Courts

When Patrick Atkins suffered a brain hemorrhage and subsequent stroke on a business trip in 2005, his partner of almost 30 years wanted to be there and visit.While Atkins’ family didn’t approve of the relationship, Brett Conrad was allowed to visit and have contact with his partner at first. But the family began cutting off that contact and eventually the two sides went to court over visitation rights and guardianship. Conrad lost in Hamilton Superior Court before Judge Steven Nation, who…

The Supreme Court of the United States will decide whether Indiana’s two-year-old law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional. Justices accepted the pair of combined cases Monday and issued an order this morning. The court was considering about 60 potential cases, including two others from Indiana: Gilles v. Blanchard, et al., which involves religious speech on the public ground at Vincennes University; and Deb Mayer v. Monroe Community School Corp. involving a teacher fired for comments…

The U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to confirm U.S. Judge John D. Tinder to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning he’s the first Hoosier jurist appointed to the federal appellate court in two decades.Senators voted unanimously 93-0 in favor of Judge Tinder’s appointment shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, after a day of voting on federal spending, alternative tax, and debate on various other issues. Seven senators didn’t vote and he gained support from everyone else, including both Indiana senators -…

The Indiana Supreme Court has denied a request for successive post-conviction proceedings involving a man convicted of stabbing an elderly DeKalb County man more than two dozen times during a robbery in 1984.Issued Monday afternoon, the seven-page unanimous order states that David Leon Woods did not meet his burden of establishing a reasonable probability that he ;s entitled to relief based on claims he is mentally retarded and had a disagreement with his attorneys about strategy.A Boone County jury convicted Woods…

Just because a public defender paralegal chats with a deputy prosecutor before a hearing, it doesn’t mean attorney-client privilege is being violated, the Indiana Court of Appeals has determined.A unanimous ruling today in Mustafa Nur v. State of Indiana http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06060701tac.pdf, 49A02-0606-CR-486 broaches that topic. Nur appealed the denial of his motion for a new murder trial in Marion Superior Court. He argued the trial court erred by not providing an interpreter and also for allowing the deputy prosecutor to speak at…

The Supreme Court of the United States today agreed to take a case out of East Chicago in order to clarify the definition of money laundering.Federal circuit courts, including the 7th Circuit in Chicago, do not agree on an exact definition and have disagreed about whether it ;s considered money laundering to pay for the operation of a criminal enterprise with the profits of that illegal business. The nation ;s high court will determine whether the ban on the use of…

The Indiana Supreme Court granted two transfers this week:One case involves the probation revocation that followed a man’s questionable communications with minor children he wasn’t supposed to be around. The other involves a question of which “home state” child custody and visitation issues should be heard based on federal and state statutes.In Theron W. Hunter v. State of Indiana, No. 69A01-0702-CR-061, the court will take up an issue addressed in an unpublished memorandum decision from the Court of Appeals in June. The…

The Supreme Court of the United States will consider the constitutionality of Indiana’s voter identification law in early 2008.A calendar published this morning puts the consolidated Hoosier cases on the high court’s docket for 10 a.m., Jan. 9. The cases are Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (07-21) and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita (07-25).Both challenge the law that took effect July 2005. The 7th Circuit had previously affirmed a District judge’s ruling that the law wasn’t unconstitutional. Rep. William Crawford,…

  The Indiana Court of Appeals today delved into what it means to manufacture cigarettes under state law.A unanimous 30-page decision came in Steve Carter in his role as Attorney General v. Carolina Tobacco Company, Inc. http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09170702jgb.pdf,No. 49A04-0503-CV-151, affirming a lower court decision that the state attorney general’s office improperly refused to include an Indiana tobacco company in a yearly directory of manufacturers allowed to sell cigarettes in the state.The Marion County suit involves the “Roger” brand of cigarettes that began…

A criminal defense attorney’s failure to severe four burglary cases fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and prejudiced his client, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.In Darrel M. Maymon v. State of Indiana, No. 48A02-0611-PC-1060, the appellate court reversed a ruling by Madison Superior Judge Thomas Newman in denying relief on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel at the post-conviction stage.That trial defense attorney is not named in today’s opinion, but the defendant-appellant contended that his trial counsel…

A Lake County judge was found dead in his home Tuesday after not showing up for morning hearings.Superior Judge Robert A. Pete, 54, apparently died of natural causes, coroner’s officials told a local newspaper, and the local legal community was reeling from his unexpected death. A bailiff went to the judge’s home after he didn’t arrive in court or notify staff about his absence.Judge Pete was appointed to the Superior Court’s Civil Division 5 courtroom in Hammond in 2001 and faced…