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U.S. District Court dismisses 14-year consent decree

Nearly 15 years after a consent decree was ordered by the U.S. District Court Southern District in the case B.M., et al. v. James W. Payne, et al., the court today dismissed the decree.The case was originally filed by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union in 1989 on behalf of the wards of Marion County and their parents because of child welfare workers’ alleged failure to adequately provide services for families and children.Before the case made it to trial in 1992, Judge…

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Court weighs individual rights, school violence

An Indiana Court of Appeals decision today grabs you with the first lines, setting the groundwork for an intriguing read whether you’re an attorney or not.”In this case of first impression, we balance the private rights of students and citizens against our schools’ need to identify individuals on school property in this post-Columbine world,” Judge Cale Bradford wrote. “More specifically, we are asked to determine whether a school police officer may conduct a pat-down search of a student on school grounds…

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Court rules on searches after seatbelt violation

Police officers who stop motorists for a seat belt violation need to keep in mind Indiana Code 9-19-10-3 when conducting searches and asking questions. The Court of Appeals handed down a ruling today citing the statute that says traffic stops made to determine seatbelt compliance strictly prohibits the police from determining anything else, even if other law would permit it.Because of this, the court reversed the trial court’s judgment in Gary W. Pearson v. State of Indiana . The lower court…

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ACLU files federal suit against corrections center

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Marion County Community Corrections Center in Indianapolis, alleging the facility's conditions violate the Constitution and threaten health and safety of inmates.

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Split court rules no-shows forfeit right to trial attendance, counsel appearance

If a defendant doesn’t appear at a trial he or she knew about, a trial court can consider that a knowing and voluntary waiver of that person’s right to be present and to have counsel appear there, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.Justices ruled 3-2 in Carlos M. Jackson v. State of Indiana, No. 15S01-0609-CR-333, which involved a man found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and possession of an unlicensed handgun. Jackson was ordered to attend…

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COA affirms $2.3 million damage award

An Evansville shopping center owner is entitled to $2.3 million in damages for loss of access to a public thoroughfare resulting from a state highway project, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.The court’s unanimous decision came in State of Indiana v. Kimco of Evansville, Inc., No. 82A01-0607-CV-301, affirming a Vanderburgh Circuit jury award that stems from the road project in 2000 impacting the Plaza East Shopping Center along State Road 66 and Green River Road.In June 2000, the state took 0.154…

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Justice Alito headlines conference

Relations between courts and Congress have been strained lately, and a contingent of both are meeting in Indianapolis today to explore the reasons, examine how judicial independence fits in, and try to lay groundwork for improving relations.The Indiana State Bar Association is sponsoring the “Relations Between Congress and the Federal Courts” conference at the Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis, which began at 8:30 a.m. and features U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. as a key speaker.More than…

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Governor seeks new Jackson Superior judge

A new court will be up and running at the first of next year, and Gov. Mitch Daniels is now accepting applications for an additional Jackson Superior Court.Today is the first day applications are being accepted, and it closes Sept. 21, according to the governor’s office. Interviews will be in October.Lawmakers in the 2007 legislative session created the new court, which will be the county’s second Superior Court. It will serve as a family court once it opens Jan. 1.Those interested in the position…

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Lecture addresses rights of school newspapers

The ACLU of Indiana hosted a standing-room-only audience Oct. 3 for its “First Wednesday” lecture, “The School Paper: Who decides what is ‘news’?” addressing First Amendment issues for student-staffed newspapers.The audience, including educators and students, listened as Indianapolis Star political reporter Matthew Tully moderated panelists R. George Wright, IU School of Law – Indianapolis professor of constitutional law, administrative law, and jurisprudence; Diana Hadley, executive director of the Indiana High School Press Association; and Teresa White, Noblesville High School journalism advisor.White…

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7th Circuit shoots down Homeland Security decision

he Department of Homeland Security wrongly second-guessed the federal labor department in denying an application by a mental health residential care group – Hoosier Care Inc. – asking for labor certification and immigrant visas for two Filipinos, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today.

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Court: Wrongful death claim timely filed

Indiana’s professional statute of limitations does not trump the state’s Wrongful Death Act’s statute of limitations, ruled the Indiana Court of Appeals. In The Estate of Martha O’Neal, by personal representative Therese Newkirk v. Bethlehem Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, No. 90A05-0705-CV-271, the appellate court was asked to decided if the statute of limitations had expired prior to O’Neal’s estate filing a wrongful death complaint against Bethlehem on Oct 22, 2003. O’Neal was admitted to Bethlehem for rehabilitation on Sept. 10,…

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Marion County still battling juror no-shows

Half of jurors called to serve in Marion County are failing to appear.Local judges are talking about it and changing policy to give no-show jurors a second chance to show up if they’ve ignored one summons, and from there implementing potential penalties ranging from fees to community service.Improvements have come since Indiana altered its jury pool list last year to include more than voter-registration records full of outdated addresses, but about 52 percent failed to show up on assigned days, court…

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Unwed father must reimburse Medicaid

An order for an unwed father to pay back Medicaid at least 50 percent of birthing expenses for the mother and baby does not violate the father’s rights under the U.S. Constitution, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.In In the Matter of the Paternity of A.R.S.A.; Alberto S. Meneses v. Rudit A. Legunes, 79A04-0706-JV-323, Meneses appealed the trial court order that he has to pay Medicaid 50 percent of the birthing expenses incurred during the birth of his son. Meneses is not…

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State Supreme Court rules in favor of power company insurers

The Indiana Supreme Court said today that insurance carriers are not required to pay for power companies’ costs incurred in a federal lawsuit, nor the installation of new equipment to reduce pollution as ordered in a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States. In Cinergy Corp and Duke Energy v. Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services, et al., 32S05-0604-CV-151, the state’s highest court issued a 17-page unanimous opinion affirming a decision by Hendricks Superior Judge David H. Coleman. The…

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Judicial Conference: Southern District needs judge

A new permanent federal judgeship is needed in Indiana ;s Southern District of the U.S. District Court, according to the Judicial Conference of the United States.The federal judicial policymaking group voted Tuesday to ask Congress to create 67 new federal judgeships – 15 for the Circuit courts and 52 for the District courts. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago isn ;t being considered for an increase, but a new judicial officer in the Southern District division would add one…

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Case remanded on double jeopardy clause

The Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a man’s conviction on two counts based on a violation of state and federal prohibitions against double jeopardy. In Scott D. Moore v. State, Moore appealed his convictions of possession of anhydrous ammonia and possession of reagents or precursors, contending they are lesser-included offenses of the Count I of dealing in methamphetamine. In July 2006, William Cashin and Moore went to Miles Farm Center, where Moore brought out a pitcher containing a fuming substance…

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Supreme Court: Be careful about reweighing evidence on appeal

Indiana’s top jurists today issued a cautionary note to the state’s Court of Appeals: that reweighing evidence in cases isn’t the norm for appellate courts and could mean reversal if that happens.That message came in the form of a unanimous seven-page opinion authored by Chief Justice Randall Shepard, involving the case Ronnie Drane v. State of Indiana, 45S04-0611-CR-477. The Indiana Court of Appeals reweighed evidence in a Lake County rape and murder bench trial and, as a result, the justices have…

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High court clarifies sentencing requirement

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled today that a defendant who was sentenced to death in 1982 cannot receive life without parole during his second re-sentencing hearing despite being re-sentenced under the post-2002 death penalty statute.In State of Indiana v. Zolo Agona Azania, 02S03-0505-PD-364, Azania killed a Gary police lieutenant in 1981 and was sentenced to death in 1982. He was re-sentenced to death in 1996. His conviction stands, but his death sentence has been overturned twice. In the instant case, the state…

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7th Circuit hears arguments on judicial free speech

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Friday morning in a case in which the state’s Commission on Judicial Qualifications and Disciplinary Commission want the court to reverse the District Court’s ruling that granted a permanent injunction against provisions in Indiana’s Code of Judicial Conduct.

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Judge hears evidence in nerve gas suit

Attorneys are presenting their cases in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District in Indianapolis today on whether the Army and Department of Defense are violating federal environmental laws in shipping the potentially deadly VX nerve gas from Indiana to Texas.Chief Judge Larry McKinney began the evidentiary hearing at 1:30 p.m. and has allocated up to three days for the proceeding. Four environmental and activist groups and five citizens, including two Hoosiers, filed a suit in May against the government to permanently…

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