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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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Judge dismisses school uniform suit

The other shoe has dropped in the Anderson school uniform legal challenge as a federal judge in Indianapolis has dismissed the suit.U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder granted summary judgment for the school district late Monday, denying a preliminary injunction request from pro se parent plaintiffs Laura and Scott Bell. The couple filed a suit in Madison Circuit Court July 17 against Anderson Community Schools, claiming that a policy set to start on the first day of school Aug. 20 would…

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Justices establish ‘public interest privilege’ in defamation suit

A Vigo County Schools superintendent is protected from liability for defamation relating to comments he made in 2001 about an unidentified gunman who’d fired a shotgun at him, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.In a unanimous decision late Wednesday, the court followed what other states have done and adopted a public interest privilege for Indiana designed to protect certain communications for private citizens. The privilege ruling puts an end to the six-year defamation dispute involving comments Superintendent Daniel T. Tanoos made…

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Court of Appeals in Franklin, Evansville on Thursday

The Court of Appeals will be on the road on Thursday, hearing cases in Franklin and Evansville. It will hear its 180th and 181st cases on the road since 2001 when the court began regularly hearing arguments at venues around the state.State v. Karl Jackson will be heard at Franklin College at 10 a.m. in the Branigin Room of the Napolitan Student Center. It marks the court ;s fifth visit to Franklin. The three-judge panel includes Chief Judge John G. Baker,…

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Court dismisses INDOT appeal for not following procedure

The Indiana Department of Transportation and the State of Indiana had their appeal dismissed by the Court of Appeals today because of a technicality in following procedure.In Indiana Department of Transportation and State of Indiana v Robert Howard, et al., 49A05-0701-CV-36, the Court of Appeals dismissed and remanded INDOT’s appeal of the trial court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment because INDOT did not have an interlocutory order certified by the trial court and accepted by the Court of Appeals as…

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Federal magistrate to retire

A federal magistrate judge in Indianapolis will step down from the bench in early December.U.S. District Magistrate Judge John Paul Godich in the Southern District announced this week plans to retire Dec. 6. This is his second retirement after leaving the federal court bench full time in 2001; he took recall status that year and continued working part time in a senior judge-type capacity.Judge Godich has served more than 34 years on the court, having been appointed Oct. 1, 1973 and…

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ISBA adds 3 new memberships

The Indiana State Bar Association has approved three new membership categories, describing the recent additions as a way to have the entire legal community represented within its membership ranks.On June 30, the Board of Governors added the categories of law librarians, legal administrators, and court administrators as affiliate members. They join the paralegal class in that ranking, meaning the four professional groups can serve on committees or join sections, but they cannot vote on issues or hold office.”This is a natural…

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First District to honor pro bono attorneys

Court of Appeals Judge Margret Robb will be the special guest at the First Judicial District Pro Bono Committee’s Fifth Annual Pro Bono Attorneys Night July 16. The event features a buffet supper and awards presentation from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Bennigan’s at the U.S. Steel Yard and a Gary RailCats baseball game against the Schaumberg Flyers at 7 p.m.The event honors volunteer lawyers from Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, Pulaski, and Starke counties. The Richard P. Komyatte “Access to…

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Court rules on med mal statute of limitations

The Indiana Court of Appeals today reversed and remanded to Lake Circuit Court a medical malpractice case, holding that it is unconstitutional to apply the state statute’s “occurrence-based” nature to the man suing a surgeon.In Victor Herron v. Anthony A. Anigbo, M.D. http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/05230712jsk.pdf , No. 45A03-0608-CV-378, the three-judge panel ruled the trial court erred in concluding that Herron’s discovery date allowed for sufficient knowledge to discover the malpractice.The suit stems from Herron’s fall outside his home and his admittance to a…

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Public defenders could see change in St. Joseph County

The public defender system in St. Joseph County could be up for an overhaul as soon as July.County officials have given a favorable recommendation to ordinances revamping the system, action that comes on the heels of a presentation by Circuit Judge Michael Gotsch earlier this week. If the county council approves the measures at its June 12 meeting, the changes would take effect for the second half of the year.Under the proposal, the county could hire 10 more public defenders, which…

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Judge: Parents must pay fees in frivolous suit

Two parents challenging a new school-uniform policy in Anderson lost their legal battle in August after a federal judge dismissed the case. This week, parents Laura and Scott Bell have been ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs of approximately $40,931 to defendants Anderson Community Schools and the board of trustees.U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder issued the order Thursday, recounting reasons for ruling in favor of the school district four months ago and issuing a note of caution for…

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Juvenile entitled to separate hearing

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a juvenile court judgment after ruling the court improperly incorporated the record of a child hearsay hearing into the fact-finding hearing. In L.H. v. State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0701-JV-45, L.H. appealed his conviction in juvenile court of child molesting, a Class C felony if committed by an adult, and battery, a Class B misdemeanor if committed by an adult. In 2006, the then 12-year-old was accused of inappropriately touching his 8-year-old cousin, A.H., over the course…

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Second appellate judge vacancy nearing

Indiana Court of Appeals Judge John T. Sharpnack has officially announced his last day will be May 3, 2008, and the process to appoint a successor will begin in the coming weeks.Judge Sharpnack plans to stay on with the appellate court as a senior judge following his leaving the bench, which comes just days before his 75th birthday and mandatory retirement. He is the second appellate judge in a year to leave the court; Judge Patrick D. Sullivan ended a 38-year…

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Court tosses property assessment suit

The Indiana Tax Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s property tax assessment system because the petitioning taxpayers didn’t exhaust their administrative options.Indiana Tax Judge Thomas G. Fisher ruled Nov. 9 in Mel Goldstein, et al. v. Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, et al., No. 49T10-0709-TA-45, which was brought by 14 taxpayers and 10 citizen groups from across the state.Indianapolis attorney John Price filed the suit in September on behalf taxpayers statewide pushing for tax reform,…

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Court reverses motion-to-dismiss denial

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a defendant’s motion to dismiss because he was improperly subjected to successive prosecutions prohibited under Indiana Code 35-41-4-4. In Virgil Lee Haywood, Jr. v. State of Indiana, 48A02-0612-CR-1131, police approached Haywood after an alleged drunk-driving incident. Haywood’s child was in his car, and he smelled of alcohol and failed several field sobriety tests. Haywood struggled with police and kicked an officer in the leg while refusing to sit in the back a police…

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