Courts

Two decades after a bomb exploded in the Howard County Courthouse, new security measures are being implemented.County commissioners earlier this week passed new security rules requiring photo identification badges for employees, and metal detectors and X-ray machines at the public entrance. This comes after a decision last fall to use $29,295 of homeland security money for the upgrades and security officers. Certain visitors, including attorneys, can obtain a frequent visitor pass for $50 that allows them to bypass the detectors.Workers will…

The first consequence of an Indiana Supreme Court decision three weeks ago relating to sentencing statements can be found in a ruling today from the state’s Court of Appeals.In Sergio Ramos v. State of Indiana, 49A04-0609-CR-482, the court reversed and remanded a Marion Superior case relating to the sentence imposed following a guilty plea to attempted sexual misconduct with a minor. The trial court sentenced Ramos to 10 years executed, but it did not address aggravating or mitigating circumstances.That was wrong,…

The Indiana Supreme Court today delved into the meaning of “subcontractor” and determined that performance bond coverage for third parties only goes so far.Stemming from a certified question from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, justices considered: “Does a performance bond required by and issued in accordance with Ind. Code §8-23-9-9 afford coverage to a third-tier claimant?”Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard wrote the opinion saying the statute does not afford that coverage, noting that a subcontractor is…

If someone violates their probation, trial courts have the authority to modify a part of those probation terms and can add new conditions as they see necessary.The Indiana Supreme Court ruled today in Russell Prewitt v. State of Indiana, No. 10S04-0707-CR-294, arising out of Prewitt’s previous attempted cocaine possession conviction and subsequent probation starting in mid-2005. The state moved to revoke his probation twice within four months for alleged violations, and the trial court determined Prewitt had violated the probation. Clark Superior…

Indiana prosecutors worry about heightened suspicion of charging decisions they make as a result of the high-profile disbarment of a North Carolina prosecutor over the weekend.Talk started months ago as the situation escalated, but banter took a new surge this morning following Michael Nifong’s nationally televised disciplinary proceeding Saturday. He was disbarred for violating professional conduct rules in his prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape.”Around the country and here, prosecutors are talking about the Nifong effect,”…

The Indiana Supreme Court today affirmed the convictions and post-conviction relief denial for a death row inmate convicted of murdering three people in Evansville in 1996.The 43-page ruling in Stephenson v. State, No 87S00-0106-PD-285 (http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/04260701trb.pdf), affirms the post-conviction court ;s denial of relief for John Matthew Stephenson, who is sentenced to die for the 1997 convictions of burglary, theft, and the murders of John “Jay” Tyler, his wife, Kathy Tyler, and Brandy Southard relating to a drug-ring operation. He was sentenced…

Parents who successfully challenged the constitutionality of Evansville school fees have won another victory in Indiana appellate courts, this time relating to attorney fees.The Indiana Court of Appeals issued a 21-page decision today in Frank Nagy, et al. v. Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, No 82A05-0609-CV-488, which involves a new issue stemming from an Indiana Supreme Court ruling last year. The case arose after the local district began charging every student a $20 student-services fee in fall 2002 as a way to make…

A decision now rests with Gov. Mitch Daniels of who will be the next judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals.After interviewing seven semi-finalists this morning and deliberating this afternoon, the Judicial Nominating Commission chose Dubois Superior Judge Elaine B. Brown, attorney Leslie C. Shively of Shively & Associates in Evansville, and Dearborn Superior Judge G. Michael Witte as finalists for the state’s second highest appellate court.The governor has 60 days to make a decision on who will succeed retiring Judge…

A Warrick County court reporter won’t be held in contempt for not finishing the trial transcript in a two-month, triple-murder trial early last year.Warrick Superior 2 employee Mary Kennedy finished typing the transcript by the end of the business day Monday – the last-minute of her three extensions from the Indiana Supreme Court.The eight-week, high-profile trial of David Camm, a former state trooper, concluded in March 2006 with a guilty verdict in the 2000 murders of his wife and their two…

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected one of the last appeals attempts by a man set to die Friday for the execution-style shooting death of a Muncie police officer in 1990.A five-page unanimous decision by the three-judge panel in the federal appeals court in Chicago rejected Michael Allen Lambert’s claims for relief in Lambert v. Edwin G. Buss, Nos. 03-1015 and 05-2610. The ruling upholds the judgment by U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney in Indianapolis.In its opinion, the panel…

A Tippecanoe County judge has denied the request of a convicted sex offender wanting to stay in his Lafayette home as the court considers his lawsuit to no longer be deemed a danger to children.Superior Judge Don Johnson issued a two-page order this week denying a request by John Doe, a 56-year-old man being ordered to move so that he’s not within 1,000 feet of children-saturated areas, such as a school or church.An Indiana law that took effect July 1, 2006,…