA), the area included land on which Whitestown had initiated annexation proceedings just one week earlier in July 2006. In October 2006, the Boone County Board of Commissioners…

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Bar wants merit-based selection extended

The Lake County Bar Association will send a delegation to Friday's Commission on Courts meeting to endorse the adoption of legislation that would support merit-based selection of judges to the County Courts Division.

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COA: Court has personal jurisdiction over CIDs

Indiana trial courts can assert personal jurisdiction over out-of-state companies for the purposes of enforcing an Indiana Attorney General’s petition to enforce a civil investigative demand, ruled the Indiana Court of Appeals today. In a case of first impression, the appellate court was asked to determine whether a trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over an Ohio company that had franchises located in but not registered in Indiana, and thus erred by granting the Attorney General’s petition to enforce a civil investigative…

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Federal court rules in favor of Indy company

A federal appeals court in Florida has upheld an Indianapolis-based company’s right to sell distant networking programming to its customers, finding the company was acting in accordance with the Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA). The unanimous opinion from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday, CBS Broadcasting Inc., et al. v. EchoStar Communications d.b.a. DISH Network, et al. No. 07-10020, ruled National Programming Service (NPS), a proposed intervenor-cross-appellant on the case, has the right to lease satellite equipment from EchoStar Communications Corp….

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New judicial speech rights suit filed

A federal lawsuit challenging Indiana’s rules prohibiting judicial candidates from responding to a survey about their views is picking up where a similar suit left off late last year.The nonprofit Indiana Right to Life Inc. filed a suit April 18 on behalf of Marion Superior Judge David Certo, who is running for the court for the first time after being appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels to fill a vacancy last year, and Torrey Bauer, a candidate for Kosciusko Superior Court. The…

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Courts must ID trade secrets

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a northern Indiana judge’s order to protect certain information and trade secrets, holding the District Court judge didn’t adequately distinguish what shouldn’t be released in a copyright and trade secrets dispute between two competing modular home builders.A unanimous three-judge panel ruled today in Patriot Homes, Inc. and Patriot Manufacturing, Inc. v. Forest River Housing, Inc., d/b/a Sterling Homes, No. 06-3012.The case involved Patriot Homes and Forest River Housing, who’d been competing contentiously for years,…

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Justices: State must prove loaded gun

The state has the burden to prove a gun was loaded when charging a defendant with pointing a firearm as a Class D felony, but it is up to the defendant to raise the issue when the state’s evidence has not done so, the Indiana Supreme Court has decided. In Henry J. Adkins v. State of Indiana, No. 20S03-0709-CR-374, the Supreme Court Wednesday upheld Henry Adkins’ conviction of pointing a firearm as a Class D felony because during the trial he failed…

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Court rules on out-of-state marriages

Even if a marriage is questionable in another state, Indiana will recognize that marriage if it complies with Hoosier law.An Indiana Supreme Court ruling late Tuesday gave that answer in Emma McPeek, et al. v. Charles McCardle, No. 58S01-0708-CV-305, which hails from Ohio Circuit Court and involves a technical issue regarding a couple not having an official out-of-state marriage license when they wed in Ohio, even though they’d had one from Indiana.The plaintiff-appellants in this case sued following their mother’s death in…

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COA: insurer owed duty to defend

After nearly 10 years of litigation, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance company because the company couldn’t show it was prejudiced by a late notice from its insured as a matter of law. In the unanimous 27-page opinion, Tri-Etch Inc., et al v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., No. 49A02-0709-CV-827, the appellate court ruled in favor of the appellants-plaintiffs in this appeal – Tri-Etch, which provides security services; the estate of Michael Young;…

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Termination rash in special needs CHINS case

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the termination of a mother's parental rights to her special needs son, finding the decision would create a "sobering message" to parents of children who need ongoing assistance.

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Court grants transfer in prisoner suit

The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving whether a man’s request challenging his prison detainment should have been treated as post-conviction relief or a writ of habeas corpus.Justices granted transfer late last week in Floyd Tewell v. State of Indiana, No. 48A02-0701-PC-118, which comes after a Nov. 5, 2007, decision from the Court of Appeals that had affirmed a ruling from Madison Superior Judge Thomas Newman Jr.The appeal stems from the court’s denial of Tewell’s petition for writ…

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Court affirms stepfather’s visitation rights

The Indiana Court of Appeals April 23 affirmed a trial court’s decision that a stepfather may continue to have visitation rights with his stepdaughter even though the mother wanted his visitation rights terminated. In Nicole A. Shaffer v. Robert J. Schaffer, No. 22A04-0709-CV-513, Nicole requested Robert’s third-party stepparent visitation rights with her daughter, M.S., be terminated because it was in her daughter’s best interest to not have any more contact with Robert. Nicole and Robert were married when she had a child…

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Dad not in contempt for failure to pay full support

The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed a man was not in contempt for failing to pay child support ordered by a Florida court even though the Indiana trial court enforced his obligation for less than the amount ordered in Florida.

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Constitution Day event to mark 220th anniversary

Indiana will host its own “Constitution Day” event Monday to mark the 220th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.The one-hour educational event is a collaborative effort by the Indiana Supreme Court, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, and U.S. Department of Education to help meet requirements of a new federal law aimed at improving knowledge about the U.S. Constitution. The document was signed Sept. 17, 1787, and thousands of similar programs are planned next week to…

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Appeals court to hear Gary gun suit

A Lake County negligence and public nuisance suit against gun manufacturers and distributors is making its way to the Indiana Court of Appeals for the second time.On Monday morning, a panel of Judges John Sharpnack, Ezra Friedlander, and Patricia Riley will consider Smith and Wesson Corporation, et al. v. Town of Gary, et al., 45A05-0612-CV-754. The 10 a.m. arguments will be in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom.Gary city officials sued in 1999 alleging that handgun manufacturers negligently designed and distributed the…

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Court grants 1 transfer, denies 36

The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether counsel can inspect police reports that are already used by the state to refresh the recollection of a witness at trial. Last week, the high court granted one transfer out of more than three dozen cases considered for review by the state’s high court. The case Thabit Gault v. State of Indiana , 27A02-0603-CR-224, involves a Grant County man’s appeal of his 2004 arrest relating to felony possession of cocaine with intent to deliver….

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